Monday, November 25th, 2024

Author

Rashad Freeman
November 25, 2024

Want to get your business in The Southshore Circle? Let’s talk!

JAM PACKED

The Southshore area boasts more traffic than Google, but at least you’ll know about all the activities going on. Because if you’re reading this, you’re a member of the circle, which makes you cooler than everybody else.

In Today’s Edition:

  • How Southshore’s boom has slammed on the brakes

  • Our list of things coming to the area for the holidays

  • The Apollo Beach you never knew

Progress Without Planning

The warm weather might have brought you here, but the traffic will keep you. That seems to be the growing theme in Southshore as of late. In an earlier edition, we talked about the boom in population partly due to COVID, but the boom in traffic deserves an edition all its own.

It’s the unholy trinity around here: I-75, US 301, and US 41. When one of these main thoroughfares goes down, they all go down. The result? You might as well turn your car off and take a nap.

Local Facebook groups are ablaze with traffic rants—and rightfully so. In what can only be described as a masterclass in terrible planning, those in power greenlit a ton of new developments but forgot a tiny detail: the roads. Now, we’re all stuck playing Survivor: Southshore Commute.

Bad traffic design and lazy planning leave drivers with few options, most of which involve prayer or tears. The problem snowballs too. Stressed, distracted drivers on overcrowded roads end up in accidents. And those accidents? They create more chaos, making even the most level-headed among us consider ditching the car and building a canoe.

While the colorful social media posts are rather entertaining, the problem is real and warrants more than a Facebook rant. So, what can you do besides scream into the void of your steering wheel? Aim your frustration at the right people. For starters, you can send that same rant to the Hillsborough County Public Works department at [email protected].

John Patrick leads the county’s Community and Infrastructure Planning Division, and giving his office a ring may light a fire and get some things done.

Isolated complaints only get so far, but a chorus of demands to the right people is how you slice through the chains of bureaucracy.

Southshore Circle’s Guide to Festive Fun

With the holidays upon us, the list of activities around the Bay Area is growing faster than Santa’s naughty list. We’ll keep updating our calendar with weekly must-dos, but here are a few attractions near the Southshore area that might just be worth braving the traffic for:

Busch Gardens Christmas Town
A holiday tradition in the Bay Area almost as iconic as love bugs (but way more enjoyable). You can catch the lights, shows, and festive fun any time between now and January 5th. [More Info]

Zoo Tampa’s Christmas in the Wild
Lights, treats, seasonal adventures, and wildlife—because nothing says Christmas like seeing a giraffe under twinkling lights. These attractions run select nights in November and December. [More Info]

Henry B. Plant Museum’s Christmas Stroll
Prefer a more relaxed holiday vibe? Take a Christmas stroll through the Henry B. Plant Museum before December 31st for a dose of history, charm, and holiday spirit. [More Info]

Santa Fest at Curtis Hixon Park
Mark your calendars for December 7th! The festivities kick off in the morning and culminate with the magical tree lighting at 6 p.m. Pro tip: plan ahead—parking downtown is a holiday miracle in itself. [More Info]

Brandon’s Parade of Lights
Don’t miss Brandon’s contribution to the season with the Parade of Lights on December 14th. The parade starts at 5:30 p.m., running west from Parsons Avenue to Lakewood Drive. [More Info]

How Apollo Beach got its Groove

Apollo Beach’s story starts in 1923 on a mangrove-lined plot of land so uninhabitable even the mosquitoes had second thoughts. Paul Dickman, however, had a dream: a waterfront community perfectly placed between Tampa and Bradenton. With the help of Radar Engineering of Miami, Paul’s vision started to come together, and Apollo Beach began to rise from the swamps (or at least, the idea of it did).

Paul sold his vision to a group of New Yorkers, who promptly renamed it Tampa Beach—because apparently, originality wasn’t in their budget. Spoiler Alert - neither was the project. They rolled up their sleeves to expand the Flamingo Canal to open water, only to realize they were way out of their depth—literally. The project flopped harder than a pelican on a windy day, and the land was abandoned.

Enter Francis Corr from Michigan, a man who clearly thought, “How hard could this be?” He bought the land and, in a burst of creativity, renamed it La Vida Beach (because nothing says Southshore like a Ricky Martin song that hadn’t even been conceived yet). Thankfully, Francis’ better half stepped in with a more fortuitous name: Apollo Beach. And just like that, history—or at least the name—was made.

What’s washing up on the shore this week:

The Rumor Mill:

  • Rumor has it the Wing Stop on Paseo Al Mar Blvd. is opening this Tuesday.

Meet your neighbor:

  • Soon we’ll feature local businesses with a bit of backstory. Everybody should be friends, right?

Foodies Only:

  • Turkey steals the show this week, but dont’ worry, the best wings in town are coming.

Local Sports:

  • Off for the holidays. Enjoy your turkey!

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