The recent debate over redeveloping downtown Tampa has focused attention on the sorry state of Hillsborough County's mass transportation system. Civitas, the for-profit company interested in building a master-planned community downtown, would need reliable bus service for its project to work. But the agency in charge, HARTline, lacks money, direction and a history of providing quality service. There also is no consensus in Hillsborough on the role mass transit should play in a growing, urban area. Civitas' proposal, regardless where it goes, is a wakeup call for Tampa to design a transit system for the future.
As developers such as Civitas become more interested in using the urban core as backdrops for planned communities, cities will need to ensure their transit systems are clean, efficient and safe. Tampa does not have a history of downtown living. But that has changed significantly in recent years, with new condominium towers going up on Bayshore Boulevard, Harbour Island and in the port district, Channelside. The level of bus service is not a make-or-break factor in whether new condos are built, but moving thousands of new residents around cheaply and easily affects downtown's larger development picture.
HARTline needs a vision for the future, and a governing board and management team with the credibility to build public support for new transit spending. The agency's bungling of last year's transportation initiative, and questions over its handling of the downtown-Ybor City trolley, have undermined confidence in its ability. While HARTline serves the city and the county, Tampa Mayor Pam Iorio should take the lead in charting an inter-city transportation plan. As the most powerful elected official in Hillsborough - and one whose urban constituency needs bus service most - Iorio is best positioned to advocate changes in HARTline's management and direction.
More routes, longer hours of service - these steps only begin to address the demand for better bus service in Hillsborough. Even before Civitas, the city was seeing more and more people move into the neighborhoods bordering downtown. Iorio should keep the momentum going by making mass transit as integral to urban living as sidewalks, storefronts, street lights and parks.
