RNC Traffic Has Tampa Bay Talking

With thousands of out-of-state visitors converging on the Tampa Bay area for the Republican National Convention, most locals expected traffic to be bad. Just how bad, however, seems to be a matter of debate.

The Tampa Tribune is calling traffic the “talk of the town,” while Twitter is exploding with comments about the commute into downtown as Day 2 of the RNC gets under way.

“#Tampa, SB 275 remains slow and go from MLK into the downtown slot, and though Dale Mabry...NB an good drive!! :)” wrote Channel 8’s Leslee Lacey on her Twitter feed.

“You've been hearing for weeks that #traffic in #Tampa was going to be bad during the #RNC2012. How bad? http://www.tampabay.com/news/transportation/roads/republican-national-convention-ties-up-tampas-morning-rush-hour/1248333 via @TB_Times,” wrote Tampa Bay Times reporter Marissa Lang.

Reports have come in about slow going into downtown from areas such as Brandon and Bloomingdale, Carrollwood and beyond. Yet, those commuting across the bridges, don’t seem to be having as much of an issue.

While some complaints have been heard, not everyone is disappointed at the way traffic is flowing.

Jason Aughey of the Tampa Bay Sports Commission seems impressed with the traffic planning so far: “Kudos 2 @CityofTampa 4 well executed traffic plan-big reason y #TampaBay continues 2 host major @NCAA events @tbtimesforum #GOP2012 #RNC2012,” he wrote on his Twitter feed.

While the morning commute is over, officials do expect traffic to pick up again this afternoon. Delegate buses should be heading into downtown around 1 p.m. adding to the congestion, according to Carrollwood-Northdale Patch.

What do you think about RNC-related traffic so far? Has it changed the way you drive around town? Let us know in the comments section.