By Times Staff Writer
Published September 24, 2004
TAMPA - The Tampa City Council on Thursday agreed to pursue federal funding to extend the streetcar line to Whiting Street.
The TECO Line Streetcar System now runs from Ybor City to the Channel District to the Tampa Convention Center. The next leg is planned to run north to Franklin Street through downtown Tampa to Whiting Street.
HARTline runs the streetcar, but Council member Shawn Harrison said Hillsborough public transit agency hasn't aggressively sought funding for the extension.
"Streetcar projects nationwide are huge," said Harrison, who recently returned from a public transit conference in Los Angeles. Competition for federal money to fund them is fierce, he said. Council member Linda Saul-Sena, a member of the HARTline board, said having the city behind the effort to get federal funding would give it an "extra oomph."
Most of the $53-million spent on the first leg of the streetcar system came from federal agencies, Harrison said. Tampa contributed $13-million to the construction, and Mayor Pam Iorio said she won't commit any money to the extension.
