The
Federal Transit Administration (FTA) announced the award of approximately $11
million to 20 projects in 12 states to support comprehensive planning efforts
to improve access to public transportation. Funding through FTA's Pilot Program
for Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) Planning grants
will help organizations plan for transportation projects that connect
communities and improve access to transit and affordable housing.
"Transit-oriented
development offers easier, more affordable access to jobs, health care, school,
shopping, and other daily needs," said U.S. Transportation Secretary
Pete Buttigieg. "We're pleased to award this funding to help more
communities develop around transit in a way that reduces pollution, increases
economic opportunity, and contributes to affordable housing."
For those
interested in the TOD planning process, HART is holding the second of two
Public Design Charrettes on February 12, 2022, from 10 AM - 2:30 PM at the
Tampa Heights Junior Civic Association, 2005 N Lamar Ave. The purpose of the
charrette is to share information about the HART TOD Pilot Project, explore strategies to guide
land use and development, and share ideas for the community's future.
HART TOD Pilot
For more
information on the HART TOD Pilot Project, visit www.goHARTTOD.org.
For more
information on HART and the TECO Line Streetcar, visit www.goHART.org.
HART needs public input on the HART Tampa Arterial Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) Study, evaluating rapid bus service along Florida, Nebraska and/or Fowler
avenues, between USF and downtown Tampa. HART has released a short survey
to understand how respondents travel in the study area and the types of
improvements they would like to see.
The study's objectives are:
to
improve safety on these routes
to
improve connectivity for east-west routes within this corridor
to
improve local transit access on these roads, including bike/pedestrian
access
The public survey is available online in both English and Spanish.
For more information on the HART Tampa Arterial BRT Study, click here.
HART requires a new, fully functional, state of the art
maintenance facility.
It feels as if Americans are collectively holding our breath
when it comes to our infrastructure: Slamming into a pothole, or driving over a
deficient bridge, or the sheer number of automobiles on our roads causing
traffic congestion are all infrastructure repair issues. The majority of our
citizens are in suspense, pondering if another infrastructure tragedy might
happen or if we will be unscathed one more day.
None of this is new. Our nation's infrastructure has been in
a slow-motion decline, right before our eyes, for decades.
HART shares similar infrastructure stumbling blocks as other transit systems across
the country, which can create tremendous obstacles for the Authority as we plan
for future growth. Some of these challenges include maintaining our maintenance
facility, busways, streetcar system, and updating our bus fleet to name a few.
The high cost of maintaining our infrastructure comes at the
expense of expansion to meet the real demand for public transportation in
Hillsborough County. How to strike a balance between high capital costs for
infrastructure repair and the need for service expansion remains a primary
concern. The answer is an investment in safety measures and modernization, as
well as,
identifying long-term sustainable and reliable funding sources.
Our
transit system needs a viable and reliable long-term capital funding source.
What could increased capital investment in our county fund? According to the
American Public Transportation Association (APTA), every billion dollars
invested in public transportation supports and creates more than 50,000 jobs.
Another excellent example of the impact public transportation has on our
economy is for every $1 spent on public transit, $4 is pumped back into the
economy. Returns like that are priceless.
For HART employees and customers in Hillsborough County,
these dollars could fund:
Heavy Maintenance Facility - HART is
requesting $10 million to construct a new maintenance facility to replace the
existing maintenance building. The project would consist of a service area with
bus lifts and other heavy maintenance equipment, storm-water treatment, canopied
fuel island, wash facility, restrooms, break rooms, electronic shop, classrooms,
maintenance offices and support area. This new facility would support HART's
approach to modern, efficient transit maintenance service.
HART MetroRapid BRT Study - HART's
Bus Rapid Transit design/engineering study of the Nebraska Avenue MetroRapid
corridor, the Fowler Avenue corridor, and the Florida Avenue corridor. FDOT has
dedicated $2.5 million in the Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) to work
with HART and local stakeholders to fund a design/engineering study of these
important corridors. Enhancing MetroRapid to adopt many of the attributes of
BRT service will expand the potential market and increase the chances for a
Small Starts/grant for the East-West line. This project could potentially
qualify for the FTA Small Starts funding.
TECO Line
Streetcar System Extension - The proposed extension would extend the existing 2.7-mile
streetcar line. The two preferred routes would travel an additional 1.3 miles
from E Whiting Street north to E Palm Avenue.This project would open up the
possibilities for further economic development and Transit-Oriented Development
(TOD) along the proposed line.
HART requires a new, fully functional, state of the art
maintenance facility.
The demand for transit growth in Hillsborough County is
evident - we see it monthly at our Board of Directors meetings as countless
numbers of residents and organizations approach us with requests for new and
expanded service. Customers want to experience shorter trip times, higher
frequency, fewer hassles while commuting; which are improvements HART recently
implemented during our Mission MAX system redesign.
If we want a modern, safe, reliable transit system, we need
to act now. The Tampa region deserves world-class infrastructure, and our
stakeholders deserve nothing less. Let's use our collective voice to
send a message to our elected leaders to close the infrastructure investment
gap and demand that sustainable, long-term funding for transit is a
priority.
There has been no shortage of transit studies in the Tampa
Bay area in recent years. In fact, over the past 30 years, more than 55 plans
and studies for transit have been conducted by Tampa Bay area agencies.
But the question remains: How can we turn planning into
projects? Answering this question is the goal of the Regional Transit Feasibility
Plan.
Creation of the plan started in November 2016, with a review
of those 55 previous plans. After that work is complete, the process will move
into creating a plan for a regional transit network, culminating in
recommendations for improvements that address needs in the community and have a
solid chance of getting funding.
The ultimate goal: identify the top transit corridors in the
Tampa Bay region, while determining one “catalyst project” that would be
eligible for federal funding and could be implemented first.
The plan is being funded by the Florida Department of
Transportation (FDOT) and is being administered by the Hillsborough Area
Regional Transit Authority (HART).
“Our mission is to create a ‘route map’ to implementation,”
said Katharine Eagan, Chief Executive Officer of HART, the agency administering
the plan. “The result, we hope, will be a catalyst project that’s the first of
many projects that will be competitive for federal funding, forward thinking,
and makes the best use of today’s technology.”
The Tampa Bay region is defined for this plan as the
urbanized areas of Hillsborough, Pasco, and Pinellas counties.
The Regional Transit Feasibility Plan will be conducted in
two phases. The first phase consists of a year of technical analysis to identify
the most competitive projects. During the first year, the milestones will
include identifying the most promising corridors for transit, then identifying
what type of transit mode can best serve those corridors, and finally,
determining which projects could potentially be implemented first.
How did we get here?
The starting point for the Regional Transit Feasibility Plan
is the adopted county and regional Long Range Transportation Plans and the more
than 50 plans and studies completed by Tampa Bay area agencies over the past
30-plus years. The step-by-step process will then determine which projects are
the most competitive for implementation.
During phase one, public involvement will be heavily focused
on digital communication (website, online surveys, social media, and e-communication)
but will also offer many in-person opportunities to get engaged (community
workshops, small group meetings, and a stakeholder working group).
Phase two will involve vetting and refining plans for those
specific projects to make sure the catalyst project selected is the best
project for the region and is supported by the community. During phase two, a
wide range of communication tools will be utilized, including public meetings,
workshops, special events, the website, social media, town halls, and regional
transit forums.
“The simplest way to describe what it takes to build a
premium transit project is by answering the following three questions: What is
the project? How is it funded? And who is responsible for building and
maintaining it?” Eagan said. “During this plan, we will be addressing the first
question and identifying possible next steps so the region can move forward
with answering questions two and three.”
To learn more about the Regional Transit Feasibility Plan,
and to participate in our transit preference survey, visit the project website
at www.tbregionaltransit.com.
With our MetroRapid North-South service only a few days old, local Fox affiliate took to the streets to gauge opinion of the new service with a "boom or bust" feature. Below are a few of the best responses.
"Boom! And it's like a lightning bolt, that fast! - Gabriel King
"It's the boom man, I think it's a good project that the HART line
company got going on for the people that's trying to get somewhere
faster." - Jyrale Carter
MetroRapid buses feature bus preferential technology
The best part?
They couldn't find anyone for the segment that believed MetroRapid was a bust!
If you're interested in the full article with a few more quotes from MetroRapid riders, check out the link.
MetroRapid North-South is a premier bus service from HART featuring traffic signal priority that extends green lights and shortens red lights when the bus is behind schedule, off-vehicle ticket vending machines, modern stations, and special low-floor buses. The service operates every 15 minutes (30 minutes from UATC to Hidden River Regional Park-N-Ride) Monday - Friday from 5 a.m. - 8 p.m. Try the service for FREE until June 7th, after that the service costs the same as local route service ($2.00 one-way; $4.00 all day). Click here for more information about MetroRapid.
Interested in learning more about MetroRapid East-West?
We're holding the last of three open houses today 4:30 p.m. - 7:30 p.m. at NetPark for MetroRapid East-West. HART staff will be on site to answer questions and receive public input on the project, which is now in the Project Development and Environmental (PD&E) Study phase. The PD&E phase started in Fall 2011 and is scheduled to be completed by early Fall 2012. The final PD&E report will be presented during an upcoming HART Board meeting, which is open to the public.
MetroRapid will feature 40-ft. low-floor buses
A quick refresher... MetroRapid uses multiple Bus Rapid Transit-esque traits, such as ticket
vending machines, traffic signal priority (TSP), high frequencies and
enhanced passenger stations.
MetroRapid East-West is proposed to operate between Tampa International Airport and Temple Terrace, providing enhanced service to International Plaza, Westshore Plaza, the West Tampa Transfer Center, Raymond James Stadium, St. Joseph's Hospital and more. MetroRapid East-West is the second corridor of the HART MetroRapid system and it is funded through Early Design.
MetroRapid North-South, the first corridor currently under construction, is a 17.5 mile line that will operate between Telecom Park near the University of South Florida and downtown Tampa at Marion Transit Center. Buses will use TSP technology to shave upwards of 15% off the current travel time along Nebraska and Fletcher Avenues. Paid for by Hillsborough County Community Investment Tax funds, the project is under budget by more than $6 million.
The public is welcome to drop by at any time during the open house.
