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Letter to the editor

Tarpon Springs weighs bringing trolley to the beach

By CANDACE RONDEAUX
Published July 6, 2004

TARPON SPRINGS - A proposal to extend the city's trolley route to Sunset Beach and Fred Howard Park has hit a pothole.

Officials question whether it would cost too much to expand a service that already is a drain on the city's treasury.

The trolley runs a wide loop through the heart of the city's tourist district, starting at the Sponge Docks on Dodecanese Boulevard. It proceeds along Athens Street, then Grand Boulevard, eventually passing along part of Tarpon Avenue and Pinellas Avenue N to Live Oak Street. Passengers pay $1 per trip or $3 for an all-day pass.

And that's the way it should stay, city business services specialist Charlie Attardo said. The trolley is a marketing tool, not a moneymaker, Attardo told city commissioners last week. Extending the route is likely to increase operating costs and could cause scheduling hiccups.

A beach run is not practical, he said.

"It's an absolute guarantee that you'll lose money," Attardo told commissioners. "So how much money do you want to lose?"

The trolley's financial performance so far has been less than encouraging. In May 2003, city staffers reported that trolley expenditures exceeded revenues by slightly more than $31,000 during its first year of operation.

This year, trolley ridership revenues are up 15.3 percent. But a decrease in ad revenues has kept total revenue about the same, according to a city report.

That red ink worries Mayor Beverley Billiris. She worried additional beach stops might be risky and said there's no way to justify the added expense.

"We're looking at a fiscal year where we are literally tightening our belts," Billiris said. "Then with this you just kind of bite off more than you can chew."

City Commissioner Peter Dalacos wasn't ready to swallow that argument. Extending the trolley route was one of the key planks of the newly elected commissioner's campaign platform.

He said adding beach stops would attract more riders and return visitors.

"If we have people who come to Tarpon, and we expose people to our parks and our beaches, then maybe they won't go shopping," Dalacos said. "But they may say, "Hey, wow, maybe I'll come back.' "

City Commissioner Peter Nehr is not convinced. He's not sure the trolley makes much sense at all. A Sponge Docks business owner, Nehr said he appreciated the trolley's marketing value for the city but isn't certain it will pay off.

"I have a hard time swallowing the losses," Nehr said.

"There's no way I can condone increasing our losses. So there's no way I can condone extending the route."

Commissioners made no decision on whether to extend the route but are likely to discuss the topic again in coming months.

- Candace Rondeaux can be reached at 727 771-4307 or at rondeaux@sptimes.com

[Last modified July 5, 2004, 21:43:11]