Pinellas flags rail planners: Stop here

The county wants to ensure that it is not left off the maps and that the proposed high-speed train doesn't stop short of its beaches.

By ALICIA CALDWELL

© St. Petersburg Times,
published September 4, 2001

The wording was enough to make Pinellas officials a little edgy.

Some of the early buzz about the state's proposed high-speed rail system -- national news reports, even government studies -- had the route going from Orlando to Tampa. No mention of St. Petersburg.

For a community that is often sensitive about playing second fiddle to Tampa, it was an omission that would not go unnoticed.

"We want to make sure there is no confusion on this one," said Frank Murphy, chairman of the Clearwater Regional Chamber of Commerce.

As the Florida High Speed Rail Authority embarks on a yearlong study that will recommend a route for the first leg of the system, Pinellas interests have emerged as the most vociferous.

"I think we've heard from them more than anyone," said Norman Mansour, a rail authority member from Anna Maria.

Mansour said state Sen. Jim Sebesta, R-St. Petersburg, has attended two of the authority's first three meetings. Three heads of chambers of commerce based in Pinellas, including Murphy, wrote a letter to an authority member saying Pinellas must be included. And the county's transportation planning board has weighed in, sending word of its support for the Pinellas leg.

Murphy said he and the other chamber leaders know that St. Petersburg is one of four cities (the others being Tampa, Orlando and Miami) specifically mentioned in the legislation that fleshed out the state constitutional amendment mandating the train.

Nonetheless, requirements have a way of becoming options, and Pinellas people want to make sure the importance of Pinellas is on the minds of authority members.

"We wanted to make sure we were not forgotten," said Bernadette "Bernie" Young, chairwoman of the St. Petersburg Area Chamber of Commerce.

The heads of the Pinellas chambers -- Young, Murphy and Nancy Loehr, president of the Tampa Bay Beaches Chamber -- worried that no Pinellas person has been appointed to the nine-member authority. And they said the Pinellas link is needed to buoy the area's bid for the 2012 Olympics.

Furthermore, said Murphy, it just doesn't make sense that a rail line that eventually is supposed to link the state's largest population centers would stop short of one of its major attractions, Pinellas beaches.

"What would you do, take a cab to Pinellas?" Murphy asked.

The county's transportation planning board also recently sent a letter to the rail authority voicing support for the Pinellas link and pointing out a way to join forces. The county, said Pinellas planning director Brian Smith, is about to commission a study for a north-south monorail system that could tie in to the bullet train line.

"It's coincidental and very timely," Smith said.

A consultant hired by the state is supposed to deliver a proposed high-speed rail route in 13 months, said Doc Dockery, an authority member whose efforts and money got the bullet train constitutional amendment question on the November 2000 ballot.

The Legislature created the Florida High Speed Rail Authority to plan the system, arranging for engineering and environmental impact reports. Among their marching orders: develop a route connecting St. Petersburg, Tampa and Orlando with future service to Miami, on which high-speed trains can travel faster than 120 mph.

While a route is being considered, a ridership survey will be conducted. Then, said Dockery, the authority will approach transportation builders and get construction prices and proposals for technology.

The next step will be to take these proposals to private businesses and see what kind of financial help they might provide. The big question about the system, which likely will be expensive for a cash-strapped state, is how much interest developers will have in train station rights. And how much they'll pay for those rights.

Dockery said he has told Sebesta, who is chairman of the Senate Transportation Committee, and Gov. Jeb Bush that private investment cannot be gauged until a proposal is on the table.

"I keep telling both of them that they don't have enough information in hand to tell us anything," Dockery said.

Not everyone is certain it will come to that. State Sen. Ron Klein, D-Delray Beach, said there is "quite a bit of talk" about efforts to delete or modify the constitutional amendment requiring the train. A group will meet next month in Palm Beach County, he said, to talk about how to approach the issue.

"The concern that I've had all along is that I don't think the voters know the financial impact this would have on the state," Klein said.

But where Klein sees problems, Dockery sees promise.

As the frenzy of planning and numbers-crunching unfolds over the next year to 18 months, Dockery said, interest in the rail system is going to increase.

Said Dockery: "I think as this thing gets closer to reality, you're going to have many voices from Florida saying "Hey, don't leave us out."'

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