yet another mass transit post
The Tribune had two stories recently that, intentionally or not, seem to be an attempt to redirect the attention of our beloved County Commision from my groin to my wallet.
Mark Holan’s piece on the renewed effort to regulate the strip clubs out of business bookends well with Ted Jackovic’s look at the relationship between mass transit and any possible economic impact. I hate to be the guy ringing the light rail drum that our local blogs tend to obssess about but it sounds like our elected officials need to stand up and explain why they are dragging their feet on this issue. According to Jackovic, business leaders are beginning to push hard for a solution.
…an inevitable political showdown between the powerful local business community supporting multimodal transit - considering a range of bus, rail and even monorail operations - and elected officials whose constituencies includes many taxpayers unlikely to use transit.
However, the Tampa Bay Business Journal has just the latest in a string of polls suggesting that people may not be as opposed to the idea as this suggests. Of course, when you actually start taking money out of their wallets, those poll numbers might change drastically. I have said before that elected officials are expected to be leaders and make decisions to advance the quality of our community, not just support whatever issue is more likely to get them elected.
Tags: hc bocc, tampa, transportation
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June 23rd, 2006 at 6:13 pm
or re-elected in this instance.
Or make them look good to their Party base.
June 24th, 2006 at 12:46 pm
I still say I’d pay more in taxes for the availability of alternate transport sources. I’m not unique so others must feel the same way, particularly given the long-term fossil fuel situation. The ones against all the transportation alternatives seem to be the Hummer-driving, I-can-afford-it-so-why-shouldn’t-I crowd.
June 24th, 2006 at 1:07 pm
Jason - The hard thing to realize is that the Legislature created the ability for the Hillsborough County Commission to ask the voters for permission to impose a 1/2 cent sales tax for transit and transportation projects.
Our Commissioners, despite efforts by state leaders, refuse to put the issue to the voters. The rationale I have heard is that by simply putting the issue on the ballot, they could be attacked for “increasing taxes”.
June 24th, 2006 at 3:17 pm
Jim, wasn’t the referendum posed to voters earlier this decade and voted down? 2004 or 2003 I think…?
June 25th, 2006 at 6:50 pm
[...] Jason, one of the bloggers at Sticks of Fire writes of the issue that will likely be a major issue in elections and local politics over the next decade. Of the several local candidates that I have been privileged to speak to this campaign season, this has been one issue where I have asked direct questions and expected an answer in no uncertain terms that some sort of rail transport system be implemented in the region with the cooperation of each municipality and the counties concerned. [...]
June 26th, 2006 at 1:02 am
My friends and I are convinced a downtown (west side) Tampa to downtown (central ave.) St. Pete shuttle train would be amazingly successful. I’d use it ALL THE TIME.
June 26th, 2006 at 8:32 am
Canofworms, although we did vote for a high-speed rail heading towards Orlando, the mandate was overturned by the we-know-better-than-you Florida legislature. The voters didn’t “change their minds.” Jeb went to work convicing the politicians it was a bad idea…some argument about too sharp of a turn.
I mean, really, what does this state have against trains? Is is Freudian? What?
June 26th, 2006 at 8:59 am
I thought we voted against it a few years later?
June 26th, 2006 at 10:48 pm
Sandy,
I could be wrong and I have been before, but I remember a voter referendum that dealt with the high speed rail project between Tampa and Orlando in which voters decided that they didn’t want it. I don’t doubt that Jeb bashed it every chance that he could get.