Panelists of the eTownHall: A Transit Alternative for a Stronger, Faster Pinellas engage with citizens during the live interactive event. The panelists are, from left, Sarah Ward, Pinellas County MPO interim executive director; Jeff Danner, St. Petersburg council member and TBARTA board member; moderator Bob Clifford, TBARTA executive director and R.B. Johnson, mayor of Indian Rocks Beach and former PSTA chair.
CLEARWATER - The Pinellas Transit Alternatives Analysis Team, in partnership with Pinellas County, had its fourth eTownHall Jan. 18, in the final phase of its study on the future of Pinellas County’s transit.
This virtual, telephone, and televised event focused on light rail transit, the study recommendation for a transit project connecting St. Petersburg to the Greater Gateway area and Clearwater, with a regional connection across Tampa Bay to Hillsborough County.
The plans are the initial results of a large-scale transit study and public outreach effort conducted by the Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority, the Pinellas County Metropolitan Planning Organization, the Tampa Bay Area Regional Transportation Authority and the Florida Department of Transportation.
The eTownHall was part of the public outreach effort and used to connect to thousands of citizens through the phone, TV and online blogging, tweeting and live video. Participants posted 272 comments on the blog on www.pinellascounty.org/etownhall. The phone operators engaged 4,436 citizens.
Many of the questions, opinions and comments from the public were addressed live by members of the Pinellas Alternatives Analysis Project Advisory Committee. Moderated by Bob Clifford, TBARTA executive director, the panel comprised of Jeff Danner, St. Petersburg council member and TBARTA board member and PSTA board chair; R.B. Johnson, mayor of Indian Rocks Beach and former PSTA chair; and Sarah Ward, Pinellas County MPO interim executive director.
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