News & Public Affairs

Tampa City Councilman bothered by I-4 connector project delay listen

01/07/09 Mitch E. Perry

Tags: Interstate 4 connector, transportation

The Hillsborough County Metropolitan Planning Organization today passed a plan for road improvements that will be funded in part by the the Florida Department of Transportation over the next five years.

But Tampa City Councilman John Dingfelder initially expressed unhappiness with the plan, because it will delay construction of a long-awaited link between the Interstate 4 and the Lee Roy Selmon Crosstown Expressway for three more years.

The connector will be a mile-long series of eleva...

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TBARTA ponders costs of transit system listen

12/19/08 Seán Kinane
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Tags: TBARTA, Mass Transit, Transportation

A regional transit network in the Tampa Bay area could cost between $11 and $23 billion. During their monthly board meeting this morning, TBARTA, the Tampa Bay Area Regional Transportation Authority, contemplated how to pay for that system.

Bob Clifford was recently hired to be TBARTA’s first executive director. He said that costs for a regional transit system have to include the costs of existing bus service as well as new con...

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TBARTA considers sales tax for transit listen

09/26/08 Seán Kinane
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Tags: TBARTA, transportation, light rail, Pam Iorio, Frank Hibbard

The bay area’s transit board met today in Tampa. One topic the Tampa Bay Area Regional Transportation Authority (TBARTA) covered was long-term funding for regional transportation projects.

Clearwater Mayor Frank Hibbard, chair of TBARTA’s funding and finance committee, suggested two ways to fund TBARTA long-term: One is through part of a surcharge on rental cars that now goes to the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT); another is through an increase in sales tax. Hibbard said TBART...

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Tampa streetcar manager ousted listen

08/07/08 Mitch E. Perry
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Tags: HART, light rail, mass transit, transportation

Tampa City Councilwoman Mary Mulhern had harsh words today regarding the firing of Tampa’s Streetcar Manager by Hillsborough County’s transit system agency, HART.

Tim Borchers was hired to manage the streetcar line in 2002. His firing was said to be intended to save money and improve service.

Councilwoman Linda Saul-Sena also expressed reservations about the firing.

The streetcar has been derided by some as a boondoggle, but HART Executive Director David Armijo says currently 36,000...

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Forum held on TBARTA master plan listen

08/06/08 Mark Anderson
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Tags: TBARTA, Mass Transit, Transportation

Last night, the Tampa Bay Area Regional Transit Authority (TBARTA) held an open forum in Tampa to solicit citizen’s input on development of a rapid transit master plan to be completed by the end of 2008.

TBARTA was created as a state agency in July 2007. It’s charter is to plan, construct and operate rapid transit in Citrus, Hernando, Pasco, Hillsborough, Pinellas, Manatee and Sarasota counties. TBARTA aims to improve mobility and expand multimodal transportation throughout the region, a...

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Gandy Boulevard transportation projects under fire listen

07/29/08 Seán Kinane
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Tags: Transportation, FDOT, THEA, Pam Iorio, impact fees, light rail

Gandy Boulevard is undergoing major renovation in South Tampa. This morning at the Jan Platt Library, Mayor Pam Iorio and other city and transportation officials listened to concerns of residents about those projects.

Citizens had three major concerns about future Gandy construction: the possibility of tolls, a 30-foot median, and an elevated portion of the road.

Joseph Waggoner, the new executive director of the Tampa-Hillsborough Expressway Authority (THEA), asked people to join a n...

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Hart unveils Town 'N Country transfer station listen

07/29/08 Mitch E. Perry
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Tags: Transportation, Hart

Although oil prices have been tumbling in recent weeks, $4 a gallon gas prices may have done what seemed impossible in the Tampa Bay Area – led more people to take the bus.

Ridership on Pinellas County buses is up 9 percent this year, and up 7 percent in Hillsborough County. In fact, business on Hart's express service is up 29 percent over last year.

On Tuesday, local officials and community members in the Town 'N Country area in Northwest Hillsborough County celebrated the grand openi...

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Economic Development Conference held in Tampa listen

05/19/08 Seán Kinane
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Tags: Legislature, 2008 election, CSX, TBARTA, Transportation, budget cuts, commuter rail, marriage amendment

The Florida Economic Development Conference is taking place in Tampa this week. The focus of this gathering of business leaders is “Driving Transformation: Innovations fueling economic development.”

The conference, sponsored by the Florida Economic Development Council, featured a lunchtime panel Monday with current and former Florida lawmakers discussing the legislative session that ended this month. There was optimism about the state’s economy from Sen. Mike Fasano, despite the fact that...

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Pinellas commissioner discusses light rail listen

05/02/08 Mitch E. Perry
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Tags: Transportation

As leadership in the Tampa Bay Area seems to be getting closer to putting together a package to bring light rail to the region, the community is looking at other cities for guidance.

Last week Richard Simonetta, chief executive officer of Valley Metro Rail, the transit authority in Pheonix, presented an overview to the Tampa Bay Area Regional Transit Authority (TBARTA).

Pinellas County Commission Chairman Ronnie Duncan serves as vice chair of TBARTA. He told WMNF this week that he tr...

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Tampa begins National Bike Month listen

05/02/08 Mitch E. Perry
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Tags: Transportation, Cycling

May is National Bike Month, and to observe the occasion, more than three dozen cyclists rode into downtown Tampa on Friday.

With gasoline rising toward $4 a gallon, the incentive to ride a bike has never been greater. Just outside of Mayor Pam Iorio’s office, National Bike Month was noted, with dozens of cyclists being a part of the festivities.

One of those cyclists was Bob Glaser, chair of the Tampa Downtown Partnership. He referred to a local group responsible for the event, Tam...

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