valeka's Blog

Excuse me for preaching here, but I suddenly feel a need to add to Fox's already impressive stories about car rip off places.  Every time your investigative team does one of these, my man and I cheer.

I went to get my oil changed at a place that offered a coupon for the service.  I explained in VERY clear terms that this was all I wanted.  My husband is a mechanic but if the price is right, we can actually save money by utilizing a discounted oil change.  While I was waiting I listened to the service rep come in and tell an older lady that her car needed a complete radiator flush because the fluid in the radiator was the wrong color...she said, "But I've been bringing it to you."  He didn't bat an eye.  He claimed that the auto makers put in the wrong coolant and she needed to change it immediately before it ate holes in her radiator.  Her car appeared to be about 5 years old with no leaking underneath. Even I know that coolant comes in several colors and the reddish one is just fine. I did my best to try and assure her that she might want to consult with the folks at her nearest auto supply store (FOR FREE!) but she made the appointment for the radiator flush because she didn't believe he would be telling her something that wasn't absolutely true.

The same rep also told me that I needed to replace a tire because he could tell it had a slow leak.  There was and is nothing--and I mean NOTHING--wrong with that tire. We check our tires regularly and this one has never even gone low on me. These folks are supposed to sell-up and it's up to us as drivers and consumers to get second opinions.

If you aren't aware, you can do this for free.  You can go and talk to the people at your local auto supply place and it won't cost a thing.  At some of them they'll even come out to your car and hook up a device that will help them and you determine exactly what is wrong with your car.  It's a neat little meter and again, the service is free.  They will also install the windshield wipers you purchase from them at no charge.  In my experience, they want to help you do as much yourself or with their assistance so you will be riding in a safe and cost-effective vehicle. 

In this case, it's true, some of the best things (services) in life are free!

What is the worst road in the area?  I read Floyd Freak's post and I don't travel Hwy 60, but I do occasionally take Nebraska into downtown.  What a rough ride that is!  There are some potholes out there that can completely alter the frame of your car if you aren't careful.  There's also one on Thonotosassa Road that's a real doozy.  What about trying to make your way down Busch, or the part of Waters Avenue that hasn't quite been upgraded to match the newer parts? 

I would love to know what other people think is the worst road in Hillsborough County.  Oh, and if we had a contest, do you think our Department of Transportation might pay some attention to that worst road?

     I attended the informal Hartline hearings to find out about the proposed changes for the 28X bus that travels from just outside Plant City to downtown Tampa.  What I learned was such a shock!  First of all, Hartline is not in Plant City.  If you've ever wondered why you can't catch a Hartline bus from Plant City to Tampa, it's because Plant City voted (before I became a rider) not to be included as a part of Hartline. 

     What this means is that Hartline has had to work around Plant City's insistance that they can provide their own services by getting close, but not INTO Plant City.  That type of short-sighted thinking boggles the mind!  How crowded do our roads have to be before the city fathers realize that we all have to work together to move people from one point to another?

    The proposed service is not perfect as one of the new locations doesn't have any type of shelter so it's going to be a very wet wait in rainy weather.  But given the restrictions on the bus service by people who seem to have forgotten that we lost out on an olympic bid because we don't have a good mass transit system, it's going to be okay.

     Oh, and if you have never visited the downtown Hartline transit center, you may want to stop in there and see just how crowded and busy it is during the week.  If you provide the busses, Hillsborough County, the riders will come.

    Hartline is presently proposing a change to the 28X bus that travels from Plant City to downtown Tampa twice in the morning, and back from Tampa twice in the late afternoon.  What is being proposed is that the bus change from making several stops on Dr. Martin Luther King Boulevard to picking up passengers only on Thonotosassa Road in Plant City and at the Baptist Church at the intersection of hwy 92 and Mango Road.  According to Hartline, this will eliminate parking in areas where Hartline does not have contractual permission to use the parking lots as park n ride stops, such as Walmart and Winn Dixie.   They also believe that this will also mean a faster commute once road work starts on sr 579 (Mango Road). 

   Since the parking lot at the Baptist Church is already amost full every day, where will people park?  In my opinion, forcing regular bus riders to drive a distance to the park and ride will make it seem easier for them to just drive the entire way to work--which will only feed the present traffic problems.  Aren't there other places that could be used as Park & Ride stations?  Perhaps on hwy 92?      

    Hartline has scheduled 2 hearings, one to be held at 5:30 this Friday, March 16 and the other one on Monday, March 19.  For more information, please go to the Hartline Website.  If you'd like to keep a few of us Plant City folks on the bus and off I-4 in our cars, you have a stake in this.  And if you have property that could be used as a park and ride, HELP!  Hartline and the bus riders need you.

I was so excited when I saw the construction equipment showing up on state road 579(Mango Road) in Seffner.  The road has needed resurfacing for a long time.  I didn't even mind that my truck rocked like a coconut in a typhoon as I made my way down uneven lanes or waited as the construction group moved heavy equipment.  Surely the new road would be smoother and have turn lanes in such important places as Joe Ebert road where a new subdivision snarls traffic, or Pruett Road where there are plans for even more development as well as the daily school traffic.  WAHOO! 

And then the work stopped.  Oh sure, the road is smoother once you get on it.  It's the getting on that jars a person's breakfast.  And where are the turn lanes?  A crew came along and scraped our road, put down new surfacing but it is just as difficult to manueuver from Pruett road on to 579 as it ever was.  So, here's a word to the wise for folks living on the other side of I-4 on 579--don't get your hopes up when you see the construction gear arriving.  For the weeks of torment you'll endure while the road is being redone, you'll get exactly what you have now.  2 lanes and no consideration for the new traffic moving to the area.