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Monthly Archives: February 2024

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Polk Transportation Planning Organization

The Polk Transportation Planning Organization (TPO), established in 1977, is the lead transportation planning agency for Polk County. It works with the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) and local agencies to plan and make decisions about transportation investments to provide safe, reliable travel.

What does TPO do?

Transportation collage of people boarding a bus, walking across the street, riding bikes and driving

Polk’s TPO:

  • Adopts and maintains a long-range, multi-modal transportation plan that includes highway, public transportation, pedestrian, bicycle and multi-use trail network improvements;
  • Establishes local priorities for the use of federal and state funds on transportation projects; and
  • Adopts a Transportation Improvement Plan (TIP) that includes FDOT’s five-year work program and implements the long-range plan.

TPO Governing Board

The TPO governing Board is comprised of elected officials, including commissioners from Polk County and the municipalities. They build consensus among member governments and provide input with regard to how Federal and State transportation funds are spent. FDOT is represented as a non-voting member as well as representatives from local transit agencies.
Several committees provide input to guide the TPO Board. They include the Technical Advisory Committee (TAC), Joint Airport Zoning Board (JAZB) and the Transportation Disadvantaged Local Coordinating Board (TDLCB).

Your Voice Can Be Heard

Polk TPO seeks the public’s involvement in the planning and decision-making process through public outreach efforts.
You can stay current with TPO’s ongoing planning process by joining the Transportation Adviser Network. The network, about 250 members strong, is a mechanism for resident involvement, especially by members of minority and low-income households. Formed through the TPO’s community outreach efforts, the Adviser Network provides a less formal, more extensive structure for soliciting public participation and comment.

You can learn more about Polk TPO’s current and future projects and view planning documents by visiting PolkTPO.com.

Ensuring Safe and Efficient Travel

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Shady Oaks Gardens Cemetery

Shady Oaks Gardens Cemtery heritage site marker

Shady Oaks Gardens Cemetery was recently designated as a Polk County Heritage Site, which aids the county in efforts to preserve and promote the cemetery’s history.

History of Shady Oaks Gardens

Shady Oaks Gardens Cemetery is located along Old Homeland Road in Bartow, and it has long served as a peaceful, final resting place for some of Polk County’s indigent population. Shady Oaks Gardens has been known as the county’s primary “pauper” cemetery since 1963, and 862 people are currently buried there. As the name of the 2.8-acre site implies, the graves lie under the shade of oak trees. While there has not been a burial at Shady Oaks Gardens since 2012, there are still hundreds of plots available.

A “pauper’s grave”

Historically, “pauper” refers to a recipient of government relief or public charity, which is why the cemetery fall under the responsibility of the county. Some of the people interred at Shady Oaks Gardens have been identified, likely those that were known but whose families did not have money to pay for a burial. Those who did not have families remained unnamed; older grave markers or records may include where or how they died in place of their name.

Everyone has a story

While it’s impossible to know the story of everyone buried at Shady Oaks Gardens, it’s certain everyone had one. The oldest documented death located at Shady Oaks Gardens dates back to 1918. Rosamond Younger, who was born in 1898 in Georgia, succumbed to bronchial pneumonia on Nov. 8, 1918. Younger’s body was moved from the nearby community of Philippi in 1963. Philippi’s cemetery was relocated to accommodate phosphate mining.

Moses Williams grave marker

Musician Moses Williams (1919-1988) is also among those buried at Shady Oaks Gardens. Williams moved to Florida from Mississippi when he was 11, and he worked in show business and as an itinerant farm worker. He played a one-string guitar, known as the “didley bow,” using music as a side hustle. Williams was one of many African Americans who moved to Florida between 1910 and 1930 in pursuit of the opportunities a cash economy could provide.

In an effort to properly honor the deceased, Polk County divisions have worked together to find, catalog and compile a database of the people buried at the cemetery. The searchable online database is expected in 2024.

 

Visitors are welcome at Shady Oaks Gardens Cemetery. It is located at 3927 Old Homeland Rd. in Bartow. Also, to learn more about Polk County’s Heritage Sites, contact the History Center at (863) 534-4386.

A Historical Resting Place

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