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Tampa area considering light rail


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#1 Sloan

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Posted 27 November 2012 - 11:31 AM

A major cost savings would result from using equipment heavier than traditional light rail but lighter than conventional commuter rail cars. The heavier equipment would meet federal guidelines allowing the rail system to use CSX freight tracks, though a deal with CSX still would have to be worked out.


It probably makes sense to have non-electric LRT as a hedge against hurricane damage. Galveston, TX's replica trolley operation went wireless for that very reason.

Of course for airport service, monorail, IMO, would be the most attractive mode. Trains would occupy a smaller footprint while passing over expensive land and would survive most hurricane onslaughts.

Sloan


http://www2.tbo.com/...rail-ar-576810/

#2 KevinKorell

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Posted 28 November 2012 - 11:51 AM

Editorial in Tampa Bay Online/Tampa, FL Tribune, 11/28/12:

Give cities more transit options


The defeat two years ago of a one-cent sales tax increase for more buses and a new rail line in Hillsborough County has given transit advocates time to reconsider the question of how much tax to ask for, and for what.

Entire editorial


Kevin Korell


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#3 Sloan

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Posted 19 August 2013 - 01:49 PM

Sharpe shifts from light rail to expansion of bus lines

TAMPA — Hillsborough County Commissioner Mark Sharpe, long an advocate for building a light rail system, is now suggesting a shift in emphasis to more buses when voters are asked to finance transportation projects.

Sharpe insists his new focus is not a sop to the tea party and other conservative activists who oppose light rail systems. Rather, the commissioner said he wants county leaders to focus on a mass transit option that doesn’t need a lot of study and can be put in place fairly quickly.


One thing these policymakers keep forgetting is that "cheap" buses do not give commuters a ride advantage, even with a busway. Tampa does not have the layout to accommodate extra bus traffic. Road rage will increase, frustrating auto drivers, as buses block lanes in order to collect or discharge passengers.

Light rail would work best in Honolulu or Vancouver format, on pylons, in order not to infringe on auto traffic and get people easily to Tampa International Airport.

Sloan

http://tbo.com/news/...lines-20130819/

#4 Sloan

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Posted 25 August 2014 - 11:46 AM

Study: Hillsborough must boost bus service before getting light rail grants

TAMPA — A study commissioned by Hillsborough County government cautions that improvements are needed in public bus service before the community could compete for light rail grants under new federal criteria.


http://www.tampabay....l-money/2194438

#5 Sloan

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Posted 17 August 2016 - 08:25 AM

 

 

Vinik shows support of light rail during ‘State of Transit’ event, while others deflect issue

 

 

“Beyond the bus” was the theme of Tuesday’s transit presentation — but it didn’t go as far as trains.

 

I'm glad to note that someone in the Tampa area is trying to stop the dithering so that this west coast Florida city can move forward with a viable light rail plan.    Sloan

 

http://www.tbo.com/n...talks-20160817/



#6 Sloan

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Posted 11 January 2018 - 08:27 AM

 

 

Tampa Bay’s transit future: Light rail’s out. Rapid buses are in.

Watch out, Tampa Bay: light rail is out, and buses are in. For now, anyway.

Transit leaders appear ready to scrap their dream of building a light rail line connecting Pasco, Hillsborough and Pinellas counties in favor of a bus rapid transit system that would run alongside Interstate 275 from Wesley Chapel to Tampa to St. Petersburg.

http://www.tampabay....e-in-_164388792

 

:(



#7 Sloan

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Posted 21 January 2018 - 10:39 AM

 

 

Editorial: Too soon for Tampa Bay to settle for buses over light rail

 

The good news on the transportation front is that Tampa Bay’s government and business leaders are working together like never before to connect the region’s largest cities, attractions and employment centers with a more robust mass transit system. They are wisely focusing on a direct route across Tampa Bay as the first major project toward improving regional service. But they are prematurely embracing a rapid bus system and dismissing light rail because buses are less expensive and more politically expedient.

http://www.tbo.com/o...-rail_164592450



#8 KevinKorell

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Posted 20 December 2020 - 01:16 AM

Tampa Bay Times, St. Petersburg, FL, 12/18/20:


 

 

    Could a streetcar linking Tampa with the airport open by 2026?  

 

 

 

A streetcar connecting Tampa International Airport, downtown and Ybor City could be up and running by 2026, according to a private company that wants to partner with city officials to build it.

 

Full story

 

Not to be confused with the recent stories about northward extension of the TECO Line Streetcar.     What is discussed in the above story and this thread is a modern line going west from downtown, and possibly as far as the airport.



Kevin Korell


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