It was a horrible choice in the first place, and the idea that Shelton Quarles was going to be the happy face of a regional tax referendum to pay for rail transit was pretty ludicrous. So today we hear that Quarles, the former Tampa Bay Bucs linebacker, will step stepped down. Bay Buzz reports:

Shelton Quarles, the former Bucs linebacker turned transportation authority chairman, is resigning from the board, vice chairman Frank Hibbard said today.

“I was just told yesterday that Shelton had resigned,” Hibbard said, saying the resignation was effective immediately and he would begin overseeing the Tampa Bay Area Regional Transportation Authority board.

Read my story “Tackling Transit,” on Quarles when he was first appointed and the controversy about his selection.

And read Quarles PR statement released late today after the news already broke. Good job getting out in front of it, TBARTA:

Shelton Quarles, Chairman of the Tampa Bay Area Transportation Authority (TBARTA), informed Florida Governor Charlie Crist in a letter this week that he will not seek re-appointment to the TBARTA Board.

In the letter he writes, “I regret that I will not be able to serve another term; I finish my current term knowing this region is on its way to implementing and building a world class transportation network.”

“My continuing and growing responsibilities with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are such that they need more than my full-time attention. I have always prided myself in the fact that when I commit to an endeavor, I give it my all. I do not want to be in a position where I am not able to carry out all the required and necessary responsibilities of a TBARTA board member,” Quarles said.

Quarles was named Chairman of the TBARTA Board by Governor Crist in September 2007. In the two years he served as Chair, TBARTA created a transportation vision for the Tampa Bay region by developing and adopting a Regional Transportation Master Plan. Development of the plan included engaging more than 47,500 people in the region during the process.

“Shelton has been a tremendous asset to our organization. His leadership has helped us to come this far in just two short years,” said TBARTA Executive Director Bob Clifford.

Quarles term expires on September 20, 2009. However, he will remain a member of the TBARTA board until such time that the Governor names a replacement.

Local transportation agencies have been holding joint public outreach meetings in an effort to inform and involve the public on transportation issues. These agencies, which are the Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO), Tampa Bay Area Regional Transportation Authority (TBARTA), and Hillsborough Area Regional Transit (HART), have coordinated efforts forming a transportation task force which has held public meetings throughout the city.

The need for public transportation is growing, especially in Tampa, which makes these meetings rather important. Wednesday, I attended a meeting at the Community Center on 22nd Street. Thursday, I was able to chat with the MPO Executive Director Ray Chiaramonte.

Why is developing public transportation in Tampa important? Here is what we talked about:

The need for public transportation could not be overstated.  A city that enjoys an effective public transit has greater economic opportunities, a higher environmental quality, and added safety and security.  People benefit from the increased mobility offering them more entertainment and employment options.  This is not a hard idea to sell.  In fact, Chiaramonte says that public support for an effective transportation system has been on the rise.  “People are thinking practically now,” says Chiaramonte, “especially now that oil prices are rising”.

So then, let’s talk about what it takes to develop an effective transportation system and how we’re going about it.

First, it is important to realize that the plans and projects of MPO, TBARTA, and HART are coordinated to form a coherent whole of transportation services. This is important because their cooperation avoids typical pitfalls of competing agencies, such as fighting over land, funding, etc.

Second, our transportation needs go beyond our county lines and are interconnected with the greater metropolitan area. Thinking about improving public transportation in our area, then, requires incorporating other neighboring areas, such as Hernando, Pasco, Pinellas, Polk, Manatee and others, into a regional plan. Click here for other regional maps.

The obvious reason for this is that we are a traveling community. We commute to work and to school, we visit our family and friends. What is most important to understanding our regional dynamics is the role that Hillsborough plays for other counties. According to Chiaramonte, Hillsborough could be seen as the center of Tampa because it provides a number of services and employs a tremendous amount of people; “It really is the heart of employment.”

When asked how Chiaramonte would describe Hillsborough’s transportation system compared to other competing cities, he said “We’re somewhat behind other cities such as Charlotte, Dallas, Atlanta, all of these cities have some form of rail”. This is not to suggest that we haven’t made any improvements but more are still needed, especially since Tampa is growing. “The past five years Tampa has gone up a tier I would say.”

This is why it is so important to move forward with plans for developing a regional and multimodal transportation system.  Between the traffic congestion, population, carbon emissions, and price of gasoline, developing public transit just makes sense. However, it is up to the community to get involved and communicate with the MPO and other agencies.  Designing the system requires the publics input and consent.

On a closing note, Chiaramonte said that it is important to “understand that we are living in a different world.” We can no longer rely on “old thinking” when it comes to designing our cities. I couldn’t agree more and urge the rest of Tampa to get involved with improving our public transportation.

Here is how you can get involved with the MPO:

On its website on the left is a “get involved” sidebar. I suggest you sign up for their mailing list. You can also email them your suggestions and take a survey letting them know your transportation priorities.

Here is a calendar you can view for their events and attend a public meeting.

Here is how to contact the transportation planning agency.

Again, TBARTA’s website is www.tbarta.com and HART’s website is www.gohart.org.

The Tampa Bay Area Regional Transportation Authority, the group trying to put together a seven-county transportation and light rail system, is going to randomly call residents starting next week and ask them to participate in a phone-in town hall meeting, in a system called iTownHall.

For those not called, you can take part, too, if you like. Just call toll-free, 1-877-269-7289 and enter PIN# 14837 prior to each call. The schedule for which TBARTA elected officials, staffers and appointed board members, and the full news release, is after the jump:

TBARTA Goes the Extra Mile to Share Regional Transportation Master Plan with the Public

Tampa, Fla., April 20, 2009 – Phones across the Tampa Bay region will start ringing on April 27 as The Tampa Bay Area Regional Transportation Authority (TBARTA) begins its latest effort to involve the public using innovative telephone town hall meetings.

Between April 27 and May 13, over 300,000 residents will be invited to use this exciting new technology and speak directly to members of the TBARTA Board and TBARTA’s executive director. Their input will guide the final development of the Regional Transportation Master Plan.

“Through speakers’ bureau presentations, community workshops, and attendance at live events, more than 12,000 people have already learned about TBARTA and contributed in shaping the future plans for transportation in this region,” said Bob Clifford, executive director of TBARTA. “However, by utilizing these live telephone town hall meetings, we will be able to reach even wider to engage community members.”

Live telephone town hall meetings (called iTownHall meetings) have been successfully used by members of Congress who want to speak directly to their constituents. TBARTA will tap this communication breakthrough to vastly increase the amount of input from the citizens who will ultimately use the TBARTA transportation system.

Here is how the iTownHall meetings will work:

• A random sample of 40,000 residents will be called each night and invited to participate in an iTownHall meeting.
• In addition to the random calls, interested citizens who wish to join the iTownHall meeting may call toll-free, 1-877-269-7289 and enter PIN# 14837 prior to each call.
• Eight iTownHall meetings are scheduled for a total of 320,000 calls over a two-week period.
• Two TBARTA Board members, along with staff, will host the calls and answer questions from participants.
• Participants may either ask questions on the call, or submit their comments on-line by visiting the TBARTA web site at www.TBARTA.com.
• Anyone who plans to participate in a TBARTA iTownHall meeting is encouraged to visit the TBARTA web site and view the draft Regional Transportation Master Plan.

The schedule for the iTownHall meetings, beginning at 7 p.m. each night, is as follows:

o    Monday, April 27: Hosted by Commissioner Ken Hagan, Hillsborough County and Shawn Harrison, Gubernatorial Appointee
o    Tuesday, April 28: Hosted by Commissioner Ann Hildebrand, Pasco County and Hugh McGuire, Gubernatorial Appointee
o    Wednesday, April 29: Hosted by Commissioner David Russell, Hernando County and Commissioner John Thrumston, Citrus County
o    Thursday, April 30: Hosted by Commissioner Karen Seel, Pinellas County and Councilman Jeff Danner, City of St. Petersburg
o    Monday, May 4: Hosted by Mayor Frank Hibbard, City of Clearwater and Shelton Quarles, Chairman and Gubernatorial Appointee
o    Tuesday, May 5: Hosted by Commissioner Nora Patterson, Sarasota County and Michael Bullerdick, Gubernatorial Appointee
o    Wednesday, May 6: Hosted by Commissioner Donna Hayes, Manatee County and Mayor Wayne Poston, City of Bradenton
o    Wednesday, May 13: Hosted by Mayor Pam Iorio, City of Tampa and FDOT District 7 Secretary Don Skelton

“We are excited for the opportunity to speak directly to so many of our residents and to discuss future regional transportation needs and solutions,” said Shelton Quarles, chairman of TBARTA.

In addition to the iTownHall meetings, residents will have an opportunity to comment on the draft Regional Transportation Master Plan at a public hearing on May 11, 2009 at 6 p.m. at the Alfano Center at 11606 N. McKinley Drive, Tampa, 33612. Information about this public hearing can be found at the TBARTA website.

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. The legislature has mandated that TBARTA must create a Regional Transportation Master Plan for the Tampa Bay region by July 2009.  TBARTA is working to present a plan to the public by May 2009. 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.

 More than four out of five Tampa Bay region residents say that traffic congestion is a serious problem, and there is widespread support for addressing the region’s traffic challenges with a regional approach that includes commuter rail and mass transit.  These findings come from a public opinion survey on regional transportation issues conducted recently by the Tampa Bay Area Regional Transportation Authority (TBARTA), which was formed in 2007 by the Florida state legislature and tasked with developing a mass transportation plan for the seven counties surrounding Tampa Bay.

Overall, survey respondents cited traffic congestion as a significant problem in the Tampa region. Across all counties, 60 percent of survey respondents rate traffic congestion as an “extremely serious” or “very serious” problem, compared to 9 percent who rate it as “not serious.”

The survey results indicate that traffic congestion is viewed by residents in the Greater Tampa Bay area as a problem that requires a regional strategy. Survey respondents generally favor transit investments over more road building: 59 percent agree with a statement that “highways and roads alone aren’t enough. . . we need commuter rail and more mass transit to reduce traffic congestion,” compared to 34 percent who agree with an opposing statement that argued “build more roads and highways … light rail and mass transit are too expensive and ineffective because not enough people use them to justify the high cost.”

Also, respondents favor an integrated, regional transit planning approach over a county-by-county approach. Nearly two-thirds (63 percent) agree with the statement that counties in the greater Tampa Bay region “should join together and jointly plan an integrated regional transportation solution,” while 31 percent agree with an opposing statement that “each individual county should develop its own plans and transit systems.”

Oh, and the public says it has no idea who TBARTA is:

Another key finding is that while TBARTA is still largely unfamiliar among Greater Tampa Bay area region residents, there is strong support for the creation of the organization and its goals.  When survey respondents were first provided with basic information about TBARTA and its mission, and then asked whether they believed such an organization was a good or bad idea, 69 percent agree that such an organization is a “good idea.”

C’mon, my peeps, we did a whole cover story on these guys. Ahh, the awesome power of the press.

More survey results on the jump:

The TBARTA poll also found:

• There is support for investing in a mix of transportation modes. 68 percent of respondents say they would support building light rail and commuter rail throughout the region. 75 percent of respondents say they support more regional bus service, and 66 percent say they support expanding highways in the region.
• 68 percent say they believe using taxpayer dollars to improve transportation is a “good use” of taxpayer funds.
• 63 percent of respondents who are familiar with TBARTA have a favorable impression of TBARTA.

The phone survey was conducted between March 6 – 19, 2008 from a random sampling of 3,500 residents in the seven-county TBARTA district.  The survey has a +/- 4.4 percent margin of error at a 95 percent level of confidence.

I’m watching the TBARTA meeting as I write this (on HTV22 if you are in Hillsborough). I was there in person for the first 90 minutes; it was about as exciting as watching snails fuck. You have to wonder how long the major politicos (Iorio, Baker et al.) will put up with attending these kinds of tedious meetings.

Having said that, and despite Chairman Quarles shaky start reading his prepared “How To Run A Govt Meeting” script, they have been setting goals this morning and it does sound like they are focused on transit and the things that will really help this region. They have until July 1, 2009, to come up with a long-term regional plan for transportation.