Commissioner Murman quoted in this Tampa Tribune article on HART:
TRANSPORTATION
HART ponders where next major bus route should go
By Yvette C. Hammett | Tribune Staff
Published: September 28, 2015 | Updated: September 29, 2015 at 08:04 AM
TAMPA — The Hillsborough Area Regional Transit Authority board on Monday postponed passage of its long-range transit plan until it decides whether to first serve customers by focusing on future growth downtown or with a new rapid-bus route to get them to jobs more quickly.
Neither route is funded, and neither would be built for years. Still, the board wants to look at potential bus ridership and consider which plan should get the next slot for development.
The two contenders: an east-west route that runs generally from Temple Terrace to Tampa International Airport, or a Kennedy Boulevard route that runs from downtown Tampa to the West Shore Business District and, eventually, Tampa International Airport.
The board was set to vote on an update of its transit development plan on Monday night. That vote now is expected to be in November.
The 10-year plan is mandated by the state to consider future improvements and additions for HART routes and buses.
Marco Sandusky, senior manager of equal employment opportunities and community programs for HART, told board members that planning and design work has been completed for a $20 million, 17.7-mile east-west MetroRapid route.
But Hillsborough County Commissioner Sandy Murman, who sits on the HART board, said Kennedy Boulevard should get priority.
“For what we need to develop for all the tourists and the people that work downtown, I feel like we’re missing the boat here,” Murman said. “I just don’t see the interest in the east-west.”
Murman called the proposed Kennedy MetroRapid route “significant to economic development” and to creating transit-oriented development that is appealing to people who want to live and work downtown.
The roughly $18 million, 8.3-mile route would better serve businesses the county is attempting to lure to Tampa, she said. Some board members agreed but said they wanted to hear a presentation from HART staff on what each route would offer.
HART Director Mickey Jacob said getting working people to and from their place of employment should be HART’s first priority.
HART CEO Katharine Eagan said the board will hear in November more details on both corridors before it votes to transmit the updated plan to Tallahassee.
Board members also said during the meeting that despite an investigation over how the county chose a consulting firm for its Go Hillsborough transportation initiative, HART needs to consider the public input that came out of it in developing its future transit plan.
“Everything should not be just thrown out because there have been questions about the process,” said Hillsborough County Commissioner Kevin Beckner, a member of the HART board.
The HART board also approved an $84.6 million budget for fiscal 2016, slightly less than 1 percent higher than this year’s budget. The tax rate of 50 cents per $1,000 of property value means the owner of a $150,000 house with a $25,000 homestead exemption can expect to pay about $62.50 a year to fund county bus service.
