Broad Support For Rail Transit Will Follow Smart, Statewide Plan

In a just world, the defeat in the Legislature of a questionable proposal to buy a CSX track for a commuter train in the Orlando area would not hurt independent efforts in the Tampa Bay area to build its own rail project.

Politics, however, can be unfair. Congressman John Mica of Winter Park warns that unless Orlando's plan gets rolling again, Florida can kiss goodbye any hope of winning federal money for rail anywhere else. We heard similar warnings from state transportation officials and from Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer, who said, "Tampa and Lakeland will never in our lifetimes see commuter rail if this goes down..."

Yet leaders in the Tampa area shouldn't be rattled or discouraged. They should continue working toward a sensible plan - with or without CSX as a partner - that merits majority support locally and in Tallahassee.

When the childish threats are forgotten, some important realities will remain.

•One urban area's transportation solutions should not negatively affect its neighbors. Yet to close the deal in Orlando, the state agreed to allow CSX to significantly increase the number of freight trains it runs through Polk County. Residents were never involved in the decision-making, a big mistake. Openness brings controversies to light early and provides ample time for compromise.

•All major urban areas need the same thing: a practical alternative to the automobile, especially for commuters.

•The Central Florida deal, which frees CSX from liability even if its trains cause a wreck, is a poor model on which to build future public-private partnerships. Tri-Rail, the commuter line between Miami and West Palm Beach, shares tracks with CSX freight trains and has given the private railroad similar liability protections. State Sen. Paula Dockery says the earlier concession was approved after being slipped into an unrelated bill, and was passed without debate. Florida need not assume this is the best deal it can get.

• The entire state needs a coherent plan to better move people safer, faster and more efficiently than on overcrowded highways. The Tampa Bay Regional Transportation Authority is working on a transit plan for this seven-county region, but it has no ability to link to Lakeland, much less points beyond. State leadership is needed, and it should begin with the governor. The process should be inclusive and transparent.

• More roads alone are not the answer, whether Mica remains a player or takes his ball and goes home. New expressways, such as the proposed east-west road in New Tampa, are proving too expensive to build, even with tolls.

• Building support for the right plan is more important than getting the plan done quickly. The Tampa Bay authority is hurrying preparation of a regional transportation plan so it can meet its own artificial deadline of getting into the next big transportation bill. It's quite possible for projects to be added long after bills are written. The Central Florida Commuter Rail Transit Project was recently added to the old transportation bill in an amendment making "technical corrections." Where there's a will, there's a way.

The important question is not which city goes first, but how all of Florida's urban areas can muster the political resolve to begin demanding - and getting - a fair share of federal transit grants.

Any elected representative who says that Florida, by refusing to overlook major flaws with Orlando's project, has disqualified itself from future competition for transit dollars, should find another line of work.

Of course, Tampa, Orlando and many other Florida cities will get federal funds if they send up well-planned projects backed by solid community support.

Mayor Pam Iorio and other local leaders have been talking about a light-rail project that would link Tampa International Airport to downtown and the University of South Florida area. TBARTA could use that line as a starting point for a regional system. Another idea is to contract with the federal passenger railroad, Amtrak, to provide wider service on freight tracks, as is being done in some other states.

Meanwhile, the TBARTA board is on the right track. It's planning a trip in June to look at rail systems in Charlotte, Dallas and Denver and learn from their success.

Such projects won support because they serve commuters and are good for the regional economy. And they did it without angering their neighbors and threatening their friends.