Trolley may soon motor to Hyde Park
Improvements at Old Hyde Park Village have revved up plans to extend the downtown loop there.
By BABITA PERSAUD, Times Staff Writer
Published December 12, 2003
OLD HYDE PARK - With empty storefronts gradually filling up at Old Hyde Park Village, center managers now want to make it easier for shoppers to get there.
Village officials are working with the Hillsborough Area Regional Transit Authority, also know as HARTline, to extend the yellow, rubber-wheeled trolley known as the Uptown Downtown Connector to the shopping center at Swann and Dakota avenues.
Plans for the Downtown-Hyde Park Circulator line have been in the works for months but recently hit high gear based on new improvements at the village. The retail center, which lost several stores in the past year, has added Lifestyle Family Fitness, Madstone Theaters and a few other small businesses.
Village general manager Pat Westerhouse said extending the trolley line will help bring University of Tampa students and downtown workers to Hyde Park for lunch and shopping. Instead of driving and parking in a garage, they can hop on the trolley.
The Uptown Downtown Connector runs north and south through downtown to Harbour Island and stops at the streetcar station near the Tampa Marriott Waterside. It goes every 10 minutes from 6 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. weekdays, making it accessible to business people, but not to tourists or locals out for a night on the town, said Toni Short, HARTline's business development specialist.
HARTline, which started the connector four years ago, hopes the Hyde Park line draws the after-work and weekend crowds. The route would start at the Southern Transportation Plaza near the Marriott and Tampa Convention Center, make a stop at the Hyatt Regency downtown and end on Swann at Howard Avenue.
The proposed hours are 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Saturdays and noon to 8 p.m. Sundays. Trolleys would run in 20- to 30-minute intervals.
Adding the Hyde Park line would cost about $266,660 a year, Short said.
HARTline plans to ask the city for a chunk of the money. The rest would come from fares and Old Hyde Park Village, which has already agreed to help. Details of the amounts are still being negotiated.
HARTline would charge $1.25 each way, Short said. The connector through downtown would remain free.
The issue will be presented to the HARTline board on Jan. 5, then go to the Tampa City Council. If the council approves the funding, service could begin in late January.
For years HARTline has been looking at ways to increase the trolley's ridership, which averages about 300 people a day, or about 5,500 a month. Often, it rolls by with just a handful of people. Sometimes, only the driver.
HARTline officials say the service is necessary for tourists. Development along Tampa's waterfront area has increased demand for public transportation beyond the daytime downtown trolley hours, Short said.
The Tampa Bay Convention and Visitors Bureau reports that the 30 conventions booked for January to June will bring an estimated 62,000 people to Tampa. Many will want to venture out of downtown to shop and eat.
Old Hyde Park Village also wants to make it safer for those driving to the shopping center or passing through it. Managers are working with the city to slow down traffic along Swann, which has a 20 mph posted speed limit at the village.
Drivers now go 45 mph or more, Westerhouse said, making it dangerous for pedestrians crossing the street for the movies, restaurants or shops.
Instead of adding speed bumps, the village wants city street parking along the north side of Swann. Westerhouse hopes the spaces would be free, like the village garages. Eventually, the village would also like to add a median and/or a brick crosswalk on Swann.
The new parking could be in place by summer, Westerhouse said. She hopes all of the changes will bring more shoppers to the village next year.
- Babita Persaud can be reached at 226-3322 or persaud@sptimes.com
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