RUSKIN - They came from Riverview, Brandon, Lithia and all points south, filling a large meeting room and spilling outside to vent frustration over a long-range plan for roads they said worried more about the projected residents of tomorrow than people living here today.

About 130 people trekked Tuesday to the SouthShore Regional Service Center to discuss the plan, even though county officials described its projects as 'conceptual' and promised not to take them to elected officials until at least mid-2008.

'Don't tell me it's conceptual,' said Marcella O'Steen of Balm. 'That concept turns into entitlement for the development industry.'

Said Bev Griffiths of Riverview: 'I think what you're doing here is destroying our quality of life to benefit future development.'

Although some asked questions, no one spoke in favor of the plan.

Officials said the South County Transportation Plan was intended to identify road corridors needed to serve a population expected to swell to 500,000 in south Hillsborough County by 2050. It had been scheduled for consideration as an amendment to the county's comprehensive growth plan before projects raised the ire of residents from Gibsonton to Wimauma.

Among the most controversial: two new bridges over the Alafia River with accompanying thoroughfares that would replace existing neighborhood streets, and a multilane bypass that would slice through rural Wimauma, Balm and Lithia.

The only neighborhood that walked away with a firm promise that an unpopular project was erased from the plan was a group of about 15 from Brandon. They had protested plans to extend John More Road south to link with Apache Trail. County officials said flooding issues nixed the idea.

Other residents complained the plan shows roads going through wilderness tracts bought for preservation. The county's Parks, Recreation and Conservation Department has opposed the plan, saying it proposes new pavement through a dozen county-owned or managed preserves.

Several residents accused Peter Aluotto, the county's planning director, of being too accommodating to developers and suggested more could be done to restrict growth. Aluotto said residents will only hurt their children and grandchildren by not setting aside road corridors to accommodate a continued population boom.

'I've not seen a county or city that succeeded in deterring growth by not building roads,' he said.

Another meeting is planned for 6:30 p.m. today at Riverview High School, 11311 Boyette Road, Riverview.

Reporter Susan M. Green can be reached at (813) 865-1566 or sgreen@tampatrib.com.