ahead of the curve
JoelBay News 9:
Would a mass transit rail system benefit the Bay area?
The Trib:
Imagine a light rail system connecting New Tampa and Tampa International Airport, enabling suburban residents to reach the airport by train as they do in Atlanta.
What provocative talk. How refreshing it is to see someone finally asking these questions.
Actually, it is exciting to see these questions being raised on the big outlets. Still, this conversation isn’t new; plenty of local blogs have been making noise about the subject of light-rail and other transportation options, but none more specific and vocal than David Pinero’s Tampa Rail.
So kudos to David. It’ll be nice when the other papers take the Weekly Planet’s lead in recognizing Tampa Rail, but for Dave, I’m sure the widening discussion is rewarding enough.
Tags: blogs, newspapers, tampa, transportation
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June 30th, 2006 at 2:33 pm
Hey thanks for all that Joel! I only wish it were more resourceful in all that time, but that’s what the pros are for I suppose.
June 30th, 2006 at 4:58 pm
yeah, light rail wd be nice. but i cant help but agree w naysayers who point out that we are just not populated enough here yet to make it pay off. its just still too easy to drive, despite the gripes of those who complain of traffic. they just dont know traffic when they see it. and if there were a light rail from new tampa to tia, you wd still have to drive yr car to the rail terminal and pay to long-term park there, a deterrent that most wd avoid and simply pay for parking at tia which is still plentiful and dirt cheap. nope, it just aint gonna happen for 20-30 or more years. i mean tia is so uncrowded, you can still pull up at the curb and idle there as long as needed to pickup and drop off passengers, its pactically a cow pasture airport compared to really busy places up north or atlanta, houston or la.
still , i wonder if the trolley lines that once lay all over tampa are still there under the pavement. wdnt it be great to trolley out to the beach like people once cd around here?
June 30th, 2006 at 7:29 pm
Dreaming-your comment is right on for those who drive themselves to the airport. However, a large number of travelers are picked up/dropped off by family members or friends. I miss the DC area “kiss and ride” lanes where you stop just long enough to kiss the loved one and he or she takes off to ride the train the rest of the way in to the airport. Minneapolis built its first light rail line not as a commuter route but as an airport-downtown-Mall of America route. Ridership has exceeded the wildest claims of even the most ardent supporters. After spending the last couple Fridays in weekend get away traffic in the “Twin Cities” I can honestly say there is one metro area where people really don’t know bad traffic.
Also, to those who say this area is “too spread out” for light rail to work, consider that light rail can drive development, concentrating it around stations and slowing the gobbling up of ever more countryside.
July 3rd, 2006 at 9:41 am
Amen, Port Tampa, amen.