News & Public Affairs
Pinellas transit agency writes governor, welcomes new executive director listen
05/25/11 Kate BradshawWMNF Drive-Time News Wednesday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: Tranist, Pinellas County, TBARTA, HART, PSTA, Rick Scott
In a week where his approval rating hit an all-time low of just 29 percent, Governor Rick Scott’s mailbox appears to be brimming with correspondence from agencies across the state. Whether or not he’ll read his mail, Pinellas County’s transit board is among the latest to write the governor urging him not to ax funding.
Although the state legislature left funding intact for the Tampa Bay Area Regional Transportation Authority, also known as TBARTA, the governor may not. PSTA board Chair RB ...
Be the first to commentHART board nearly kills rail study listen
05/02/11 Kate BradshawWMNF Drive-Time News Monday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: HART, Bus Rapid Transit, BRT, David Armijo, Mark Sharpe, Kevin Beckner, Sandy Murman, alternatives analysis
Exactly six months ago today, Hillsborough County voters turned down a transit overhaul that a hike in the sales tax would have funded. Since then, efforts to amp up local public transit have faced several political road blocks. The county’s transit board came close to dealing a fatal blow to the county’s fledgling plan to amp up its public transit system – something many hoped to do by building light rail.
A year ago, County Commissioner and Hillsborough Area Regional Transit Board member...
Be the first to commentHART Board extends CEO David Armijo's paid leave listen
04/04/11 Kate BradshawWMNF Drive-Time News Monday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: HART, TBARTA, Hillsborough County, penny transit tax, David Armijo, light rail, administrative leave, alleged corruption, Mark Sharpe, Kevin Beckner, Sandy Murman
Hillsborough County’s top transit official is facing tough scrutiny in the wake of accusations of misconduct ranging from retaliation against whistleblowers and misuse of travel funds. Today the Hillsborough Area Regional Transit board placed agency CEO David Armijo on two more weeks of paid leave while they try to figure out whether or not to keep him on board.
The complaints came back in February. Two weeks ago the board voted to suspend HART CEO David Armijo with pay when national emplo...
Be the first to commentTampa Bay Transit Call-In
03/21/11 Jon ButtsSustainable Living and Alternative Health Listen to this entire show:
Tags: HART, TBARTA, PSTA, transit, light rail, rail, busses
On today’s program our guests were Managers of Community Relations for two of our area’s largest counties’ transportation providers. Bob Lasher joined us from Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority and Donna Chen from Hillsborough Area Regional Transit Authority. Also we were happy to have Sandi Moody, with Tampa Bay Area Regional Transportation Authority (TBARTA). Sandi was formally with Bay Area Commuter Services, which has merged with TBARTA, So we still have an agency in our area that provid...
Be the first to commentPinellas & Hillsborough transit agencies consider rail over Tampa Bay listen
02/15/11 Kate BradshawWMNF Drive-Time News Tuesday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: HART, PSTA, David Armijo, Mark Sharpe, Jeff Danner
If you’re one of the thousands of people who drive across the Howard-Frankland Bridge twice daily, you know how brutal that rush-hour traffic can get. Picture, instead, traversing the Bay via rail – reading the paper, staring out the window, texting to your heart’s content. Today the transit agencies from Pinellas and Hillsborough talked about making room for a possible rail line when the state replaces the bridge’s eastbound expanse. Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority consultant Don Kloehn ...
3 commentsHART may build demonstration rail line to airport listen
02/07/11 Kate BradshawWMNF Drive-Time News Monday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: HART, transit, light rail, Tampa Bay, Mark Sharpe, Kevin Beckner, Sandy Murman
Could a demonstration rail line between downtown Tampa and the airport convince residents to support projects to ease rush hour gridlock? Hillsborough County’s regional transit board wants to continue looking at rail, but the obvious question is how to fund it.
The Hillsborough Area Regional Transit Authority, also known as HART, has strongly advocated light rail for combating gridlock. Hillsborough County voters opted not to raise their sales tax in order to fund...
Be the first to commentHART to weigh carpool lanes, light-rail starter line listen
01/24/11 Kate BradshawWMNF Drive-Time News Monday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: HART, TBARTA, Hillsborough County, penny transit tax, David Armijo, BRT, light rail
As rush hour picks up throughout Tampa Bay, you may be wondering if there will ever be a fix for all the gridlock. Transportation officials met in Tampa today to talk about possible short term solutions to Tampa’s transit woes.
Being stuck in traffic is a fact of life almost everywhere, especially in the Tampa Bay area. Hillsborough County voters said no to a large-scale transit overhaul, but Hillsborough Area Regional Transit (or HART) officials are still looking at ways to ease traffic o...
6 commentsHART board may weigh BRT for Bruce B. Downs listen
01/03/11 Kate BradshawWMNF Drive-Time News Monday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: HART, transit, light rail, bus rapid transit, Kevin Beckner, Hillsborough MPO
If you’re stuck in traffic on Bruce B. Downs Boulevard right now, you may wonder if the gridlock will ever end. Hillsborough voters may have rejected a sales tax boost to fund a transit overhaul, but some county officials still hope to tackle traffic on Bruce B Downs many commuters know well.
Whether or not you supported the November transit initiative, which, among other things, would have funded rail, you’re probably not too keen on spending weekday afternoons moving along the pavement a...
3 commentsHART Board gives CEO raise, mulls Pinellas transit aspirations listen
12/06/10 Kate BradshawWMNF Drive-Time News Monday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: HART, TBARTA, Hillsborough County, penny transit tax, David Armijo, Pinellas County
In the wake of last month’s election, the Hillsborough Area Regional Transit Authority has a new makeup – including Sandy Murman, a freshly-elected Republican County Commissioner. How this will affect the organization’s transit plan has yet to be seen, but rail continues to factor in as the board looks to the future.
It was one of the HART board’s slimmest agendas in recent memory. The board meets one Monday morning per month at a bleary 8:30 time slot. In the lead-up to last month’s faile...
Be the first to commentTampa Bay area transit officials and business leaders hope to resuscitate rail listen
11/17/10 Kate BradshawWMNF Drive-Time News Wednesday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: HART, TBARTA, Hillsborough County, penny transit tax, Mark Sharpe, Pinellas, Ed Turanchik, No Tax for Tracks
Looking to raise rail from the ashes of the November Second vote, Tampa Bay area transit leaders met at the Straz Center this morning to reflect on what they’ve learned. They discussed possible reasons the penny transit tax withered on Hillsborough’s ballot, and speculated possible strategies for its future success.
Officials say there’s no silver bullet that nails the reason Hillsborough County voters didn’t buy into funding rail, bus and road improvements with a penny from every dollar t...
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