Tampa Bay Wants More Transit, Less Sprawl
Survey shows residents favor Tampa-Lakeland rail, bus routes.
By Suzie Schottelkotte, THE LAKELAND LEDGER
Published: Saturday, Nov. 1, 2008
TAMPA | Residents in the Tampa Bay Area Regional Transportation Authority, which borders Polk County, envision growth with compact developments linked by mass transit, officials learned Friday.
Preliminary plans also foresee a commuter rail system linking Lakeland with the Tampa Bay area, along with express bus service for that route.
During a joint forum by TBARTA and the Tampa Bay Regional Planning Council, transportation and development planners were told that a survey of residents in the authority’s seven-county area revealed an interest in preserving the environment while minimizing a dependency on cars.
Dan Mahurin, chairman of the Tampa Bay Partnership Regional Research & Education Foundation, said mass transit emerged as the primary concern among the 3,500 residents polled in March.
Faced with four growth options, a majority opted for the proposal that clusters housing and creates open space, which clears the way to build mass transit while protecting the environment.
“Mass transportation was their primary concern,” he said.
The seven-county project includes Hillsborough and Polk counties and five coastal counties from Hernando south to Sarasota. The group has sought the public’s opinions for the last year and now is pulling all the information together into a master plan. That plan should be finished in March.
Those polled were presented with four scenarios, including the one with clustered development. Others included one that allowed growth to continue the way it’s currently heading, another that focused on conventional development in areas where jobs are anticipated, and still another scenario that targeted the protection of water and wildlife habitats.
