Trolley may hit streets of Oldsmar

A council member says the service could stop at city parks, the movie theater and elsewhere. Other officials have reservations.

By MATTIAS KAREN

© St. Petersburg Times, published July 8, 2000

OLDSMAR -- Residents who can't drive would soon have another way to get around town if one City Council member has his way.

Council member Ed Manny wants the city to look into setting up a trolley route to help teenagers and elderly citizens safely reach areas they cannot walk or bicycle to without crossing busy roads.

With Oldsmar becoming so spread out and with Tampa Road running through it, some residents have difficulty traveling to different parts of town, Manny said.

"When we have things going on in one part of town, we have people in another part of town who would like to attend, but don't have a way to get there," he said.

A trolley could stop at city parks, the AMC movie theater, the planned Wal-Mart supercenter and Gull Aire Village, where many retirees live, Manny said.

Wednesday night, Manny pitched the idea to the City Council, saying a trolley would be a much safer way of traveling than walking or riding a bicycle.

"I'm sure there aren't many parents who would want their 10- or 12-year-olds to ride their bikes from here to Canal Park or to the movie theater," he said.

The rest of the council, while agreeing that a trolley route is a good idea, had some reservations about the plan.

Mayor Jeff Sandler said he was worried that not enough people would ride the trolley, making the project not worth the cost or effort.

"The last thing I want is to have a trolley run up and down Tampa Road with nobody in it," Sandler said at the meeting. "Because all we've done then is to add another vehicle to an already congested highway."

Sandler suggested the city could rent a trolley for a trial period to see whether there is a demand for the service. If enough people used it, Sandler said, he would consider buying a trolley for the city.

Other council members said they haven't made up their minds yet.

"At this stage of the game, I'm just going to stay very open-minded," council member David Tilki said. "If it's a high-demand product . . . we'd be getting something for our dollar."

To make the project less costly for the city, Manny said he is trying to find state or federal grants to pay for a trolley. He said buying a trolley would cost around $90,000. Operating costs would then have to be paid by the city. Manny said he wouldn't expect enough people to ride the trolley for the service to pay for itself, but he thinks it would be a worthwhile expenditure of city funds.

"I don't think there would be too many citizens who would complain about having their taxes used for that kind of thing," he said.

While other council members weren't overly enthusiastic about the idea, Manny said he's not giving up.

"I'm not going to let it die," he said. "I'm going to keep working at it."

- Mattias Karen can be reached at (727) 445-4243 or at northpin@sptimes.com.

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