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Would You Commute By Train Or Ferry?

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By LAURA KINSLER, The Tampa Tribune

Published: March 8, 2008

TAMPA - Tampa Bay transportation planners know area commuters are sick and tired of sitting in traffic. Now, they want to find out whether drivers would rather travel by rail, water or toll roads.

The Tampa Bay Area Regional Transportation Authority is hosting the first round of public workshops for a master plan to improve mobility within its seven counties: Citrus, Hernando, Hillsborough, Manatee, Pasco, Pinellas and Sarasota. The authority has two years to approve a plan. The first workshop is Monday in Temple Terrace.

The current proposal calls for enhanced public transportation, including services that have never been tried in the Tampa Bay area. Ferries could move people between downtown Tampa, St. Petersburg, Bradenton and Apollo Beach.

A light rail system could get people out of their cars. That plan calls for using existing CSX lines to connect Tampa to St. Petersburg, Clearwater, Brooksville, Bradenton and Polk County. Clearwater and St. Petersburg also would be connected, and another rail line would extend from Bradenton to the Hillsborough County line.

A light rail system linking St. Petersburg and Tampa would extend across Tampa Bay. It would include stops at the former Toytown landfill site and in the West Shore business district.

Authority chairman Shelton Quarles said he's a proponent of rail.

"When I lived in Vancouver, I hardly ever drove," said the former Buccaneers linebacker, who also played for the British Columbia Lions of the Canadian Football League. "I prefer to travel by transit. I took the SkyTrain everywhere, or I took a cab."

Quarles said a system like the one in Dallas could work in the Tampa Bay area. "You have to make sure it's something that has good appeal and is attractive," Quarles said. "I'm sure I'll be riding it, especially if it goes to the airport. That's important to me because I fly in and out of here all the time."

Bob Clifford, regional planner for the Florida Department of Transportation, said state and area leaders need to look at different ways of building highways, too. Car pool lanes and designated truck lanes could improve traffic flow in a market where commuting times have doubled in the past 15 years and are projected to get worse.

"The car culture in Tampa is really affecting our quality of life and the economic development of the entire region," Clifford said.

WHEN AND WHERE

TBARTA community workshops will be held in all seven member counties. All workshops are from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. For details, call (813) 217-4048 or visit www.tbarta.com.

•Monday, Hilton Garden Inn, 13305 Tampa Oaks Blvd., Temple Terrace

•Tuesday, Hernando County Courthouse, 20 N. Main St., Brooksville

•Wednesday, Lecanto Government Building, Room 166, 3600 W. Sovereign Path, Lecanto

•Thursday, Holiday Inn Select, 3535 Ulmerton Road, Clearwater

•March 17, Bradenton Auditorium, 1005 Barcarrota Blvd., Bradenton

•March 18, West Pasco Government Center, 7530 Little Road, New Port Richey

•March 20, Twin Lakes Park, 6700 Clark Road, Sarasota

Reporter Laura Kinsler can be reached at (813) 865-4844 or lkinsler@tampatrib.com.

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