Tampa Rail Project Update!

[Mary Horne]

newstart transit project.jpg

On Friday, June 12th , HART gave a bus tour of the proposed light rail route which would be implemented in Hillsborough County and downtown Tampa and eventually extend to Lakeland, Pinellas, Pasco and Polk Counties. HART took over this project in 2002 and has been working with TBARTA (Tampa Bay Area Regional Transportation Authority) and Hillsborough County Metropolitan Planning Organization to negotiate possible solutions to Tampa’s transportation and congestion problems. Extensive research of urban development, population growth, employment and activity centers has been analyzed to accommodate the needs of people in the Tampa area. After working with over 200 organizations HART and the FTA (Federal Transit Administration), a draft of the EIS (Environmental Impact Statement) has been completed. After the EIS statement has been approved the next step in the design process will be the final design. The route being considered will begin at North Blvd. and Main Street. From this central location, the rail would travel to the West to Spruce Street and Boy Scout Blvd. There will be aprox.500 parking spaces at this exit where there will be a Transfer Center to Tampa International Airport. The Southwest and Northeast corridors will use the existing train track pathway and replace the old tracks with new rapid transit tracks. The Southwest corridor will run to U.T. and Hyde Park, and the East corridor to Ybor city and up 30th St. to the North to USF and to Bruce B. Downs ending at Skipper Rd.

To find out more about this project go to http://www.gohart.org/ontrack.html

[EVY VICIOSO]

Sound like we moving forward as a city. thanks for keeping us up to date.

[Adam Fritz]

thanks Mary!