Proposed mall needs place in transit plan

Pasco County's no-longer-fledgling mass transit system is on a roll.

Ridership is growing significantly, and the bus service is poised to expand operating hours, add new routes to serve Moon Lake and Hudson Avenue, and begin a limited cross-county connector tying west Pasco with stops along the State Road 54 corridor in central and east Pasco.

It won't happen overnight; the changes are part of a five-year plan approved Thursday by the Metropolitan Planning Organization.

But the proposal, which will require the county to double its annual commitment of local dollars to $1.32-million by 2010, is notable for what is missing.

Service between Zephyrhills and Wesley Chapel and a circulator route in and around Land O'Lakes are among the potential additions not included in the five-year blueprint. Also, there is no service identified for the proposed Cypress Creek Town Center regional mall at State Road 56 and Interstate 75.

It's kind of hard to miss. The 1.5-million-square-foot mall, which still requires construction permits from environmental regulators, is scheduled to open in late 2007. With it comes a projected $23-million in road improvements, 3,800 jobs and $8.7-million in annual tax revenue to the county.

So, it is reasonable to plan to serve such a destination with public transit. Employees and shoppers alike could use a bus system, and there already is a model in place: One of the county's most popular bus stops now is Gulf View Square mall along U.S. 19 in west Pasco.

In interviews Thursday, the county's mass transit consultant and the head of Pasco County Public Transportation both said service to the regional mall is a logical addition. County commissioners and the elected municipal officials on the MPO should concur.

Commissioners, particularly, will need to embrace the service because it could require more local money. The county has reached the cap on available grants. Increased ridership won't offset the expense, either. Fares account for just 3.6 percent of the mass transit budget.

But, it shouldn't be too difficult to pay for considering the tax revenue windfall generated by the mall. Besides, mass transit costs are well-leveraged. Local dollars make up less than 17 percent of the cost with federal and state dollars accounting for 80 percent of the budget.

Developing efficient alternatives to automobile transportation is imperative. A growing population using a road network that does not grow accordingly means more congestion, more pollution, more car and highway maintenance, and less productivity.

Twice, in 1992 and again in 2000, surveys sponsored by United Way of Pasco identified inadequate public transportation as the top community concern in Pasco County.

The county responded accordingly, beginning its bus service in 1996 and expanding it incrementally since. The system is on pace to serve 700,000 passengers in the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, double the ridership of just four years ago.

The increased ridership is welcome. The list of users includes students, seniors and workers without their own transportation.

"If you don't do this, people who are working will not be working," Commissioner Steve Simon said about the five-year plan. "It's not only the right thing to do, it's the financially efficient thing to do."

Indeed. Making sure mass transit is a transportation alternative available to the fastest-growing portions of Pasco County should be the next sensible step.

[Last modified June 10, 2005, 01:12:14]