TBARTA’s online public meetings
July 15th, 2008 by Wayne Garcia in TransportationThis just in from the folks who want to solve our regional transportation problems, the Tampa Bay Area Regional Transportation Authority:
TBARTA Now Offering Community Workshops Online -
Giving the Public Even More Opportunities to Participate
The Transportation Authority seeks public participation in the second phase of its master plan development
Tampa, Fla. - (July 17, 2008) - An online option for public participation in TBARTA’s Community Workshops will be available for this round of regional transportation master planning.
On Tuesday, July 22, from 11:30 a.m. - 1:30 p.m., and Wednesday, August 6, from 6:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m., the Tampa Bay Area Regional Transportation Authority (TBARTA) will host Community Workshops online at www.tbarta.com.
What are TBARTA Community Workshops?
Light rail or bus rapid transit? Commuter rail, managed lanes, or waterborne transit? TBARTA will ask the public to imagine the possibilities and share their ideas on different transit modes for our region at the next series of community workshops.
The workshops are part of TBARTA’s effort to develop a transportation master plan for the seven-county West Central Florida region, including Citrus, Hernando, Hillsborough, Manatee, Pasco, Pinellas, and Sarasota Counties.
TBARTA has recently completed Phase One of the master plan development, during which the public provided important comments on where transit service should be located to serve regional transportation needs. The second phase has begun, and TBARTA is now asking the public what type of transit mode would be best for each of the transportation corridors that moved into Phase Two. Some of the transit mode options that will be evaluated are bus rapid transit, commuter rail, light rail, managed lanes, and waterborne transit.
Participate Online
To participate in online Community Workshops, visit www.tbarta.com and click on the “Meetings” tab to locate the link for the online meetings. Or go directly to:
Online Community Workshop #1: http://www.tbarta.com/?q=node/1188
Online Community Workshop #2: http://www.tbarta.com/?q=node/1189
During the two meeting times - Tuesday, July 22, from 11:30 a.m. - 1:30 p.m., and Wednesday, August 6, from 6 - 8 p.m. - a live, moderated Powerpoint presentation will be given at the beginning of the meeting time and repeated one hour later. In addition, TBARTA representatives will answer questions and ask for ideas and comments from the online audience.
During the online Community Workshop, visitors will be asked to complete a survey. This survey will also be available on the website outside of the meeting times for residents to complete at their convenience.
Other Opportunities to Participate
Additional Community Workshops will be held from 5:30 p.m. - 7:30 p.m. at the following locations. The workshops will be held “open house” style and will all contain the same information, so please stop by any time at the location of your choice.
Wednesday, July 23 - Manatee County
The Lakewood Ranch Community Room
(located in Northern Trust Bank, Suite 203)
6320 Venture Dr., Bradenton
Thursday, July 24 - Sarasota County
Venice Community Center
326 South Nokomis Ave., Venice
Tuesday, July 29 - Pasco County
Alice Hall Community Center
38116 Fifth Avenue, Zephyrhills
Wednesday, July 30 - Citrus County
West Citrus Community Center
8940 W. Veterans Dr., Homosassa
Thursday, July 31 - Hernando County
Holiday Inn Express - Spring Hill
3528 Commercial Way, Spring Hill
Tuesday, Aug. 5 - Hillsborough County
Doubletree Hotel
4500 W. Cypress Street, Tampa
Thursday, Aug. 7 - Pinellas County
Largo Cultural Center
105 Central Park Drive, Largo
As the master planning process moves into phase three, additional workshops will be held for public comment as well. These workshops are currently planned for Fall 2008. For more information on TBARTA and the Master Plan, visit www.tbarta.com or call 813-217-4048.
Individuals requiring accommodations under the Americans with Disabilities Act or persons who require translation services (free of charge) should contact Brandie Miklus at 813-217-4037 at least three (3) days prior to the meeting. Public participation is solicited without regard to race, color, religion, sex, age, nation origin, disability, or family status.
About TBARTA
The Tampa Bay Area Regional Transportation Authority was created by the Florida Legislature in 2007 to plan and develop a multimodal transportation system that will connect the seven counties of the Tampa Bay region. These counties include Citrus, Hernando, Hillsborough, Manatee, Pasco, Pinellas, and Sarasota. TBARTA’s mission is to improve mobility and expand multimodal transportation options for passengers and freight throughout the seven-county region. The legislature has mandated that TBARTA must create a Regional Transportation Master Plan for the Tampa Bay region by July 2009 and TBARTA is working to complete it by the end of 2008. The goal of this Master Plan is to engage the public in developing a vision for regional integration of transportation systems and foster partnerships with government agencies and business entities.
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