Tampa Gets it

[downtownparks]

http://www.wtsp.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=104689&catid=8

Tampa, FL -- Tampa, FL -- A plan to keep us moving in the Tampa Bay of the future will be unveiled today, and it proposes a pair of major new changes for the area in the next 25 years.

Seven counties are officially included in the plan, from Citrus south to Sarasota. The group behind it, the Tampa Bay Area Transportation Authority or "TBARTA", plans to release the blueprint and start getting public feedback Friday morning.

First major change: light rail

Like MARTA in Atlanta or the 'L' in Chicago, small, short-distance trains would link several destinations and connect to bus routes and international airports on both sides of Tampa Bay.

If they get public support, the light rail routes in Hillsborough County would create a square running from Downtown Tampa east to Ybor City, then north to USF and Temple Terrace, then west to Carrollwood, and south again to Downtown.

From each corner of the square, a line would reach out further into the suburbs. To the east, the line would extend from Ybor City to Brandon. To the north, a train would reach from USF to Wesley Chapel.

To the west, rails would stretch from Carrollwood to Oldsmar. And a line would run south of Downtown Tampa across the Howard Frankland Bridge to Pinellas County.

Light rail in Pinellas County

Light rail lines on the Pinellas side of the bay would have a triangular shape, if the proposal is approved by the public. The line coming from Tampa would split in two directions at or near St. Pete-Clearwater International Airport.

A southern line would reach Downtown St. Petersburg. A western line would extend from the airport to Largo and Clearwater. A third main line would move diagonally across southern Pinellas, connecting Largo and St. Petersburg.

Second major change: carpool lanes

They're common in many places, but not yet in the Tampa Bay area: carpool lanes. TBARTA's plan suggests building carpool lanes with a 21st Century twist: folks could drive in them with two or more people in their cars, buses would be allowed in so bus riders don't sit in traffic jams, and people who are all alone in their cars could get in the lanes -- if they pay a toll.

Some folks call those "Lexus lanes", and the toll money would help pay for the road. TBARTA uses the term "managed access lanes".

In the plan, managed access lanes would be added along Interstate 75 from Wesley Chapel south to Fruitville Road in Sarasota. They'd also be built on Interstate 4 from Lakeland west to the end of the highway.

If it's approved, the plan would also add managed access lanes along State Road 54 in Pasco County from Wesley Chapel to New Port Richey, as well as along East Lake Road and McMullen-Booth Road starting near State Road 54 and ending near St. Pete-Clearwater International Airport.

What will this cost?

TBARTA's regional master plan is designed to lay out Tampa Bay's roads, rails, and long-distance bus routes so that they're added in useful places and connect together into a big network. When the plan's unveiled Friday, it will include a 25-year vision and a 40-year vision.

Much of the 25-year plan could be built a cost of about $2.40 per week per household in the Tampa Bay area, TBARTA estimates. That money could come from several sources, including local governments or private investors. Matching money from the state and federal government would then pay for the bulk of the projects.

In return for that cost, TBARTA figures commuters will save real money -- and we'll all see a better quality of life.

If the plan's put into action, 25 years from now, folks will annually drive a total of nearly two million miles less, save almost 11 million gallons of fuel, and spend almost three million fewer hours sitting in traffic, compared to if we'd done nothing, TBARTA says.

Right now, the average Tampa Bay commuter spends 46 hours a year sitting in traffic -- that's in addition to their normal commute drive time, TBARTA says. That traffic-sitting time is worth an average of $809 per commuter in lost work time, according to the new master plan.

Planners want your input

The goal of releasing this master plan to the public now is to open the proposal up for input from people around Tampa Bay. TBARTA will be taking comments online with this form, by phone at 813-217-4048, and by mail at this address. If you're not interested in calling the agency, be prepared, because they may call you.

Over the next two weeks, a TBARTA phone system will call more than 300,000 households in the Tampa Bay area. The calls will invite folks to take part in one of a series of "iTownHall meetings" on the phone with their neighbors, members of the TBARTA board, and TBARTA staff members.

If you're not one of the people randomly called, you'll still be able to take part in the meetings. For details on how the iTownHall meetings will work, check out this PDF document.

Follow 10 Connects multi-media journalist Grayson Kamm on Twitter as @graysonkamm.
Grayson Kamm, 10 Connects

[Jason]

Did Grayson Kamm move to Tampa?

[Doctor_K]

Yes.  About a year ago.

[Jason]

Oh OK. 

Back to the article... I'd love to be reading about Jacksonville's own plans in the near future.  Tampa is still further behind the curve than Jax because they are already much larger and have no better transportation than Jax.

[thelakelander]

I think Tampa may be making a mistake by attempting to win public approval to raise taxes before moving forward with anything.  Tampa/Hillsborough is already pretty conservative and this is a time when families are struggling to meet their household budgets.  I guess we'll have to wait and see.

[tufsu1]

believe me...TBARTA is not the savior everyone thinks it is....they are going to have the same problem JTA does right now....mixed priorities between roads and transit.

Anyone care to guess which major projects get done first....managed lanes or light/commuter rail?

And, btw....for those that think JTA is behind the curve, they aready have a similar map of the region...called its Transit Initiatives

[thelakelander]

JTA Transit Initiatives

[fsujax]

Wow. JTA has a transit initiative map...who would have known!

[Doctor_K]

LoL.  Actually I've seen this before.  On this site maybe?  Now all that remains is that they implement the thing.

[thelakelander]

Yes, it was featured on this site back in February.

http://www.metrojacksonville.com/content/view/1009/116/

[Ocklawaha]

While it's true that Tampa is larger they have a head start on LRT as the TECO line was built to LRT track standards. They have the money to extend into downtown, another 1/2 mile or so. The downside is they are still dealing with a population mix of ultra Conservative Southern and transplanted retired "Don't tax me for YOUR problems YANKEE retirees." It seems at times like we will discover good transportation and livability about the time that Seattle, Portland and San Francisco build city parks on the moon!!

FYI: JTA is much larger then HART both in number of buses and coaches and in routes. All this and the slogan of the old TECO streetcar line was "ALWAYS A CAR IN SIGHT!"

OCKLAWAHA
'

[copperfiend]

Exciting news in Jacksonville as a Wal Mart near the Avenues will be opening soon.

[reednavy]

I like how they totally distort the 2 references. MARTA and the "L" are not light rail, that is heavy rail.

[thelakelander]

Yeah, I noticed that as well.  Here is the plan the article refers to.

[Ocklawaha]

That line that runs North under "long distance rail" is shown ending in Brooksville. This is part of a former Mainline that continued North to Inverness and Dunnellon, and hence to Gainesville to Waldo. IF we could get a support steamroller moving with Amtrak, Jax, Tampa etc... We could add that line back to our intercity passenger routes from Jacksonville Terminal.

There is also merit (for us) in the line South from Tampa Union Station, to Bradenton, Sarasota, Venice. This was a long time route of connecting coaches and sleepers from NY-JAX / Chicago-Jax to Venice. Most of the track is still in place, the Venice extension is questionable, but the rest is savable. It would just add another string of pearls to both Tampa Union Station and Jacksonville Terminal.

OCKLAWAHA