Mayor Buckhorn urged: ‘Do your job’
For a long time before a mother and her infant were killed by kids in an illegal street race on Wednesday, people have known how dangerous Bayshore Boulevard in Tampa can be. Residents have complained. Studies have been conducted. Until Friday, however, nothing had been done. That was too late to save Jessica Raubenault and her daughter Lillia, and the delays on top of delays have Chris Ingram incensed at Mayor Bob Buckhorn.
At their best, politicians cut through bureaucratic red tape when things need to get done, but to Ingram, Mayor Buckhorn appears to be allowing the system to work the people rather than the other way around. There are some planned changes coming by October, such as narrowed lanes. Why wait, asks Ingram.
As a longtime political figure, as well as a writer and a pundit, Chris Ingram has been around the political realm for long enough to have crossed paths with the mayor several times before, and their latest exchange on facebook just illustrates to Ingram that a mayor he has long supported has seen his time pass. Mayor Buckhorn is in his final term in city hall, with a March 2019 election coming to decide his successor.
The city of Tampa did lower the speed limit to 35 on Bayshore on Friday morning, but Ingram wonders if that’s enough, and if police issuing speeding tickets is really all that can be done. Raised crosswalks would essentially serve as speed bumps, and likely prevent racing in the future, but are not as of yet in the city’s plans.
The Chris Ingram Show can be heard across Tampa Bay on Your Conversation Station, AM 820 News. In Pinellas County, Ingram can also be heard on 98.3 FM. The Chris Ingram Show airs weekday mornings from 10 to noon. Here the full clip below: