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.

Executive Director of TBARTA, Chiaramonte seals the deal for I 275 Expansion

Raymond A. Chiaramonte, Executive Director of TBARTA (Tampa Bay Area Regional Transportation Authority) seals the deal for 275 expansion. 

In response to a letter Chiaramonte writes:

Dear Mr. John Q. Public,

Thank you for your email. We greatly appreciate your interest in transportation issues in the Tampa Bay area, specifically Hillsborough County. With over 450,000 new residents expected in Hillsborough alone by 2040, it is certainly an imperative that citizens stay engaged to provide the best possible solutions that benefit not just us, but the region as a whole.

Regarding TBARTA (Tampa Bay Area Regional Transportation Authority), we do not advocate for transit alone – the needs of our region expand beyond a single mode – but address the needs and choices of all commuters, including car, bicycle, walking, boating, carpooling, transit, as well as expanding options for freight across the seven-county region of Citrus, Hernando, Pasco, Hillsborough, Pinellas, Sarasota, and Manatee County. We also work closely with Polk County, and constantly collaborate with HART, PSTA, PCPT, MCAT, SCAT, and other transit agencies and planning authorities to advocate for solutions to our regional transportation issues.

There is no transportation mode silver bullet solution that will address all of the issues that we face to keep our region a place individuals want to live, work, commute and play. We live in a very complex, rapidly growing metropolitan area where all modes must be expanded to meet our ever increasing needs. To start, it is critical that we acknowledge, as a region, the multifaceted nature of urban transportation, and that to remain competitive with other regions throughout the state and country, we will need to be flexible in our approach. The key to this will be to remain collaborative and committed to open discourse throughout the process, making regular improvements through review and assessment of how the proposed solutions address the needs of our communities. Your engagement has been, and continues to be meaningful proof that we are well on our way to successfully addressing this challenge.

Specifically regarding the Tampa Bay Express lane project (TBX), the project is confined to the same areas as the original build of the interstate system did in the 1960’s. There is little if any new Right-of-Way needed north of Martin Luther King Boulevard or west of downtown since the envelop for the project is already largely in place. Construction is also almost totally within existing ROW between downtown Tampa east to the Polk Parkway. The only area where some additional right of way is needed is the area of the existing interchange between I-4 and I-275 near downtown Tampa. FDOT is working with the community to try and come up with final designs that could actually improve some existing situations in that area. It is important that community leaders participate in this effort in making sure this 20-year-old project is implemented in the best possible way.

The importance of this project to connect the region together cannot be over emphasized. The TBX lanes are the foundation of a project that includes 4 out of the 8 top regional priorities for TBARTA’s seven-county region. These projects form the core of the region’s main transportation plan providing access to Hillsborough County’s regional centers. As you probably know, Hillsborough employment nodes form the largest job centers in West Central Florida, this includes Tampa International Airport, the University of South Florida, the largest hospitals, largest port, largest convention center, largest museum area, and Busch Gardens, the largest attraction. Tampa International Airport just alone serves over 4,000,000 people annually from outside Hillsborough County, roughly 11,000 people a day (20,000 daily if you include Hillsborough residents). These numbers make up only 39% of airport passengers – the other 61% of passengers are tourists who do not live in the region, but use our roadways.

Along with the attractors mentioned, Hillsborough County absorbs huge amounts of incoming traffic each day with 230,000 vehicles entering from the north and 240,000 vehicles entering from the west; this is not even considering the traffic from the east and south. These lanes will greatly help in separating some of this pass-through traffic from local traffic. These are facts that exist and must be dealt with using all forms of transportation solutions.

The plan for TBX lanes include the opportunity for express bus transit connecting the immediate areas outside the City of Tampa, and will ultimately include the entire seven-county region with premium transit. The express bus system now in place in Miami-Ft. Lauderdale has 2,500 boarding’s a day on its express lanes. This will provide an important move forward for premium bus transit while at the same time in some cases providing the transit envelope for future rail transit. The TBX lanes will also allow emergency vehicles and school buses an opportunity to bypass existing traffic. We have to start expansion of transit somewhere and the express lanes provide the opportunity for doing that.

The reconstruction of the interstate system to serve the immense transportation needs of a region approaching 4,000,000 in population can help address neighborhood issues that already exist through consideration of sound walls, landscaping, trails, CPTED design, iconic gateways, lighting and other possible amenities to be considered as part of the design process.

The bottom line: this is a way for the Tampa Bay Area to move forward toward transit that can include both bus and rail in the future. It is our turn for a major project in this region. The money will go to another region if we do not follow through. If we let this opportunity pass, we will only be that much further behind in addressing our transportation problems. This can be a win/win situation if we work together. We can’t work on solutions unless we move forward and work together on a plan through the PDE process.

Again, we appreciate your interest in this issue, and hope that in the future we are able to engage in an open dialogue about transportation options for our future. We look forward to this opportunity.

Best Regards,

Ray

Ramond A. Chiaramonte

Executive Director

Tampa Bay Area Regional Transportation Authority (TBARTA)

New address: 4350 West Cypress Street, Suite 700 | Tampa, FL 33607

P: 813-282-8200 | 800-998-RIDE (7433) | F: 813-282-8700