From Highway Boondoggle to Neighborhood Boulevard

In a recent Facebook post, I got caught in a back, and forth about the never ending transit conversation in Hillsborough County, Florida. There was a criticism of a former county commissioner Mark Sharpe (Republican) and his transit boondoggles. I've known Mark for a long time. I'm well aware of the expenses of the many transportation studies and the waste they generated. I've barked at him for years. Sometimes there were small victories but saw very little manifest. Republicans dominate our County, and they vote party line whether it's right or wrong.  We have for years lobbied, participated in endless roundtable discussions demonstrated and appeared in droves to the many public meetings and for what? Zero.

Charrette meeting in Seminole Heights, Tampa 2016

Aside from all the rhetoric, the fact remains a mass transit system is necessary for a burgeoning metropolis such is the case of the Tampa Bay region. We need a dedicated source of funding, raising the millage by 2 points would be a good start.  We need a functioning urban planning team with a mandate to help build a grid and systems to move us forward. What we have today lacks the political mandate to grow an integrated system with mass transit and roads.

The current County Commission continues to allot lands to developers without incorporating the impact of how those future residents travel from point A to point B. It has been like this for the whole tenure of the Republican led county commission. Their mantra is if it doesn't make a profit it's not worth it. Well, there's a good argument against that logic. When it comes to most government services, they still have to operate in bad economic times. The private sector, on the other hand, tends to bailout when times are tough.  Remember the hoopla around Ybor Centro? Though it's not an essential government service, the premise is the same, when it crashed taxpayers then had to foot the bill.  Mass transit is mostly a government service. Airlines get massive subsidies from the federal government. Some from the Department of Defense, others from the Essential Air Services program to aid rural areas. The benefactors are US based airlines. You would think they would have loyalty to country and its workforce, but many have outsourced other components with those subsidies.  The private sector is not all compassionate. It's all about the investors and in most cases shortchange their employees.

Image courtesy TBBJ by Janelle Erwin

Concept by Joshua Frank, Urban Planner

There is good news. A new generation is stepping up to the plate proposing viable alternatives to our transportation needs, incorporating both the public and private sector. There's currently a proposal to create a Boulevard to replace the north south segment of I-275. It offers opportunities for the industry by way of building the infrastructure. Afterward, condos, apartments, offices, tech centers, schools, the possibilities are many.  Two things stand out, unlike roads, it expands our tax base and provide upward mobility for the masses.

Metropolitan Planning Organization Public Meeting August 1, 2017 at 9:00 a.m.