Who was that driver?
Anyone get the tag of the Penske truck driver that took out the top of the tree that ended up blocking 12th street in the middle of the SESH Home Tour?
Right in the middle of the Home Tour some #(**&^$ rental truck driver flying down 12th took out a huge branch from our beautiful tree canopy and left a trail of white fiberglass. Thank! to a quick call from one of our Tour Bus Wenches, and quick action by the elves, it was gone before most people even knew it had happened!
But it amazes me how someone who filled the street with enough firewood for a season or two, and obviously did some serious damage to his rental truck, could simply continue to fly down the street leaving a trail of destruction. It is interesting to note that several people saw this nut speeding down 12th and commented about it, before they knew what damage had been done by him.
Another lynching would be good!
Note to hood................SLOW THE HECK DOWN ON 12TH! This was a tree, it could easily have been a kid on a bike, as the tree was not hit because the truck was too high, but because the driver was riding the edge of the road. The contact with the tree was NOT with the tree canopy that you see over the road in the picture, but rather a huge branch over the easement which you cannot see in the picture. It is about 10 feet in behind that pile of tree in the road.
Pic compliments of August, the SESH Breadman. For more pics visit: http://www.seshca.com/TreeTrimming.htm
Let's just hope the Penske truck was filled with there stuff and they were moving out of the neighborhood.
ReplyDeleteI witnessed the accident. And, I know which house they were moving out from. What do I do. Do I notify penske, or let it go. It is not like Penske won't notice the accident.
ReplyDeleteof course, this needs to be reported. We are always up in arms about speeders and inconsiderate scum in our neighborhood. We want something done about it. Previous comment is correct. We hope that this trash is moving out and not in. Good riddance!!
ReplyDelete12th street is considered a "thru" street to some. I live on 12th street and have witnessed way too many accidents. The stop sign at the corner of 12th and Chelsea has really helped a lot in that area.
ReplyDeleteHey all, considering I preach reporting things to TPD every chance I get you can trust that as soon as I heard about it I did two things. Drive there to see what needed to be done and call TPD while I was driving there!
ReplyDeleteBoth parks and TPD came out. However, as we had no tag, etc there was little to say to TPD.
If you want to tell me what house they came from, we can try to do something about it. You can send the information to info@SESHCA.com
The rental truck place will charge them but I would love to see a leaving the scene charge or something,
I called Penske and they were very Rude. Without a tag number, they didn't even want to speak. I asked if I could give them the address from which the truck was loading. She was so hateful and did not need it so I hung up. I will forward the address to someone who cares. Look for it Sherry.
ReplyDeleteso, what did the truck driver do wrong?
ReplyDeleteshit happens, deal.
HaHaHa
ReplyDeleteYou have had me laughing for the last 10 minutes anon 702pm..
Deal, are you kidding me. They almost took out two pedestrians, hit the tree and was driving way over the speed limit. It's these idiots that drag up and down 12th street that ruin the quality of life for the majority of those that want to walk down and enjoy the park.
ReplyDeleteI heard that the tree was talking a bunch of $hit. Basically asking for it... Where is Faragorn when we need him? We need him to herd these out of control Oaks of Seminole Heights. They think they own the place with their special permits and leaves that hang on for 10 months.
ReplyDeleteAnyone think to trim the tree before sh*t like this happens, this was more than just the drivers fault!
ReplyDeleteThis tree had been trimmed. To hit it he had to be OFF the freaking road. It is entirely his fault that he hit it, and that he drove off leaving it there for someone to run into! I frequently drive our company 28' box truck and I know that in neighborhoods I must be very careful for signs that are close to the side of the road, branches that overhang, fences and hedges that are over the easement, and oh yes, pedestrians. He was a slug. he end!
ReplyDeleteSorry,,,,,,,,,,,,THE END!
ReplyDeleteDeal..
ReplyDeleteDid you clock the guy with your SESH radar gun?
Did you witness the man driving eratically?
Then you can't say he was speeding or off the road.
Thats your opinion.
Yes, I did see him driving eratically!
ReplyDeleteYes, I did see him speeding!
No I did not clock him, but I can guarantee you he was going over 40 miles per hour. We had an entire bus of Home Tour passengers witness the event. We saw it happen as we were turning down 12th. He almost hit the bus and kept on going.
That is not an opinion, that is a fact.
Its an opinion.
ReplyDeleteYou are not a cop and you didnt have a radar gun.
Sometimes people look like they are going faster than they are.
Its your OPINION that he was speeding since you didnt actually CLOCK him.
Deal.
Ok,let's just say he was going the speed limit. However, he Was NOT on the road, driving straight, and he did NOT stop after he did a ton of damage and left the road completely blocked! It occurs to me perhaps, anon, YOU are the driver in question, as you are full of defensive remarks.
ReplyDeleteWe had a lot of people out on the street because of the Home Tour. They were there to make sure people were safe and the streets did not get backed up due to the extra heavy volume of traffic in the area. More than one of these people in more than one location remarked to me about the speeding of this particular truck. And two of them did so without even knowing of the tree branch, rather just that they noticed this truck being fast and erratic. Enough to bother them to speak about it!
actually the interesting thing - is that it's not just one person making the defensive comments - i wrote the original "shit happens, deal" comment - but other people have agreeed - so it occurs to me, that maybe you are getting your panties all in a bunch over nothing.
ReplyDeleteIf you count the dirty little troll who picks fights with his neighbors, and lives in fear of anything new and different like some Grimm fairy tale character, then I think we're a little ahead those snotty people down south.
ReplyDeleteFlyer Anon, I actually started reading this blog just for your replies. Before it was just a boring site. Not once, have I found that you agree with anything on the site. I am starting to wonder why you are in this neighborhood.
ReplyDeleteYou are like the "Rush Limbaugh" of SESH. As rush can poo poo any idea and he can always blame any situation on a Dem. I have never heard one positive comment come from you.
The large number of for sale signs are profiteers, either wannabe investors, or residents who are late arrivals to the boom and attempting to make a hefty return to move to a subdivision somewhere. If "urban pioneers" are relocating it's most likely to more transitional neighborhoods, not to the burbs or Soho. Here's an article that I posit is evidence of a trend of the reverse of "white flight" of the 70's.
ReplyDeleteMSNBC
Gotta love the "i'm here because I'm here" answer regarding why someone lives in a given neighborhood. Its actually the best non-answer there is. I would imagine people have alot of different reasons for moving from SESH, stayin in SESH or moving into SESH. One big one has been affordability when looking for that old Florida bungalow (at least for me). Being on the "wrong side of the interstate" has its advantages that way. But looking at what price people are asking for when they list their bunglows now is rediculous. Maybe Flyer is right? Or maybe he is just afraid of living anywhere else. Who knows
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, Flyer, just because you are old and cranky, does not mean you are the oldest "resident" of SESH. Take a look at our board. I can think of two board members that have been here longer than you. This neighborhood was fighting to better itself long before you moved in! You always act as though the "yuppies" are trying to displace you. That is not the case. People want a clean safe place to live. Thus the need for the State of Florida to have codes outlining "minimum standards" of living. Without these standards, public health would be put in jeopardy. Disease would run rampant. However, the city of Tampa hires incompetent leaders to uphold these codes. WE are not asking for anything unreasonable... simple things. Keep your yard clean. Don't put a gazillion appliances on your carport, etc. I don't think that is too much to ask.
ReplyDeleteFlyer anon, I do think they contribute to disease. You can't convince me that your float does not harbor rats and other pest seeking shelter and warmth. A perfect example is the home at the corner of 10th and Cayuga. In the middle of the jungle, there is a pool that is a holding tank for stagnant water. The pool which resembles a swamp host mosquitos and who knows what else. As for the overgrowth, on of the neighbors came to meeting to ask what he could do as he did not feel safe with the critters that crawled out of there at night. How could this be safe?
ReplyDeleteAs for the chainlink fence, you are correct, this is a aesthetic issue. Neighbors have elected to protect the historic character and integrity of their homes and want the entire hood to follow suit.
The Seminole Heights Overlay District was brought forth to City Council and discussed and approved. Where you there to voice your opinion? Did you seek other neighbors and bring them forward to voice their opinions?
ReplyDeleteFlyer Anon, If you want to talk about Seminole Heights, ask those of us who have lived here for 50 years plus. Unless you have something good to add to the neighborhood, SHUT UP.
ReplyDeleteThe Overlay District covers all of Seminole Heights from the river to 15th st and down to MLK. OSH, SSH, and SESH.
ReplyDeleteIt's a decently-written document (needs a few loopholes closed) that restricts some things and removes restrictions on others. In balance, pretty fair.
"...I would guess that same number organized against it would make it go away."
ReplyDeleteAre you going to "organize" again like you said you would 6 months ago in regards to the SESH Civic Association?
Still waiting for those flyers :)
Flyer anon. Oh my gosh ! ! Lets have a "shut up" match, I haven't don't that since I was a kid.
ReplyDeleteFirst off lets get one thing straight, I'm not a Bush fan, I never voted for him and think he's a complete idiot. But I'm not going to turn this into a Bush debate. It sounds to me like you don't trust your neighbors, calling them terrorist, how rude.
I have never called any other place home. I may have lived outside SH at one time or another but my heart and family have been here since 1947 where they lived on Osborne Av off Florida. In 1954 my grandfather was killed in a head on collision which gave my grandmother the money to buy the house I'm living in now.
You're telling me that because I don't live in SESH my opinion doesn't count. Let me give you my opinion on what has changed all of SH. The homosexuals. They started moving in about 20 years ago, fixed up the house's, while at the same time putting some of us to shame. What do we do? We have to "keep up with the Jones'" and started fixing up our places. What do you think happened then? We got hooked on home improvement and the neighborhoods have benefited.
Lets talk about the business' here. Jimmy gave my brother his first hair cut in 1957. Tampa Hardware was the only place to get our nails. Publix was a neighborhood grocery store with plenty of covered parking. Dr. Tom Engle on Buffalo Av (now Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd) was our family doctor. On the corner of Buffalo and Central was our pediatrician. He sewed my head up in 1962. Bo's has been here as long as I can remember. Charlie Shiro's grocery store was on the corner of Florida & Osborne. A miniature golf course was just north of that. Across the from Shiro's was McClandon's service station/repair shop. On the south west corner was Langs Ice Cream. My mother met my stepfather at the Super test station on the northeast corner of Hanna and Nebraska. Seminole Theater was on Florida Av. S & H green stamp store on Nebraska av just south of Hillsborough. The post office just south of Sligh used to be the A & P grocery store. I could go on and on but what good would it do since you seem to know it all.
Since I've been here 52 year and you've been here 17 years, that makes me the adult and you the know it all teenager.
Grow up and don't be so negative.
Flyer anon, I'm sorry I got rude and told you to shut up, that isn't like me. I can tell you're as passionate about SH as I am, and you're right, this isn't a pissing match. I think if keeping up with the Jones' makes SH the coveted neighborhood, so be it. I love it here and it upsets me when people complain about it all the time. If you didn't like it you wouldn't be here. I challenge you to get up in the morning and say something positive about SESH. If you must complain, vent and then suggest a solution, that's all I ask.
ReplyDeleteYou will never get the repeal of the overlay. In fact, there is a very large movement to take it one step further and change the overlay district to an actual historic district overlay.
ReplyDeleteSeeing how the city of Tampa has had such a problem protecting historic sturctures throughout the city, I don't think you will find much objection to the historic district.
By increasing the overlay district, you will now have incentives to preserve the historic fabric of the homes.
Forgive me.. but i don't think sending a letter to a property owner saying " gee.. did you know its against city code to leave piles of garbage and construction debris in your front yard? Lets talk about why garbage out along the sidewalk is a problem," is appropriate. For god sake... any reasonable adult knows you dont CRAP IN YOUR OWN YARD AND LEAVE IT FOR OTHERS TO SEE AND DEAL WITH. WE don't owe anyone a favor, even the almighty property owner, a courtesy notice when it comes to that.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the vent.
Flyer, I will guarantee you that you will never see the overlay repealed. People are too afraid of the homes in the neighborhood looking like yours. You can see by looking at your home that any interesting, recognizable architectural feature has been butchered or removed. What a shame.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure if the assn sent Flyer Anon a letter about something that wasw wrng with his property he'd probably set out to crucify the whole board.
ReplyDeleteAnd if someone anonymously calls in a complaint about him he problably blames the board anyway not his neighbors.
He just a hater.Why you guys listen to him?
The overlay permits more than it restricts and anyone can apply for a variance to go around it. It only applies to residences and not commercial.
ReplyDeleteIf you repeal the overlay, garages will have to be farther from fences. Driving aprons will have to be roughly 23 feet wide. (On a 50-foot wide lot your driveway will have to start about 7 feet from the nearest property line or generally in the position your dining room is now.) ...and on and on.
The overlay makes no comment on style, color, material, or landscaping. You can build a fully modern glass structure with an attached garage and complay 100% with the overlay.
The vast majority of people that have violated the overlay have done so with chain link fencing. In one particular case the owner was told prior to the fencing being installed that it would violate the overlay (by a member of the association) and was verbally abusive as a result. He put the fence in anyway, then claimed ignorance when he was cited by code enforcement.
The associations will work with people to resolve these issues outside of code when possible. Sadly, it's not always possible.
Note that the associations are fighting for neighbors who have retaining walls in the right-of-way in violation of code. Can't get much more "working with" than that.
Of course, all of this is said in an attempt to appeal to the resonable people out there. :-) Unreasonable people with chips on their shoulders should just disregard entirely, thanks.
FA
ReplyDeleteWhy do you think that all code violations originate with the neighborhood assoc? You do realize that is not the case - there are code inspectors that drive the neighborhoods on a daily basis and as a part of their job write up violations that exists.
Existing chain links are not required to be removed by the overlay but the overlay does prevent the install of new chain link.
Bring yourself up to the basic standards of the city code and you will stop being "harassed" and fined for your mess - then your anger and resentment for the onging cleanup of your "beloved" neighborhood may lessen.
You state you only live here becuase it was cheap and you could do want you wanted like unincorporated Hills Co - well - reality check time - if you want to live like them then you need to live there - either play by the rules that exist and take advantage of the fact that you pay minimal taxes and expect full city services or move to where they live like you - maybe the hollars of West Virginia might be a better fit or Montana as has been mentioned before.
Do some cleansing of your soul and let go of the anger - it really doesn't do anyone any good.
(to continue)........and tell us truthfully FA - what would you do with a "good neighbor" notice from the association? Your prior posts would lead me to believe that it would not be appreciated for the spirit that would be intended - I'm sure you would kill the messenger - that is why people post anon when they reply to you - no one wants to be stalked and harrassed or threatened.
ReplyDeleteI can tell you that by one of my neighbors trying to get another in compliance, there have been assault, bitter feelings, arrest, court, fines and restitution and the list goes on. Most of these violators are not the most stable, thus the living like animals!! I think for the association to take on the responsibility would be a liability I would run from any day.
ReplyDeleteLook at FA. When he thought the association was harassing him, he actually showed up at the meeting and became confrontational.
Better example! HE tells his neigbhor to keep down the noise and he gets shot!!!
In today's world, I say let the city of Tampa get off their lazy arses and do what they are being paid to do!
KW..AKA Flyer Annon.
ReplyDeleteThe support for the overlay is much broader than you seem to believe. Each of the restrictions (such as chain link fences) was a response from neighbors. Yes some just think they are hidious. Actually they are. But they are also very durable so they are popular with people with vicious dogs. My beef with chain link was more that than the fact that they have no aestetic value. I grew tired of having to walk in the street because of owners of ill-mannered dogs leaping at the fence right at the property line and not able to feel safe on a public sidewalk. How about the the minimum height for the finshed floor? At the time, I was still on the board for South Seminole Heights. The whole neighborhood topography slopes to the river; building up a lot to pour a slab had the effect of damming the sheet flow to the river. Properties that had been there for 80 years were under water due to the wonderful fast-buck builder damming the rain water from the natural flow to the river. There was more to the issues addressed in the Overlay than trying to yuppify the neighborhood. Some of the points actually allow uses that encourage a more historic pattern of development that the city had abandoned. You can still fence your yard. No one is forcing anyone to take down a chain link fence. I don't know of anyone who has found themselves cited for overaly violations unless they put up a new chain link where there was not already one. Now I know that Libertatrians have their dislike of regulations but there are few Libertarian purist who find no value in some degree of regulation for the general welfare. Personally if it isn't harming someone, do what you want. If someone wants to be a prositute on the street corner it is their business only to the point which it doesn't effect my property value and I am not having to clean up the residuals of their business. The same for the person driving down the street, when I can't cross the street due to excessive speeding they are now infringing on my right to use the same roads that we all pay for. When I have to hire an exterminator to kill the rats from an overgrown vermin infested property, the owners of said property are infringing on my right to enjoy my property. The Overlay District protects far more than it harms. Yes it was neighborhood driven...it was the FIRST time all three neighborhood groups (Southeast Seminole Heights, South Seminole Heights, and Old Seminole Heights) had worked together toward a common objective.
Temper that Libertarian streak with a does of Communitarian thought.
FA
ReplyDeleteThere are actually many code violations that have nothing to do with the overlay. Maintaining your home - mowing your yard, hauling junk and furniture off your porch, not having inoperable/unlicensed vehicles in your yard and replacing rotten wood and painting would still be written up - those offenses have nothing to do with overlay - IT"S ALL CODE BABY!!!!
I perosnally think sh*t in the right of way looks disgusting.
ReplyDeleteSh*t needs to be stored in backyards.
Take the retaining walls for example, some of them are horrific looking. Some are just railroad ties. Thats not historic- thats ghetto. Not everyone paints and maintains the retention walls like some do.
Take the house at 10th and Cayuga- Whens the last time this a**hole has ever mowed anything in his life?
Take for instance the house on Caracas- umm hello little kitty-
The walls are falling off.
Jeez.
Now in defense of Sherry, Im not sure when the last time we created a neighborhood narc list was. Im not sure Sherry ever has turned one in to code. All she does is contact Kristen and the problem is taken care of within a day or 2. And its probably only when something is falling off or about to crash or missing a roof for 10 years, etc.
so get ur facts straight before u blast off for liftoff.
the reason sherry can get along with everyone including code is bc shes NOT an A$$