Tampa Bay Leads Region in Transportation Initiatives

History shows us that transportation is the backbone of economic development. If the Tampa Bay region is going to take its rightful place in the world economy, people and goods must be able to move easily within the region. Florida’s role in international trade has not yet reached its full potential. Our unique geographic position near Latin America and the Caribbean can be an economic boon to the Tampa Bay area, the likes of which we have never seen before.

We’re blessed with a deep-water port and one of the world’s best airports, Tampa International, as well as the St. Petersburg-Clearwater International Airport, which will increasingly become a major player in air transport. However, ground transportation continues to be a challenge. It’s a challenge that can’t be answered with just one response – we’ll need to pull from an entire repertoire of innovative solutions.

We’re already making an incredible investment – up to one billion dollars over the next 10 years – in increased highway capacity. The Tampa-Hillsborough County Expressway Authority is building a reversible, elevated highway from Brandon to downtown Tampa. HARTline and PSTA are continually improving service, as evidenced by the $53-million TECO Line Streetcar System and the luxury public transit system planned between Hillsborough and Pinellas counties next year.

The Tampa Bay region is also taking the lead in employer initiatives that help minimize rush-hour traffic. It’s a win-win situation for everyone in the region. Businesses get tax breaks and other savings. Individual workers save hundreds or even thousands of dollars a year and minimize stress. Regionally, traffic congestion and air pollution are reduced, plus gases that cause global warming are diminished.

Working with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), employers are stepping up to the plate. Three local employers– the Center for Urban Transportation Research (CUTR), Hillsborough County and MacDill Air Force Base – were recognized last week with Commuter Choices Leadership Initiative awards. The first of this elite group of leaders from Florida, they join 300 companies like Apple, Nike and Hewlett-Packard around the country.

Presenting the awards at Bay Area Commuter Services’ 12^th annual meeting last week, Beverly Banister, the EPA’s Region 4 director of air, pesticides and toxics management, congratulated the organizations for embracing concepts that reduce congestion and air pollution. They each developed programs that meet specific employee needs:

· At CUTR, employees use public transit at no charge by presenting their employee badge. Flextime and compressed work weeks that help employees avoid rush-hour traffic also are encouraged.

· Hillsborough County provides each employee with $50 per month toward the cost of vanpools, and $75 toward the cost of public transit, plus offers free parking to employees participating in van and carpools.

· MacDill subsidizes 100% of the cost of public transit or vanpools, an initiative that has tripled the use of buses in some areas.

Banister also recognized the region – including the Environmental Protection Commission of Hillsborough County and the Pinellas County Department of Environmental Management – for creating one of the first Clean Air Partner programs in the southeast. A dozen organizations were honored for encouraging commuter choices, including AEGON, Busch Gardens, Don CeSar Beach Resort, Florida Department of Transportation, James A. Haley Veterans Hospital, Tampa General Hospital, University Mall, University of South Florida, USAA and Wellcare HMO.

Another important initiative by BACS and the Pinellas County Metropolitan Planning Organization is one of the nation’s first efforts to focus on building community partnerships with churches, civic organizations and developers that promote ridesharing opportunities outside of the traditional workplace setting.

Even with all these accomplishments, transportation is still the single most important challenge facing the region. In spite of billions of dollars invested in highways, congestion is increasing and the average commute is getting longer. Mass transit also has improved dramatically, but the next steps are still undecided. It’s a chicken-and-egg situation – the public won’t use mass transit unless it’s easily accessible and offers on-time service, but governments must make significant investments first.

Carpools and vanpools are inexpensive, easily available options, but we still face the biggest challenge of all: changing people’s attitudes about their cars. It’s an intense love affair and a symbol of independence from teenagers in their first cars to seniors who cherish their ability to take care of themselves.

As the region continues to grow, we will become more dependent on options besides driving to work alone. We won’t have a choice. Businesses that take a leadership position can help ensure that our economic development efforts are successful – plus save money and improve their own employee recruitment and retention strategies.

Len Tria served as chairman of Bay Area Commuter Services for 12 years until he stepped down from the position last week. Recently retired as a vice president of Coastal Engineering Associates of Brooksville, he also has served as pro-bono executive director of the Tampa Bay Commuter Rail Authority and on the Board of County Commissioners in Hernando County. He currently serves on SWFWMD’s Coastal Rivers Basin Board and several county committees. For more information on BACS, call 800-998-RIDE or visit www.tampabayrideshare.org.