Perspective

Regional rail planning gathers steam

It is easy to look ahead 40 years and see two very different pictures of the region. One shows congestion worsening as residents continue to come and businesses continue to expand. The second shows how a new approach to transportation can make our cities more livable and grow the economy while protecting our natural resources and quality of life. That is the vision Tampa Bay needs to pursue, and local leaders seem to be getting the point.

Officials in Tampa recently took several steps to improve the area's transit system in ways that would unify the region and make it a more convenient, affordable and prosperous place. Mayor Pam Iorio unveiled a rail plan to connect north Tampa to downtown and the West Shore business district. That line is the backbone of a larger commuter system that would extend to downtown St. Petersburg and fast-growing central Pasco. Tampa International Airport announced it would dedicate right of way to bring light rail into the passenger terminal, a huge plus for business travelers. Hillsborough County's transportation-planning agency endorsed Iorio's concept and signaled that it would put aside, for now, plans for an I-75 bypass in south county, which would unleash new development in the region's rural east.

These alternatives to more highways are exactly what the Legislature had in mind in creating the new regional transit authority. Made up of seven counties from Citrus to Sarasota, the agency has until July 2009 to craft a multimodal plan for moving people and goods up and down the Suncoast. The heavy push from Tampa helps build momentum not only for rail but for other mass transit improvements, such as express bus service, that could ease congestion in smaller counties until rail makes sense.

Rail could be at least a decade away; there is no master plan for the region, no dedicated funding source and no money set aside to operate the system. In today's dollars, Hillsborough's plan would cost $6-billion to build and $91-million a year to operate.

But the thinking already has changed. Two years ago, officials spoke with no commitment or urgency. Rail, if inevitable, was premature. Now everyone agrees the question is not whether but when and how to pay for regional mass transit. The days of selling rail as urban chic are over. According to planners, travel delays in the Tampa-St. Petersburg area between 1990 and 2005 were four times the growth rate. By 2030, delays will increase 300 percent. Working families in west-central Florida spend a third of their household income on transportation. Creating alternatives to the road is an economic issue for a region dependent on the tourist industry.

Leaders along the Suncoast also seem to recognize that rail can do more than reduce congestion. Mass transit is one of the few ways to attract new residents and business to already-developed urban cores. It is an alternative to wiping out neighborhoods for highway expansion. Leaders are warming to rail because it satisfies both economic and social concerns, from $3-a-gallon gas and sprawl to the reach and reliability of the existing transportation system.

A decision to build may be years away, but it's good the big picture is finally sinking in.

[Last modified December 3, 2007, 09:07:10]