Aviation board backs 1-cent light-rail referendum

The Hillsborough County Aviation Authority board on Thursday adopted a resolution to support a November county referendum, which would increase the sales tax by 1 cent to support light rail and other transit and non-transit mobility improvements.

Board members endorsed longstanding Tampa International Airport plans to provide light rail stations on airport property. They also made it clear that they believe a recent suggestion by some in the community to seek a high-speed rail station at the airport is not a suitable option.

"High-speed rail is a non-issue," said board member Steve Burton. Board member Joseph Diaco concurred, as did Al Austin, who more than two years ago announced his advocacy of light rail.

The comments followed a similar sentiment by Tampa Mayor Pam Iorio, who was outspoken in backing light rail connections between the airport and the proposed downtown high-speed rail terminal. Iorio has made the issue a cornerstone of her mayoral tenure.

"The federal government would never fund a high-speed station at the airport," Iorio said.

That impression is backed by a July 26 letter to Iorio by Kevin Thibault, executive director of Florida Rail Enterprise, which oversees the state's high-speed rail efforts. The project is expected to be completed between Tampa and Orlando by 2015.

Thibault said bus and light rail connections from the airport to Tampa's downtown high-speed station would provide the proper service. Among the factors he cited were high-speed infrastructure challenges and long-term plans for light rail and bus links serving the downtown high-speed station.

Airport plans on light rail were revealed in 1999 and have been updated on several occasions since. They show a rail terminal adjacent to the east of the main terminal, along with plans for a light rail terminal at a proposed North Terminal.The North proposal isan airport expansion project slated for 2023 if passenger demand by then supports an additional facility.

The airport would provide the right of way and finance the station. Revenue from the tax referendum would be used as matching funds for seeking federal grants to build and equip the initial phases of light rail in Tampa.