The mayors of Tampa Bay got together to promote a pending referendum on area transit yesterday.
The impact of AAF telling them they were not on the rail radar due to poor transit has had them "see the light".
Per the TBJ:
Tampa Bay mayors on board with transit initiatives
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Top elected officials of four of the largest cities in Tampa Bay want to put aside the perception that regional leaders don't always play well together – at least when it comes to transit.
Mayors of Tampa, St. Petersburg, Clearwater and Lakeland were united in their support for transit referendums on the November ballot, during a panel discussion at the Tampa Bay Partnership's Tampa Bay Transportation Forum 2014.
"We don't have a choice," said Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn, when asked why the region needs to be connected seamlessly with something other than roads. "We are competing for intellectual capital and for economic development opportunities."
Transit is a key talking point in corporate recruiting, said St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Kriseman.
"It's tough to attract business when our infrastructure lags other areas," Kriseman said. Companies want to know how they will meet their workforce needs, including attracting younger workers. "Millennials don't want to drive anymore. They want to jump on public transportation to get to work, get to the grocery store, get to a restaurant or entertainment venue. They don't want to have to own a car, pay for a car or insurance or gas."
The hospitality industry also needs a connected transit system, because that's what visitors from other areas, including Europe, are accustomed to, said Clearwater Mayor George Cretekos. "It's embarrassing to tell a visitor he can't get from the Tampa airport to anyplace else without taking two hours."
Local residents also need transit for jobs and health care services, said Lakeland Mayor Howard Wiggs. "In Polk County, we have over 60,000 veterans who need to get to the James Haley VA Hospital, and other citizens who need to get to Moffitt, who need to get to Tampa International Airport. When we look to the east, we have 7,500 folks who need to get to Disney."
Polk County voters will decide Nov. 4 on My Ride, My Road, a proposed sales tax to increase public transportation services and pay for maintenance and updates to roads and bridges.
Greenlight Pinellas, on the Nov. 4 ballot in Pinellas County, is a sales tax increase would fund better bus service and light rail.
It's unfortunate it has taken Tampa so long to deal with this, and there still isn't a referendum scheduled - yet. There is a big push to get a good clear plan on the ballot in 2016. The 2010 referendum in Hillsborough was not clear at all and could have been handled much better. It was a big opportunity missed.
Edit: The priorities right now are to get Greenlight Pinellas passed and hopefully My Ride, My Road will pass in Polk. Then, the hope is that Hillsborough voters will be so ashamed of having a smaller bus system than Polk County that they will support a referendum in Tampa.
^ Hillsborough leaders may take some big steps toward a referendum in the coming weeks.
First up is recommending a Long Range Transportation Plan that is based on a 1 cent sales tax increase. The MPO Board will make an initial vote on the plan this coming Tuesday with final vote in mid-November.
I believe the Policy Leadership Group also plans to release by the end of the year a final list of transportation projects to be funded by the sales tax.