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Tampa To Create Transportation-Themed Web Site

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By RICH SHOPES

rshopes@tampatrib.com

Published: October 20, 2008

TAMPA - The city's transit czar is creating a transit-themed Web site.

Transit Manager Elaine McCloud said Mayor Pam Iorio's rail vision will be front and center of a city-run Web site devoted to mass transit.

She didn't have a final cost tally, but the city is creating the site in-house. McCloud expects it to be running by the end of the year.

The mayor wants light-rail trains operating from New Tampa to Tampa International Airport with stops at the University of South Florida, downtown and the West Shore district. A final leg would take riders north from the airport to Linebaugh Avenue.

Pro-transit nuggets will be sprinkled throughout the Web site, such as the cost of commuting by car and the fact that Tampa and Detroit are the only major U.S. cities without rail systems.

Links will connect users to other transit sites.

However, the site will sidestep what's likely to be a thorny issue moving forward. The mayor has proposed paying for the system with federal grants and a voter-approved sales tax in 2010. McCloud, a former transit executive, insisted the new Web site will not push for votes but rally for buses and trains.

"This is about mass-transit issues," she said. "The vision will be futuristic, in terms of looking at the direction the city is capable of going in."

The idea has attracted tentative support.

"Anything that shapes the conversation about transit is a good thing," HART spokeswoman Kathy Karalekas said.

Councilwoman Linda Saul-Sena said she hoped the site also promotes sidewalks, trails and bike paths - "other alternative modes" of transportation. "I also think it needs to have a place where people can provide feedback," she said.

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