St. Petersburg Times: Pasco invites public to help map west county's future

Think about west Pasco for a minute. Maybe you picture congestion on U.S. 19 or an ugly streetscape. Maybe you wish downtown New Port Richey were livelier. Perhaps an empty strip center comes to mind.

Now imagine west Pasco in 30 years. Can the main highway carry enough traffic while encouraging pedestrians? Could Main Street be linked via a boardwalk to a refashioned downtown in Port Richey? How about a more urban feel around Gulf View Square mall with better access to Werner-Boyce Salt Springs State Park?

"With urban areas, you can't throw them away," said Richard Gehring, Pasco's growth management chief. "You've got to figure out what to do with it."

Gehring and his staff will host a series of public meetings over the next month to draft a long-term plan for redeveloping Pasco's most heavily populated area. The meetings begin at 6 p.m. Tuesday at Gulf Trace Elementary and travel up the coast to three more locations.

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