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Tampa Bay Express

Shaping a vision for transportation in Pasco

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The next phase in a transportation vision for Tampa Bay took a local turn into Pasco County.

More than 30 residents from Pasco and Hernando counties met on Aug. 3 as a “working group” tasked with recommending future transportation decisions. The Florida Department of Transportation hosted the event at the Myrtle Lake Baptist Church in Land O’ Lakes.

Ed McKinney, planning and environmental administrator for the Florida Department of Transportation’s District 7 office, in Tampa, met with more than 30 residents from Pasco and Hernando counties to talk about Tampa Bay Next. The initiative seeks to develop a transportation plan for Interstate 275. (Richard Riley)

The Community Working Group session was open to the public. It is one in a series of meetings in the Tampa Bay region as part of the Tampa Bay Next initiative. A regional meeting in Tampa kicked off the new initiative in May.

There are six working groups in total, representing geographic areas of the region.

Tampa Bay Next replaces the controversial Tampa Bay Express project that would have built new toll and express lanes along about 90 miles of Interstate 275, from Manatee County to Pasco County.

One segment of the project remains.

The state transportation department plans to build a replacement bridge for the Howard Franklin bridge, which links Pinellas and Hillsborough counties.

That bridge replacement will include four multipurpose lanes and two express lanes.

But, the state roads department wants public input during the next two years for a new road project on I-275. The goal is to have plans ready by 2019.

Based on reactions to Tampa Bay Express, residents are tired of focusing only on car-driven road projects, said Ed McKinney, planning and environmental administrator for FDOT’s District 7 office, in Tampa.

New Port Richey resident Kelly Miller talks about priorities for Tampa Bay Next. Miller participated on one of five teams that held break-out sessions to come up with recommendations on transportation needs along Interstate 275, and in Pasco County.

Tampa Bay Next is meant to start conversations.

“We’re not going to show you any projects,” McKinney said. “We’re not going to show you any plans…We hear over and over we need to be thinking differently. People who say that are absolutely right,” he said.

Some of the trouble spots already identified in Pasco include the State Road 56 interchange on Interstate 75, the east/west corridor of State Road 54 and State Road 56, the intersection of State Road 54 and U.S. 41, and the lack of transit options.

At the working group sessions, people divided into five teams that prioritized transportation needs. They also made organizational decisions for future meetings.

As a group, they voted on priorities, based on a compiled list of recommendations from every team.

Top priorities included:

  • Adding light rail, possibly on U.S. 301 and the State Road 56 extension, and more bus service to destinations and high traffic areas
  • Converting CSX rail lines for passenger service
  • Providing Bus Rapid Transit, or BRT, to serve the area

The session also produced a longer list of traffic problems people want addressed.

Requests and complaints included:

  • I-75 and State Road 56 – fix it
  • I-75 and Overpass Road – do it
  • State Road 54 and U.S. 41 intersection – fix it
  • Put multi-use trail on one side of State Road 56 extension and let it meander
  • More park and ride facilities
  • Extend Tower Road to State Road 589 and widen U.S. 41 – Yay Bexley!
  • Most of east Pasco is shoved onto I-75
  • Too many (development) entitlements on State Road 54
  • Plan for more recreational and bicycle trails

Once priorities were decided, Land O’ Lakes resident Jack George posed a question during public comment.

“What is the end game here? What is the objective?” he said. “I haven’t heard that tonight and, without a goal, I don’t know how to get there.”

McKinney said the state department of transportation planned a series of video “primers” to provide information on a broad range of topics, including how projects get funded. The primers hopefully will educate people on issues such as how projects are developed and funded, and allow for “longer conversations.”

The videos will be posted online, McKinney said.

David West, left, and Judy Geiger discuss a transportation vision for Interstate 275, and Pasco County, at a public meeting hosted by the Florida Department of Transportation.

Tampa Bay Next isn’t the only transportation initiative in Pasco.

Kris Hughes, the county’s planning and development director, offered perspective on some ongoing efforts.

For example, vision planning for State Road 54 and State Road 56 is entering a second phase, with a public meeting on Aug. 24 at 5:30 p.m., at the Pasco Utilities Administration Building, off U.S. 41.

The county is partnering in that effort, while also completing a separate planning study in the area.

Hughes also noted that new technology, including driverless cars, will be part of new development in the Connected City corridor in northeast Pasco.

“This is a very complex, very intricate system of efforts,” Hughes said.

Published August 9, 2017

Bay area transportation talk gets a reboot

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State highway officials kicked off a regional discussion on the future of transportation in Tampa Bay with more than 100 people from Hillsborough, Pinellas, Hernando, Polk and Pasco counties.

The initial workshop for what is dubbed, Tampa Bay Next, was at the Bryan Glazer Jewish Community Center in Tampa on May 24.

During the next two years, the Florida Department of Transportation will schedule more workshops, meetings and community outreach events in all areas of the region to get input on how to solve gridlock on the area’s highways.

Jonathon Massie, business illustrator with Collaborative Labs at St. Petersburg College, drew a cartoon illustration to reflect the consensus of people who attended a workshop on transportation in the Tampa Bay region.
(Kathy Steele)

By late 2019, state transportation officials expect to present the details of a new road project that will replace the controversial Tampa Bay Express, or TBX.

That project called for nearly 90 miles of new toll lanes on Interstate 275 from St. Petersburg to Wesley Chapel, and along Interstate 4 to Plant City and south on Interstate 75 to Manatee County.

The TBX project met with strong resistance from residents of neighborhoods in and around downtown Tampa.

Pasco County’s elected officials and chambers of commerce, however, strongly supported the TBX as a relief to traffic congestion and a potential impetus for future economic growth.

Tampa Bay Next, at least initially, will deal with expectations, not details.

“We’re going to focus on our ideal vision,” said Andrea Henning, executive director of Collaborative Labs at St. Petersburg College. “Tonight is more about listening.”

The company will facilitate community work sessions for the state transportation department in efforts to reach consensus on what Tampa Bay Next will bring to the table.

Six working groups will focus on local issues.

Those groups will cover Pasco/Hernando counties; North and West Hillsborough County; Downtown/East Tampa; Westshore/West Tampa/South Tampa; Pinellas County; and East Hillsborough/ Polk County.

Participants broke out into 20 discussion groups that reported back with broad-stroke views on the area’s future transportation needs, and wants.

Suggestions included:

  • Integrated multi-modal system
  • Connect people to jobs
  • Reliable trip times
  • Complete streets
  • Automated, connected and electric vehicle systems
  • Better bicycle mobility
  • Urban freeway removal
  • Ensuring that communities are not broken apart

One woman put in a plug for her pet peeve: She wants all bus stops to come with shaded cover.

Others spoke about a “sense of urgency” in coming up with answers.

There were also skeptics who don’t trust the state transportation department, in light of the battle over TBX.

“We need to work together,” said Danielle Moran, public involvement manager with HNTB Corporation, which is consulting with the Tampa Bay Next. But, she added, “We know it’s going to take time to build trust.”

She got a round of boos when she brought up toll lanes.

“Express lanes are one of the options on the table,” Moran said. “We’re happy to talk with you about other options.”

A second breakout session focused on four issues: safety, multi-model choices, technology and funding/policy.

Participants later voted electronically for their top priorities in each category, choosing from a list of 10 options.

Priorities included:

  • Designing streets to focus on people’s safety, not vehicles
  • Connecting major regional activity centers
  • Leveraging existing assets and infrastructure
  • Re-prioritizing $6 billion of TBX funds for community priorities

Future workshops will begin to drill down on what local communities envision for transportation.

Moran said there appeared to be at least an early consensus for an integrated, complete transportation system.

“The difficulty is how do we get there,” she said.

For information on Tampa Bay Next including the working groups and community outreach events, visit TampaBayNext.com.

Published June 6, 2017

Taking aim at traffic woes

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A transit study will take a regional approach in trying to identify a solution to unsnarl Tampa Bay’s traffic congestion, and, qualify for federal aid.

Jacob Engineering will conduct the 24-month study for Hillsborough, Pinellas and Pasco counties. The approximately $1.5 million cost will be paid for by the Hillsborough Area Regional Transit Authority, commonly called HART and the Florida Department of Transportation, called FDOT for short.

A transit study will seek solutions for congestion problems in Hillsborough, Pasco and Pinellas counties. One logjam motorists often face is at the intersection of U.S. 41 and State Road 54 in Land O’ Lakes. (File Photo)
A transit study will seek solutions for congestion problems in Hillsborough, Pasco and Pinellas counties. One logjam motorists often face is at the intersection of U.S. 41 and State Road 54 in Land O’ Lakes.
(File Photo)

Consultants are expected to begin work on Oct. 1, following expected approval of the contract by HART on Sept. 12.

Commuter rail, light rail, bus rapid transit service and express bus service will be among transit alternatives reviewed in the study.

“Tampa Bay is one of the very few large regional areas that does not have premier transit service to connect its region,” said Steve Feigenbaum, HART’S director of service development. “This is a truly regional study, a three-county study, for transit options for our region.”

Feigenbaum made a presentation on the study to members of the Pasco Metropolitan Planning Organization’s board on Sept. 8 in Dade City.

About 50 percent of Pasco residents commute to jobs outside the county, he said. “Where are their transit options?”

In the past year, Pasco residents have been asked their views on a range of transportation issues, most often focused on traffic congestion in high growth areas such as State Road 54 and State Road 56.

A slew of road projects are under construction or under review to reconfigure or widen roads and highways throughout the county.

Commuters heading south on Interstate 275 daily confront road lanes jammed with motorists trying to get to work.

Recently, FDOT held public meetings to gain support for the Tampa Bay Express, a controversial road project to widen portions of I-275 and Interstate 4.

Only limited bus transit links Hillsborough, Pinellas and Pasco counties.

Feigenbaum said the study will recommend a single project that is doable, links all three counties and would qualify for funding from the Federal Transit Administration, an agency within the U.S. Department of Transportation. Other options will be included in the study, along with reasons why they didn’t make the final cut.

Pasco County Commissioner Jack Mariano wondered about the feasibility of purchasing CSX rail lines for future passenger rail service.

The Land O’ Lakes area often is mentioned as an area where rail stops would boost local commercial and residential development. The area includes CSX rail lines crossing through the intersection of U.S. 41 and State Road 54.

But, Feigenbaum cautioned against thinking that the study would focus on CSX.

“It’s not a CSX study,” he said. “That will be a component of it.”

The cost of buying the rail lines would only be a starting point, he said.

The rail lines were built for freight and would have to be upgraded to handle passenger service. “There’s still going to have to be some consideration of construction and cost. It’s an important component, but it will be included with everything else.”

Feigenbaum said the FTA looks to fund projects that boost economic development and show a return on investment.

“Without those particular elements, it becomes just another shelf piece,” he said. “Some (prior) studies have so much dust, they are growing corn. But, that’s another story.”

Initially, consultants will look at those previous studies, whether they produced transit projects or not, and compile them into a unified, coherent report.

“We don’t want to invent the wheel,” Feigenbaum said.

There also will be public outreach with town halls, telephone town halls and other events to gather community opinions.

Once the initial study is completed, environmental and design work will be done before an application can be submitted to the federal transit agency.

It could take up to five years to qualify for a fully funded grant, Feigenbaum said. “It’s an arduous process.”

Published September 14, 2016

Tampa Bay Express aims to address region’s congestion

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The proposed $3.3 billion Tampa Bay Express project has its critics – especially in areas near downtown Tampa, but it’s a project that’s needed to help relieve regional congestion, according to Ed McKinney, district planning and environmental administrator for District 7 of the Florida Department of Transportation.

“Currently, Tampa/St. Pete ranks seventh in the country for cities of its size for congestion,” McKinney said.

“I don’t have to tell you all, if you’ve driven around the area, we’ve got a lot of congestion, and that hurts us in a lot of ways,” McKinney said, during a recent luncheon meeting of the Central Pasco Chamber of Commerce.

Ed McKinney, district planning and environmental administrator for District 7 of the Florida Department of Transportation, explains why express lanes are needed to relieve regional congestion. (B.C. Manion/Staff Photo)
Ed McKinney, district planning and environmental administrator for District 7 of the Florida Department of Transportation, explains why express lanes are needed to relieve regional congestion.
(B.C. Manion/Staff Photo)

“It hurts us when it comes to attracting new businesses. It hurts us mostly when it comes to attracting new residents,” he said.

People moving into the area want to know that they’ll be able to get to work or wherever they need to go, without being stuck in traffic for a half-hour, he said.

The problem is only going to get worse, as the region’s population increases and more jobs are created, he added.

“In Pasco County, population is expected to grow 97 percent by 2040,” he said. Hillsborough County is expected to grow by 48 percent, and Polk County by 41 percent during the same period.

“Pasco County is expected to grow employment by 200 percent, and that’s huge,” he said. Those workers won’t all be coming from Pasco County, he said. They’ll be heading to Pasco from Hillsborough and Pinellas counties, too.

“People are going to go where the jobs are. That’s what we’re seeing,” McKinney said.

“People say, ‘Why don’t you consider a no-build?’

“This is the no-build, he said, pointing to a graphic projecting future traffic congestion.

“The no-build says you’re ‘fine with 375,000 cars traveling everyday on I-4 (Interstate 4)’, when it only has the capacity of handling just over 125,000.

“It’s says, ‘We’re OK with the downtown interchange only being able to handle 325,000 cars,’ when it can only handle 175,000.

“That’s the challenge that we’re dealing with. That’s the problem that we’re trying to solve,” McKinney said.

The Tampa Bay Express project grew out of the Tampa Interstate Study that started back in the 1980s, McKinney said.

“This plan looked out into the future. What’s the development that’s going to be going on in the region? What’s the congestion pattern? Where are people going to go to work, what they’re going to do for fun, and how are we going to manage all of that traffic?

“How do get these people to move around, to make sure this region is economically viable and able to take on the challenges?

“If you’ve lived here, you know that we’ve widened I-4. We just completed I-275 widening. We did the Crosstown Connector project. All of those projects were part of this Tampa Interstate Study.

“It’s an evolving document,” he said.

“Every time you go and build a new piece of it, you look at the traffic and development patterns, and you update your document.

“What we’re going to be doing is adding express lanes, within the interstate, that will be tolled,” he said.

There will still be the same number of general purpose lanes as there are now, but there also will be express lanes, which are tolled.

People who want to make a quicker trip will pay the toll.

For instance, someone who has been late to work repeatedly may use the toll lane to avoid being late again, he said. Or, it might be used by someone in a rush to pick up their child from day care or get to an important business meeting.

“What they’ve seen in Miami is that there is no real pattern for why people use them,” he said.

One thing they have noticed is that people are using them at 2 a.m. or 3 a.m.

When asked why, many said they are doing that to avoid a potential collision with a wrong-way driver, McKinney said.

“The express lanes will be built, in a majority of cases, within the median that is there now,” he said. But, interchanges will need to be reconstructed.

The system is designed to be used for longer distances, such as getting from Brandon to the airport, or to Pinellas County.

There will be access points in the Gateway area of Pinellas County, in the Westshore area, at Tampa International Airport, at several places downtown Tampa, and in the general vicinity of the University of South Florida. There also will be access points in Brandon and Plant City.

“People say, ‘Why don’t you just spend this money on transit? You’re talking about a $3.3 billion project. You could get a lot of transit for that,’” he said.

Transit is important, and it is part of Hillsborough’s long-range transportation plan, but he added, “it’s not the one solution that fixes all of our problems.

“It needs to be a mix of managed lanes, as well as some sort of transit solution,” McKinney said.

Published August 17, 2016

Tampa Bay Express wins a crucial vote

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A hard-fought, often passionate battle over Tampa Bay’s transportation future ended with a vote in favor of building the Tampa Bay Express.

The project calls for 90 miles of new toll lanes on Interstate 275 from St. Petersburg to Wesley Chapel, along Interstate 4 to Plant City, and south on Interstate 75 to Manatee County.

Vehicles stack up near ramps onto and off Interstate 75 in Pasco County. The interchange is near Tampa Premium Outlets and an active development area for new shops and restaurants. Supporters of Tampa Bay Express hope the transportation project will ease congestion. (File Photo)
Vehicles stack up near ramps onto and off Interstate 75 in Pasco County. The interchange is near Tampa Premium Outlets and an active development area for new shops and restaurants. Supporters of Tampa Bay Express hope the transportation project will ease congestion.
(File Photo)

The project is seen by many in Pasco County as key to propelling economic growth and easing traffic congestion.

“We’re happy it passed,” said Hope Allen, executive director of The Greater Wesley Chapel Chamber of Commerce. “Common sense prevailed in that it will be moving forward. Further discussion will happen and that’s good.”

Advocates for and against packed the June 22 public hearing of the Hillsborough County Metropolitan Planning Organization. More than 160 people signed up for public comment during an 8-hour speaking marathon that lasted until almost 2:30 a.m. Most were from Tampa, but others came from St. Petersburg, Clearwater, Plant City and Pasco.

The Hillsborough MPO voted 12-4 to put the expressway project, known as TBX, as a priority on its five-year transportation plan. The plan must be submitted to the Florida Department of Transportation by July 15 for state and federal review.

Construction on phase one is slated for 2021 and would re-design the I-275 interchange into downtown Tampa.

Work on a new span of the Howard Frankland Bridge, between Tampa and St. Petersburg, however, is planned for 2017.

TBX will create new toll lanes adjacent to existing non-toll lanes at an initial cost of more than $3 billion, and potentially as much as $6 billion.

Toll fees would vary depending on traffic volume, with more expensive tolls applying at rush hour. No toll rates have been announced, but fees on existing toll systems, including on Interstate 95 in Miami, suggest they could be as high as $2 a mile.

A rapid bus transit service potentially could use the toll lane, but not pay tolls.

In the weeks leading up to the vote, the Wesley Chapel chamber joined with other area chambers and organizations in Pasco and the region, to publicly support and campaign for a favorable vote on TBX.

Four of Pasco County’s commissioners also signed a letter of support. Pasco County Commissioner Jack Mariano was the lone dissenter.

He objected to toll lanes, saying they would be unfair to people who can’t afford expensive toll fees.

Other options, including conversion of CSX rail lines for public transit, should be studied, Mariano said.

“To me, you are wasting capacity for a rich few,” he said. “There should be a big regional discussion on what is going on in the whole area.”

Opponents of TBX campaigned to block the project as a boondoggle that would benefit wealthy motorists, harm minority communities, lower air quality and crush ongoing revitalization of neighborhoods that suffered during highway widening projects in the 1960s and 1970s.

The project is expected to wipe out as many as 100 businesses and residences in historic neighborhoods of Tampa Heights, Seminole Heights and V.M. Ybor.

“This project is morally flawed on several levels,” said Beverly Ward, principal of BGW Associates, a company that studies effects of public policy decisions on communities.

But, supporters said TBX should be viewed as a regional project that would significantly decrease commute times, promote new development, and encourage more customers to visit existing businesses outside their neighborhoods.

“It’s going to hopefully expedite commuting up to us,” said Greg Lenners, general manager of The Shops at Wiregrass. “We’re still seen as a more rural area. It will be a plus.”

More than half of Pasco’s workers commute to jobs outside of the county, sometimes sitting for two hours in stalled traffic on interstates.

Others in St. Petersburg, Tampa and Plant City said they also want relief from congestion to spend more time with family, friends and children.

“This project will benefit everyone,” said Ken Roberts, an Apollo Beach resident and member of Citizens Organized for Sound Transportation. “We need to realize we are in this all together.”

Published June 29, 2016

Tampa Bay Express gaining favor in Pasco

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A project to build express toll lanes on interstate highways, known as the Tampa Bay Express, has picked up an endorsement from the Pasco County Commission.

Commissioners voted 4-1 on May 10 to send a letter to the Hillsborough Metropolitan Planning Organization urging a favorable vote on the project.

The planning organization is scheduled for a June 22 vote on a project that has gained wide support in Pasco as a solution to commuter gridlock.

Pasco County Commissioner Jack Mariano voted no. He cited concerns about the increasing reliance on toll roads to generate revenues. He did approve of the potential for rapid bus service included in TBX.

“All the toll roads in the world don’t necessarily help your traffic,” he said.

The Hillsborough MPO’s decision will determine if the project goes forward as a transportation priority.

State highway officials peg the initial construction costs at about $3.3 billion. Some state estimates put the costs at as much as $6 billion.

“This is very, very important for the residents of Pasco County,” said Pasco County Commissioner Mike Moore. “We think about quality of life, especially for residents who commute back and forth to Hillsborough County and Pinellas County on a daily basis.”

For some, commuting times can be more than two hours a day, Moore said. “If we save 30 to 45 minutes for them, just think about the increased quality of life, the time they will spend with family and friends, not on the road.”

In recent weeks, the Pasco Economic Development Council and The Greater Wesley Chapel Chamber of Commerce also have come out in favor of the TBX.

The Pasco MPO added its voice to the chorus on May 12 by approving a resolution in favor of TBX.

Outside of Pasco, the TBX has been a divisive issue for months.

Some Tampa city leaders, including Mayor Bob Buckhorn, are strongly in favor. But, community activists in Tampa’s historic neighborhoods of V.M. Ybor, Ybor City, Tampa Heights and Seminole Heights strenuously object.

They say the added express lanes will slice through their streets, wiping out more than 100 businesses and residences.

Opponents have held protest marches and packed public meetings. Yard signs opposing TBX are a common sight.

The Sunshine Citizens is pushing against the project.

Most recently, the civil rights office of the Federal Highway Administration agreed to a preliminary investigation of TBX, based on a complaint that the toll system benefits wealthy commuters and motorists, while harming minorities who live in the affected neighborhoods.

If approved, nearly 50 miles of new toll lanes would be built adjacent to existing non-toll lanes along Interstate 275, Interstate 75 and Interstate 4. The toll lanes would stretch from St. Petersburg to Wesley Chapel, but also along Interstate 4 to Plant City and southward along Interstate 75 toward Manatee County.

Toll fees would vary depending on traffic volume, with most expensive costs likely at rush hours.

A new span of the Howard Frankland Bridge, between Tampa and St. Petersburg, also is part of the overall highway project.

And, the express lanes would open up to rapid bus service.

“I can’t emphasize how important this project is as a cornerstone of the master plan for the seven county region,” said Ramond Chiaramonte, chief executive officer of the Tampa Bay Area Regional Transit Authority (TBARTA). “I think we’re at a critical juncture. This is something that can transform this region within a decade from where we are now to a functioning transit system where we have express transit buses beginning to connect our suburban areas.”

The project could add about 90,000 temporary jobs during construction, said Richard Gehring, Pasco’s strategic policy administrator. While Tampa Bay is one of the largest job generators in the state, he said, “One of the biggest constraints on Tampa Bay is the transportation system.”

Work is underway to the north on about $400 million in highway projects, such as the State Road 52 interchange redesign at I-75, and TBX is a critical complement in efforts to reduce regional traffic congestion, Gehring said.

About 52 percent of Pasco residents commute outside the county daily, with about 66 percent of those motorists heading to jobs in Hillsborough, said James Edwards, director of Pasco County’s MPO.

“This is the first step to say we’re going to give Pasco commuters a choice,” he said.

Plus, Edwards said, “We look forward to reverse trips from Tampa.”

Published May 18, 2016

Commuters could get a faster ride

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Pasco County commuters understand the frustration of gridlock, as they head to and from work every day.

Florida Department of Transportation officials believe the proposed construction of a project known as the Tampa Bay Express could make life easier for motorists traveling from St. Petersburg in Pinellas County to Wesley Chapel in Pasco County.

Nearly 50 miles of new toll lanes would be built adjacent to existing non-toll lanes along Interstate 275 and Interstate 4, in a project that state highway officials have pegged at initial costs of $3 billion, but said it could get as high as $6 billion.

If the project is approved, construction would be five or more years away.

The toll fees would vary depending on traffic volume —  with more expensive tolls applying at rush hour. SunPass would be the only accepted method of payment. The system will not allow billing by license plate.

The potential is there, too, for a rapid bus transit service that would operate within the toll lane system, but not pay tolls. A 44-foot “multimodal envelope” is included in the design. Park and ride stations would be built. including one in Wesley Chapel.

The project is stirring an intense struggle between those who support the TBX as a regional approach to easing traffic congestion and those who characterize the TBX as a boondoggle that will destroy historic Tampa neighborhoods, and do little for mass transit.

TBX-FDOT_system_map
The proposed Tampa Bay Express would add toll lanes to existing non-toll lanes along Interstate 275 and Interstate 4, creating a managed toll system linking Wesley Chapel in Pasco County to St. Petersburg in Pinellas County. (Courtesy of Florida Department of Transportation)

A coalition, including the Tampa Bay Partnership, now has The Greater Wesley Chapel Chamber of Commerce as a partner. The chamber’s board of directors approved a resolution on April 21 in support of TBX “as an essential foundation to pursue a variety of forward-thinking transit options” in the Tampa Bay area.

The day before the chamber’s vote, state transportation officials made a presentation to about 20 people who attended a public meeting on the TBX, sponsored by the chamber.

Kirk Bogen, the transportation department’s environmental manager engineer, said the Wesley Chapel presentation was the first one in the “outskirts” of the TBX project area.

“We’re putting out feelers, accepting invitations,” he said.

Hope Allen, president of the Wesley Chapel chamber, said the coalition’s goal is to inform people of what’s going on and “to make sure it’s the right fit for our commuters.”

The TBX and gridlock relief are key to the area’s future development, she said. Without the project, she added, “Wesley Chapel doesn’t look quite as appealing. We’re here to help you get this moving along.”

The toll express lanes also have strong support from Mayor Bob Buckhorn.

But, the project faces resistance within Tampa’s historic neighborhoods, including Tampa Heights, Ybor City and Seminole Heights. Community activists and a newly formed Sunshine Citizens coalition are working hard to block the TBX.

They have held a series of protest marches through neighborhoods that could lose about 100 businesses and homes to the road project. Among area businesses that could be torn down are Café Hey, the Oceanic Market and La Segunda Central Bakery, which has operated in Ybor City for more than 100 years. A public housing complex, Mobley Park apartments, also could be torn down.

Many in the neighborhoods remember past urban renewal projects that divided and devastated communities.

A crucial vote on the matter will take place on June 22 at 6 p.m., at the Hillsborough Metropolitan Planning Organization in the Hillsborough County Commission Chamber, at 601 E. Kennedy Blvd., in Tampa.

Members of that board approved the project in 2015 as part of their Transportation Improvement Plan, but opponents are hoping to sway some members to vote against it now.

There is critical need for the project and for toll revenues that can “help maintain the roads into the future,” Bogen said. Otherwise, he said, “Your system basically will continue to fail.”

On any day during rush hour, Pasco residents chug south on I-275 at speeds well under highway limits.

“I spend so much time stuck on freeways or Bearss Avenue or downtown, I don’t know where the time goes,” said Tom Ryan.

Ryan is economic development manager for the Pasco Economic Development Council, but said he was speaking as a private citizen.

Greg Vinas, B2B sales manager in Wesley Chapel, said he also would like to see light rail as an option, but the TBX is needed to reduce congestion and create connections.

“It will make the community that much smaller,” he said.

With improved transportation, one trend he hopes to see is reverse commuting with Tampa area residents coming to Pasco for jobs, as the area attracts new businesses.

“I know people now (from Tampa) who won’t come up here,” Vinas said.

To find out more about the proposed TBX project, visit TampaBayExpress.com. To learn more about the opposition, visit StopTBX.com.

Published April 27, 2016