Tampa mayoral candidates back LRT
Written by William C. Vantuono, Editor-in-ChiefHillsborough County, Fla., voters last November defeated a proposed light rail transit system for the Tampa Bay area, but Tampa mayoral candidates this year continue to support LRT for the city itself.
The explanation, in part, is attributed to particulars in last year’s vote: Though the LRT proposal was defeated, voters within Tampa proper, by a tiny majority of 50.2%, signaled approval of the referendum.
All five major candidates for mayor have expressed support for LRT, as well as support for the proposed high speed rail project initially planned to link Tampa with Orlando.
"I think that since the referendum, the candidates heard from people who at campaign sessions said transportation remains important to people interested in the mayor’s race," said Susan MacManus, a political science professor at the University of South Florida. That include older residents within Tampa who are more likely to vote in the mayoral election, MacManus says.
Tampa’s existing 2.7-mile TECO streetcar line dedicated a$5.3 million extension, one-third of a mile, to Whiting Street on Jan. 31,though the extension began revenue service two months earlier. The streetcar isoverseen by the Hillsborough Area Regional Transportation Authority (HART).
