TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Stalled Road Projects Point To Rail As Best Hope For New Tampa

ADVERTISEMENT

The Tampa Tribune

Published: May 24, 2008

Road-widening projects that would move traffic faster between the university area and New Tampa are so far in the future that commuters are angry and frustrated.
Interstate 75 and the southern section of Bruce B. Downs are not on the schedule to be widened, and a promised expressway to I-275 has proved too costly to build.

The best solution is a light-rail line that would link the northern Hillsborough suburbs to USF, downtown Tampa and the airport. Rail works at peak efficiency in rush hours when roads are at capacity.

A light-rail connection wouldn't be cheap, and it wouldn't solve everyone's mobility issues. But if there are better ideas, someone should offer them.

Rail plans stalled here a decade ago when the Hillsborough County Commission decided taxes were high enough and road problems weren't that bad.

In the meantime, traffic has gotten worse, construction in Pasco County has boomed and the price of gasoline has exploded. The Urban Land Institute observes that a number of big Sunbelt cities are choking "in suburban car dependence and a history of disconnected regional development just as driving becomes increasingly expensive."

If Tampa is to keep up with its urban competition in places like Charlotte, Dallas, Phoenix, Denver, Atlanta and Miami, it needs to plan and build rail lines.

Tampa Mayor Pam Iorio has come to the same conclusion. She recently told us, "If we don't provide light rail for the residents of New Tampa, that area will be completely gridlocked. From the briefing I received, their road improvements that are slated to be made are not going to make a substantial difference in the movement of people, because you can eight-lane Bruce B. Downs but ultimately that's going to funnel right back down to the interstate system which is not planned for widening.

"DOT (the state Department of Transportation) was very upfront about the fact that I-75 has no money slated to ever be widened, I-275 is not going to be widened and the east-west road is likely not going to happen because it's not financially feasible. Bearss (Avenue) will stay the way it is and Morris Bridge Road is going to stay the way it is for environmental purposes.

"So what is the answer for people up there? We've got to be honest about things like that. So we've got to talk about rail."

The problem is bigger than the city or the state. Mary Peters, head of the U.S. Department of Transportation, has said, "You just can't depend on the federal government to bring the money in that was around when the interstate system was first built."

There is a glimmer of hope for widening all of Bruce B. Downs Boulevard. County Commissioner Ken Hagan, who has pushed for additional money for roads countywide, reassures New Tampa residents that the project is "the No. 1 priority on our unfunded road list."

It's hard to get excited about that. An eight-lane road jammed with tailgating cars is not an ideal solution in any case. An eight-lane road is an intimidating entranceway. Think of Fowler Avenue or Brandon Boulevard, the only eight-lane arterial roads in Hillsborough. New Tampa should aspire to a less nerve-wracking solution.

Two issues are at stake: the present diminishing quality of life and the diminishing prospects for future growth.

Rail could give fast access to jobs and classes in the university area, downtown and West Shore. Areas within a short drive of stations could replace remote fields and woodlands as prime sites for residential growth.

Seattle, which is opening a light-rail line next year, sees it that way. Lance Dickie, a Seattle Times columnist, writes: "The next big suburban land rush will be aboard light rail. The cliche about driving till you qualify for a home loan will be updated. Homes in Arlington will sell to young families whose daily car commute is to a park-and-ride lot and transfer to the light-rail station in Everett."

The same could happen here. The alternative, whether we like it or not, is far less appealing.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT