County Responds To Cypress Bayou Traffic, Pothole Concerns

They weren’t supposed to come back to Land O’ Lakes until May 1, but members of the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office’s STEP Unit decided to pay an early visit last night.

Responding to resident complaints posted on Land O’ Lakes Patch, members of the unit targeted the Cypress Bayou neighborhood April 26. Residents of the community have been voicing concerns about drunk driving and unsafe road conditions.

Cypress Bayou is a residential neighborhood that has one entrance in and out – a long, winding road called Causeway Boulevard. It has wetlands on both sides in many areas and is a community with a mish-mash of county maintained and private roads.

“Land O’ Lakes needs more DUI enforcement,” wrote Terry in an April 22 announcement on Patch.

Patch reader T.S. agreed.

“The road leading into the Cypress Bayou subdivision is a winding road that has claimed over 17 lives over the years,” T.S. wrote. “All the large potholes don’t help either.”

Sgt. Art Rowand, who heads up the STEP Unit, which stands for Selective Traffic Enforcement Patrol, said his team had plans for a saturation of the Land O’ Lakes and Wesley Chapel areas May 1-14.

The STEP Unit functions a little differently than patrol. Instead of moving from call to call, deputies assigned to this unit target specific roadways seeking potential traffic problems.

“We have to generate our own activity,” explained Deputy Shane Metzler, one of the unit’s members, during an earlier interview.

To crackdown on traffic trouble areas throughout the county, the unit concentrates on one region heavily before moving on to another.

In light of resident concerns, however, Rowand told Patch yesterday morning that they might come to the Land O' Lakes area a little bit earlier than expected to investigate.

Came they did.

Rowand said his unit headed into Cypress Bayou around 5 p.m. last night. In less than two hours they had handed out “several citations” and made two drug arrests.

“We will be back,” he said.

Meanwhile, the pothole concerns are also under investigation. The problem is only some of the roads in the subdivision are county maintained. This means residents themselves are responsible for repairing roads deemed private.

According to County Commissioner Pat Mulieri’s office, the county is responsible for small chunks of Causeway. For example, it maintains the area from St. Johns Road east for 545 feet, two lots west of St. Lukes Road east to Henry Drive and 670 feet west of Land O’ Lakes Boulevard west for 845 feet. The rest of Causeway has never been turned over to the county for maintenance and repair.

"I have asked to have the holes on maintained part fixed," Mulieri wrote in an April 26 email.

The STEP Unit will officially concentrate on the Land O’ Lakes area during the first two weeks of May. During this time, Rowand said Cypress Bayou residents can anticipate seeing heavy patrols again. The unit will also concentrate on major roadways such as Land O’ Lakes Boulevard, State Road 54, State Road 56 and Bruce B. Downs Boulevard.

The last time STEP focused on Central Pasco, it needed more than 30 arrests and 150 citations between Jan. 9-22.