News & Public Affairs
Pinellas Transit draws light rail plans; 2013 referendum possible listen
02/17/12 Janelle IrwinWMNF Drive-Time News Friday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: Transportation, transit, Transit Referendum, psta, Sierra Club, Phil Compton, Bob Lasher, light rail, Pinellas County
Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority, or PSTA, has drawn plans to build 24 miles of light rail in Pinellas County with a connection to Tampa. At the Unitarian Universalist church in Clearwater last night, a spokesperson for Pinellas’s transit authority told Sierra Club members that the plan could significantly reduce congestion on roadways. The rail plan is called the [locally preferred alternative](http://www.psta.net/PDF/PSTA-HART...
Be the first to commentHigh school students learn about pedestrian safety; Postponed bill in Congress shuts out bicyclists, pedestrians listen
02/15/12 Janelle IrwinWMNF Drive-Time News Wednesday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: Transportation, transit, pedestrian deaths, pedestrian safety, bike lanes, Sierra Club, Phil Compton, John Mica
In October, a Middleton High School Student was hit and killed by a car while crossing Hillsborough Avenue on her way to school. The Florida Department of Transportation estimates that there are 375 people killed in car accidents annually in the Tampa area. But a transportation bill in the U.S. House would fund fewer projects that would make it safer to walk or ride a bike.
As he attempted to lead a group of te...
Be the first to commentSt. Pete Mayor Bill Foster supports light rail connection to other cities including Tampa listen
01/25/12 Janelle IrwinWMNF Drive-Time News Wednesday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: Bill Foster, light rail, transit, Suncoast Tiger Bay Club, Transportation, St. Petersburg
St. Petersburg mayor Bill Foster champions his city’s transportation accomplishments. At a Suncoast Tiger Bay luncheon Wednesday afternoon he said he fully supports implementing light rail to connect to other cities in the region.
Tiger Bay meetings boast the ability of members to carve a politician up for lunch. St. Pete Mayor Bill Foster found himself on that platter answering questions he said he didn’t want to answer. But w...
Be the first to commentFlorida Senate bill could be catalyst for HART & PSTA merger listen
10/24/11 Josh HoltonWMNF Drive-Time News Monday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: HART, psta, Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority, transit, Transportation, Sandra Murman, Jack Latvala
Some board members the Hillsborough Area Regional Transit Authority started planning their strategy to address new state legislation that could either dissolve the organization, or merge it with the Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority, or PSTA. HART attorney Chip Fletcher discussed the implications of Florida Senate Bill 192 during this morning’s Major Projects Committee.
HART and PS...
1 commentsPSTA begins trolley routes from downtown St. Pete to southern Pinellas beaches listen
10/03/11 Janelle IrwinWMNF Drive-Time News Monday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: Jeff Danner, psta, transit, pinellas beaches, Tampa Bay beaches chamber of commerce, St. Petersburg area chamber of commerce, Robin Sollie, Brad Miller, Chris Steinocher, transportation
Direct trolley routes connecting downtown St. Petersburg to south Pinellas beaches along Central Avenue began yesterday. Routes are now available from the Pier all the way to Pass-a-Grille beach for a two-dollar fare.
Before the opening of these routes, residents and tourists wanting to use public transportation to get from the Bay to the beach had to make several transfers. Now, they can hop on a trolley at any of seven stops and stay on that same bus until they reach their destination....
1 commentsHART passes $100 million budget for FY2012 listen
09/27/11 Josh HoltonWMNF Drive-Time News Tuesday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: HART, budget, millage rate, transit, Transportation, buses, bus rapid transit, unions, collective bargaining
Yesterday the Hillsborough Area Regional Transit Authority, or HART, approved a 100 million dollar budget for the next fiscal year. Members of the transit union gave up on demands for a wage increase, as well as a separate step increase. The Board also voted unanimously to raise the millage rate slightly to half a mil.
The HART Board of Directors has been torn between maintai...
Be the first to commentHART proposes reducing budget, yet increasing tax rate listen
08/22/11 Josh HoltonWMNF Drive-Time News Monday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: HART, budget, Transportation, transit, transportation funding, millage rate
The Hillsborough Area Regional Transit Authority plans to increase the millage rate on a typical property owner by about 41 cents per year. That’s even though HART’s overall proposed budget is being reduced by 3.2 percent. Director of planning Mary Shavalier said a decrease in revenue from property taxes is making matters more difficult.
And Shavalier said HART may partner with other organizations to compensate for any additional service needs around the county. ...
Be the first to commentHART approves millage rate ceiling hike listen
08/01/11 Janelle IrwinWMNF Drive-Time News Monday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: HART, In-Town-Trolley, transit, taxes, Transportation
This morning, the Board of Hillsborough’s transit agency, HART, raised the maximum amount it can assess homeowners for the county’s bus and other transportation services. During the two hour meeting the board also addressed collective bargaining and changes to In-Town-Trolley routes.
Meeting rising costs without asking tax payers to pony up is becoming more and more difficult in a struggling economy and issues concerning transportation are no exception. In their first meeting since June, ...
Be the first to commentPSTA is cutting some transportation services listen
07/28/11 Andrea LypkaWMNF Drive-Time News Thursday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: psta, Transportation, Pinellas County Schools, transit
According to New York Public Transit Association, public transportation saves Americans the equivalent of 4.2 billion gallons of gasoline annually. But Tampa Bay might be missing out on some of those efficiencies because due to budget cuts, transit agencies are cutting bus services and next year, more citizens may be forced to carpool or drive.
Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority (PSTA) community relations manager Bob Lasher says because of declining property taxes or ad valorem revenues, ...
Be the first to commentPreliminary HART budget would raise ad valorem, cut routes listen
06/06/11 Kate BradshawWMNF Drive-Time News Monday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: HART, transportation, Hillsborough Area Regional Transit, Mark Sharpe, Sandy Murman, transit
Falling revenue may mean more cuts for Hillsborough County bus services. Today the Hillsborough Area Regional Transit Authority’s Board of Directors approved a preliminary budget that would ax fifteen stops, and drastically reduce service in some areas. Philip Hale, the agency’s interim CEO, said drawing on reserves has prevented such cuts in the past, but that’s not an option anymore.
4 comments"For the last three years we have been, in essence, balancing the budget, adding additional service, but...
