The Readers: Here's Why It Won't Work

You can read all the comments below on this morning's post about mass transit in the Tampa Bay area, but I thought I'd put up a few here too. My column tomorrow will be influenced by the point that it's useless unless people have to want to ride it -- in fact, Mr. Gibson, I threw in the dry-cleaner reference just for you. Also, 20/20, take note that I allow the possibility of a non-rail system and agree w/ you about how the bus system ought to work...

Our problem is our sprawl and zoning. It's not a quick hop & jump to anywhere. We're a region of ten thousand little islands. Our homes aren't near our jobs or schools or where we shop. Light rail cant possibly get many of us to work or school because of the sprawl. The other thing is, chains will fight light rail. If light rail could solve the proximity problem (and it cant), it would ruin business for a lot of folks who depend on road traffic. -- Jim Johnson

The answer is an improved, effective, and efficient mass transit busing system that combines 20-minute to ½ hour routing goals, usable bus stop positioning and venues, high school and college (pre&post) peek usage, and an honest and mature public awareness campaign. -- 20/20

The only way to justify a rail system having anything to do with Pinellas, is to prove that there are at least 250,000 people a day trying to get into any of it’s 24 municipalities’ “downtowns” to get to work.  This isn’t New York.  Urban sprawl and the days of Rainey prevented any logical consideration, a long time ago. -- Edger

A good place to start may not be in the mass transportation arena at all. Start by reducing the need for transportation. How about proposing redesignation of neighborhood communities that would allow residential side by side with businesses needed by the community such as the grocery stores, dry cleaners, doctors and other businesses that support the local community. -- John Gibson

New York, London, Paris, Munich, Everybody's Talkin' 'Bout -- Mass Transit

So, what's it going to be, then?

Light rail that runs all over the Tampa Bay area, from Pasco County down to Bradenton, and east to Lakeland?

How about just a rail backbone -- Tampa-St. Pete-Clearwater -- tied in with really smart bus rapid transit that doesn't stop at a county line?

Or, what the heck, we could just keep widening the interstates and building toll roads...

More leaders in the Tampa Bay area are talking about mass transit these days than ever. It was the dominant theme of Tampa Mayor Pam Iorio's inaugural speech on Sunday, after she was sworn in for her second term.

In February, there was an encouraging summit of leaders from Hillsborough, Pinellas and Pasco counties and the cities of Tampa, St. Petersburg and Clearwater.

In March, a gathering of business leaders, including the Tampa Downtown Partnership, the Westhore Alliance and the New North Transportation Alliance, said mass transit to get people to work was essential to the business future.

In the Legislature, the local delegation is pushing a bill to create a regional transportation authority.

The separate agency that runs Hillsborough's bus system is talking about light rail, and is trying some new express bus routes to encourage commuters. The Pinellas agency, PSTA, is more bus-centric and reluctant to play with others (see PSTA's disagreement with that criticism, and the critics' replies, in the comments to this previous post and to this one as well). But even the PSTA is talking about some form of bus rapid transit.

Lastly, in March the state Department of Transportation identified what it thought were potential corridors for any mass-transit system in the Bay area. They included:

* An east-to-west corridor from St. Petersburg through Gateway, Tampa's West Shore and downtown, and over to Lakeland

* St. Petersburg south to Bradenton and Sarasota

*  Tampa north to USF, east Pasco and Brooksville

* Tampa's West Shore up to northwest Hillsborough, central Pasco and Brooksville

* St. Petersburg to north Pinellas and New Port Richey

In sum, there are a lot of different people talking. But there are some general principles that ought to apply regarding cost, cooperation, and usability. I think this is going to be the subject of my print column tomorrow, so anything folks have to say here as a comment to this post would be most appreciated...