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Treasure Island will welcome trolleys too
By KATHY SAUNDERS © St. Petersburg Times, published October 1, 2000 Madeira Beach officials aren't so tickled about the deal that Treasure Island and St. Pete Beach got from the PSTA. Unlike the other communities that receive service from the PSTA, Treasure Island and St. Pete Beach will not be joining the authority's special taxing district. Hence, they won't be paying as much as some of their neighbors for similar service. "I think that's a right that St. Pete Beach and Treasure Island have," said Michael Bonfield, city manager of Madeira Beach. "We just want to make sure everybody understands what's being done." Bonfield sent a letter to County Commissioner Calvin Harris, chairman of the transit authority, to express his concerns and those of his commissioners. "Non-member communities are being given a 75 percent discount over that which is being charged a member community for virtually the same services," he wrote. Madeira Beach residents pay $270,000 a year through a special millage attached to their property tax bills, Bonfield said. To join the trolley system, Treasure Island will pay $80,000 a year and St. Pete Beach, $160,000. "In fact, if St. Pete Beach and Treasure Island belonged to PSTA, the cost would be over $700,000 and $400,000, respectively," Bonfield said. That's true, said Treasure Island City Manager Chuck Coward. That's why Treasure Island and St. Pete Beach refused to join the special taxing district. The financial structure for the trolley was based on the cost of the trolleys, the miles the vehicles will travel through the two beach communities, and the projected ridership. Sweeney said Madeira Beach has been part of the PSTA taxing district since 1984. With the trolley system, he said, "Madeira Beach will get twice the level of service for the same millage rate." The trolleys will stop every 30 minutes, compared to the hourly stops made by the PSTA buses. As part of their agreement to join the trolley system, Treasure Island commissioners also directed Coward to create a modified version of the city's current bus system. They want to use the current buses or new vans to carry residents from inland neighborhoods to the trolley stops. Treasure Island spends $66,000 a year to operate buses six days a week from 8 a.m. to 5:15 a.m. The proposed trolley service would operate every half-hour at designated locations, seven days a week, every day of the year, from 6:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. The fare would be the same as the city's bus service: $1 each way. In St. Pete Beach, the trolley would replace BATS taxi and bus company, which has been providing the city with bus service for 16 years. The PSTA also plans to provide trolleys along Central Avenue in St. Petersburg that will connect with the new Gulf Boulevard system in St. Pete Beach and Treasure Island. The trolleys, which hold up to 34 passengers, will be powered by compressed natural gas. They will be enclosed and air conditioned. Sweeney said he has ordered 10 trolleys and expects to operate eight each day. The two extra ones would serve as back-up vehicles. He wouldn't say what color the trolleys are going to be or whether they all would look the same. "That's going to be a secret for a while," he said. "We want the trolleys to be distinctive." Each community will be involved in determining where the trolleys will stop, said Sweeney. "We would put one up every block if it was up to us," he said. Coward said he believes residents and visitors to Treasure Island will benefit from the trolley. "I think there's going to be a benefit to our business community too," he said. "People will have a way to get there now." The trolleys will run the full length of Gulf Boulevard. Madeira Beach has a gripe. Treasure Island hopped on the trolley last week, joining St. Pete Beach in a system that will carry passengers from Sand Key to Pass-a-Grille beginning Dec. 31. Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority had planned to bring the trolleys as far south as Madeira Beach. The addition of the two southernmost beach cities will create a route the length of Gulf Boulevard.
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