Transportation plan is morethan a commuter train

Editorial

A train linking downtown Tampa to the airport and to the USF area and beyond has long been the focus of the debate over the transportation referendum, which leaves suburban voters feeling shortchanged.

But approval of an extra one-cent-per-dollar sales tax is also needed for major improvements in bus service, roads and sidewalks in many areas that won't soon enjoy rail service.

Both the bus agency HART and the business community supporting the plan have tried to spread the word that most of the money from the tax will go to buses and highway improvements.

In the Brandon area, for example, a rail line is on the map, but it's far in the future.

Immediate plans will add bus routes on Brandon Boulevard, Bloomingdale Avenue and Lithia Pinecrest Road. And buses will come more often.

Buses will come every 15 minutes, and at peak hours, every 10 minutes, says former U.S. Rep. Jim Davis of Tampa, one of the leaders of the transit campaign.

"That means," Davis says, "the bus is either coming or it's there. It's something you can depend on."

Bus hours will also be expanded countywide, with more weekend service. Express routes from Brandon will serve Westshore, USF, Citrus Park. From Gibsonton a new route will connect to MacDill Air Force Base. Everyone will have better access to the airport, Moffitt Cancer Center, the VA hospital and downtown Tampa.

Two new traffic lanes will be added to Lithia Pinecrest between Lumsden and Bloomingdale avenues and between Adelaide Avenue and Fishhawk Hills Drive. Two lanes will be added to Boyette Road between Balm Riverview and Bell Shoals roads. A new two-lane road will be built from Big Bend Road to Gibsonton Road.

John Moore Road will be improved from Bloomingdale Avenue to Lumsden Road.

Gornto Lake Road will be extended to connect to Brandon Boulevard, which will relieve pressure on the mall intersection to the west, one of the county's most hazardous crossroads.

Turn lanes, sidewalks and safety enhancements for pedestrians and bicyclists are also planned in many areas.

An on-call bus service called Flex will serve business and residential centers in the suburbs. It will take you anywhere within a half mile of the bus route. More details for Brandon, and for all communities in the county, are available at the Internet site movinghillsboroughforward.org.

Hillsborough County has no money in its budget for these needed improvements. Davis and others are explaining that in community meetings around the county. We believe if enough people hear and understand the issue, and see how much is at stake in their community, the tax will pass.