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Gov. Rick Scott signs off on $1 million for Tampa Bay transit plan

Last year the Legislature refocused the Tampa Bay Area Regional Transit Authority on transit. This year, lawmakers gave the agency $1 million to build a 10-year transit plan for Tampa Bay.
 
Published March 19, 2018|Updated March 19, 2018

TAMPA — Gov. Rick Scott approved $1 million for a 10-year plan for transit projects in Tampa Bay as part of the $88.7 billion state budget he signed Friday.

The $1 million will go to the recently revamped Tampa Bay Area Regional Transit Authority, which the Legislature restructured last year to focus solely on transit. Securing the money for this plan  was the second step in the agency's redesign.

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Known as a Regional Transit Development Plan, the clunky term refers to 10-year plan that would outline what projects the region should focus on, such as bus rapid transit, streetcars or rail, and when they should be built.

The appropriation gives the agency $1 million to hire a contractor. Michael Case, Principal Planner and Project Manager for TBARTA, expects that finishing the study will about a year.

By that time, Tampa Bay Partnership CEO Rick Homans hopes legislators in next year's session will be close to signing off on the group's third goal: the state will start to fund the regional transit agency on an annual basis. Where that money will come from and what TBARTA would be able to use it for — to fund more studies, or to actually start building something — would be determined at a later time.

“It is a step by step process, but that’s the way these things work,” Homans said. “I think this is a sign that the delegation is strongly supportive of regional transit. And the governor, to his credit, followed through on his commitment to regional transit, as well.”

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The partnership had identified the $1 million request for TBARTA as its top priority for the legislative session. Homans, along with other members of the Tampa Bay business community, spent considerable time in Tallahassee this spring trying to win over support.

“A lot of business leaders from Tampa Bay made this relatively small amount of money a big, big priority during this session,” Homans said. “And there’s a lot of symbolism attached to that.”

The projected timeline for completing the plan has it wrapping up around the same time as a state-funded initiative to chose a preferred regional transit project. Planners are still refining that concept, but currently a 41-mile bus rapid transit line between Wesley Chapel, Tampa and St. Petersburg is the lead concept.

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