News & Public Affairs

Hillsborough County Commission passes transit ballot question language listen

03/17/10 Kate Bradshaw
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Tags: Al Higginbotham, Kevin Beckner, Kevin White, Mike Merrill, Rose Ferlita, HART, Jim Norman, Frank Hibbard

After months of debating how to ask voters to approve a one-cent sales tax increase to fund transit, the Hillsborough Board of County Commissioners has approved language for the November ballot.

They were given three wording options. Option A left out the percentage of the revenue that would go toward public transit vs. road projects. B and C didn’t. They went with option C, which Commissioner Rose Ferlita proposed because of its structure.

Al Higginbotham was one of two commissioners ...

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HART Board Mulls Transit Tax Ballot Language listen

03/01/10 Kate Bradshaw
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Tags: HART, TBARTA, Mark Sharpe, Kevin Beckner, Steven Polzine, Mass Transit, light rail

The Hillsborough Area Regional Transit Board today mulled over how it will propose a sweeping transit overhaul to voters in November. The ballot question will ask Hillsborough voters whether they want to fund the multi-billion dollar project which includes light rail, bus line and road improvements with a one percent sales tax increase.

Supporters say this would change the way Tampa Bay commutes - possibly good news for a region recently voted worst in the nation...

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HART looks at New Tampa for a light rail stop listen

02/15/10 Joshua Lee Holton
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Tags: Transportation, transit, transportation funding, transit referrendum, light rail, HART

There are seriously crowded roads in the New Tampa area. Hillsborough Area Regional Transit board members decided today that they may have a remedy for the traffic jams. HART officials in Ybor City agreed to look at improving congestion on Bruce B. Downs.

HART is seeking to provide some alternatives to the use of cars, such as express buses, road improvements and a light rail network. HART’s Chief of Planning & Program Development Mary Shavalier says that in addition to the USF, Downtown,...

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Hillsborough County Transportation Task Force on transit funding. listen

02/10/10 Joshua Lee Holton
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Tags: TBARTA, HART, Transportation, transit referrendum, transportation funding, transit, Mark Sharpe

There was hot debate today about the future of transportation at the Hillsborough County Commission. Their Transportation Task Force is working out plans for governance and oversight of the latest road, bus and rail projects, but time is running short to decide who will oversee regional transportation funding.

Working with Hillsborough Area Regional Transit, or HART, the County’s Transportation Task Force is reaching out to municipalities, as they plan for transportation priorities. To fu...

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HART to begin its Flex service in April listen

02/05/10 Seán Kinane
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Tags: HART, Transportation

Beginning in April, people in southern Hillsborough County and Brandon will be able to take the bus in a new way. The Hillsborough Area Regional Transit Authority, or HART, will begin its on-demand Flex service.

WMNF spoke with Kathy Karalekas, HART’s public information officer.

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HART On The Move Toward Better Transit listen

01/04/10 Concetta DeLuco
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Tags: HART, Mark Sharpe, light rail, high speed rail, bullet train, Transportation, transportation funding

The drive for major transportation changes in Hillsborough County continues to progress. At the Hillsborough County Transit Authority (HART) meeting this morning, members evaluated the progress of the county’s transit plans and the next move for Hillsborough.

Over the past few months, Hillsborough County has picked up speed on the move toward major transportation reform. Such changes include talks of transit improvements like better bus systems and a light rail and non-transit upgrades lik...

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Hills. County Commission to Adopt Transit Tax Ballot Measure listen

11/04/09 Kate Bradshaw
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Tags: Pam Iorio, Hillsborough County Commission, HART, Kevin White, Al Higginbotham, Jim Norman, Mark Sharpe

The Hillsborough County Commission voted 5-2 to move forward on getting a referendum on next year’s ballot that would allow funding for a massive overhaul of the area’s public transit system. The move does not mean a mass transit referendum is imminent, but it does bring the taxpayer-funded project one step closer to the ballot. Commissioner Mark Sharpe is one of the strongest advocates of creating a penny tax that would raise billions of dollars over the next three decades for the project. ...

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HART board considers economic development around transit lines listen

11/02/09 Seán Kinane
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Tags: HART, light rail, Transportation, transit referrendum

On Wednesday, Hillsborough County Commissioners will begin considering if they should let voters decide to raise the sales tax to pay for transportation. Light rail lines linking downtown Tampa with USF and Westshore would be the first mass transit projects to be constructed if citizens approve a one-cent sales tax increase.

The Hillsborough Area Regional Transit Authority (HART), would also use some of the funds to enhance bus service in the county. This morning, th...

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Street Car gets Whiting extension line listen

10/09/09 Joshua Lee Holton
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Tags: streetcar, transit, TECO, HART

Today the Teco Line Street Car System’s Whiting Street Extension had it’s groundbreaking ceremony at the downtown YMCA. The extension will use federal stimulus money and is one measure to bring more public transportation to the Tampa Bay Area.

The 4th grade class from the Rampello Downtown Partnership School Band played at the ceremony. City council members John Dingfelder and Linda Saul-Sena attended, along with all the TECO board members and HART’s engineering staff. TECO’s David Ar...

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HART alternative analysis could depend on sales tax listen

09/10/09 Seán Kinane

Tags: HART, light rail, Transportation

The Hillsborough Area Regional Transit Authority (HART) is conducting a study of possible transportation routes from USF to downtown, and from downtown to the Westshore business district. This “alternative analysis” could help determine the route of future light rail lines, assuming county residents are willing to pay for them.

A regional transportation network is expected to have its light rail beginnings in Tampa. A USF to downtown line could open by 2018 and another line from downtown t...

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