There was a time when no one here could imagine a 52-story building in what passed for downtown Tampa. Structures like that were reserved for real cities, with actual skylines and lively downtowns.

"Remember when Tampa rolled up its sidewalks at 5 o'clock in the afternoon, or even 3 o'clock?" Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn said.

Yes, I do. Anyone who has lived here for a significant amount of time remembers that, too.

But this is not one of those columns about how, golly gee, we're turning into a real city. We've been there for long time, even if some leaders missed the memo and still act and vote like this is Mayberry with a football team.

RELATED COVERAGE A first look at Riverwalk Place, Tampa's tallest tower

People who work downtown know about traffic here, but generally they have managed to cope while those in charge have dithered and ducked on their duty to find a real forward-thinking solution.

That may no longer be an option.

When the $350 million Riverwalk Place tower is completed, presumably in about four years, the public relations brochures tell us downtown will have 52 gleaming stories of restaurants, condos, and businesses, all adding to the ambiance of urban life.

You know what I see though?

The potential for a mess.

Buckhorn conceded the planned location of S Ashley Drive and E Whiting Street will be "a tight fit."

Ya think?

Tampa is not ready for this.

The $3 billion Water Street Tampa expansion is going on a few blocks from the proposed tower. The idea is to bring thousands of people downtown to eat, drink, be merry, and maybe catch a show or a hockey game.

We haven't even talked about what might happen if a baseball stadium is built on the downtown edge of Ybor City.

The idea of all those cars converging on a fairly compact downtown is a disquieting image for a city that argues it is on the move.

Commuters already fight for parking while jousting with pedestrians and bicyclists on tight streets that always seem to be under construction. Adding thousands more people to the mix could turn downtown from the hoped-for nirvana into unholy gridlock.

"Transportation will continue to be our Achilles heel until we develop some political courage," Buckhorn said. "The fix is not free. The fix is not cheap. Until we're allowed to address that, we don't have any options."

Buckhorn then pointed a finger at the County Center, down the street from City Hall.

Two years ago, commissioners voted 4-3 against allowing a sales tax referendum to go on the ballot that November. The money would have gone toward alleviating traffic created in part by the commissioners' long-standing unholy allegiance to urban sprawl.

I think they were afraid of what voters would say.

Buckhorn said short of "changing the county commission, or changing the bodies on the county commission," the only option left is trying to work around the impediments to progress.

By now, you've heard most of the suggestions to address this issue. A robust bus system. Dedicated freeway lanes for cars with multiple passengers. Ride shares. Or, as possible homage to the commissioners, horse and buggy.

"And rail," Buckhorn said. "Yes, I said it, even though some believe it's a U.N. plot. But the big thing that has to happen is changing the culture. We are like crack addicts for our cars. We have to get out of this car culture."

That brings us back to Riverwalk Place and Water Street.

Don't think of it strictly as a downtown problem. People will be commuting from the suburbs to work or shop there. That's more traffic on interstates that can't handle what's already there.

More than 68,000 people work downtown now. The city already attracts 4.8 million visitors to the various attractions there.

Many, many more are on the way — ready or not.

We're not.