Editorial
All about foresight
| Article published on Tuesday, June 24, 2008 |
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Gov. Charlie Crist’s approval of the $2 million legislative appropriation proves that state officials are serious about combating traffic gridlock in the Tampa Bay area.
Since the state budget was slashed by $4 billion this year, deeply affecting many services, Crist and the Legislature could have made strong arguments against approving the special funding for the Tampa Bay Regional Transportation Authority, which is served by elected and appointed officials representing seven counties.
Florida Tax Watch had recommended that the appropriation be rejected because it did not go through standard budgeting procedures. Consequently, it comes as no surprise that the $2 million is considered a turkey, pork or other terms coined for special appropriations.
However, state and area leaders have repeatedly emphasized that significant regional transportation solutions require partnership among local, state and federal governments and a variety of business interests.
The $2 million ensures that the agency has life; the money is needed for the authority to hire staff, have legal support and to promote its mission to the public. Time is short. Under state law the agency has until July 2009 to submit its master plan to state officials.
Though it is only a year old, TBARTA can point to growing support for its efforts. From the onset, the authority has had the critical backing of the Tampa Bay Partnership, an organization designed to stimulate economic growth and development in the Tampa Bay area. Through private donations, the partnership several weeks ago presented a check to TBARTA for $50,000, matching public donations.
Also encouraging is that in a survey involving 3,500 interviews in the region, 59 percent of the respondents said they prefer more mass transit and commuter rail over more roads to relieve traffic congestion. The respondents also favor a regional transit planning approach over a county-by-county approach.
The Tampa Bay area remains one of the largest areas in the world without a major investment in sophisticated rail or bus service. The delay in annual travel time in the area has increased 119 percent from 1990 to 2005, reports say.
Such statistics, combined with the troubling steady increase in the price of gasoline, should help the authority as well as state officials make their case for funding regional transportation plans.
Despite criticism that regional transportation alternatives come with staggering costs, TBARTA’s efforts are gaining momentum.
Too much is at stake – the economic vitality of the area, public safety and quality of life – for elected officials to let criticism or labels for funding dissuade them from having the foresight to bring about significant changes in the area’s transportation system, though the improvements won’t occur overnight.
If all goes well, pundits will look back on the $2 million appropriation as the best turkey ever served in the Tampa Bay area.
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Article published on Tuesday, June 24, 2008
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