The Tampa Bay Area Regional Transit Authority (TBARTA) has opened its Envision 2030 Plan, the agency’s proposed plan to connect five Tampa Bay counties through regional transit, for public review and comment through June 1.
Those comments will be taken into consideration when the TBARTA Board holds a public hearing and votes on the Envision 2030 plan at its upcoming meeting on June 22.
“We’re in the final phase of work on a 10-year regional transit development plan (RTDP) as requested by the Florida Legislature in 2017,” said David Green, TBARTA’s executive director. “That’s when TBARTA evolved into a transit authority, with a mission to create, implement and operate sustainable and efficient regional transit that better connects our five-county region.”
Last year the RTDP project was branded “Envision 2030, the Future of Transit in Tampa Bay.” The project is both a vision and strategy to improve access to employment and the overall quality of life through world-class transit service connecting Hernando, Hillsborough, Manatee, Pasco and Pinellas counties.
Envision 2030 addresses TBARTA’s guiding principles and the value it can bring in working with local transit authorities to plan, operate, fund and brand a regional transit network. Once finalized and approved by the TBARTA Board, the RTDP will be submitted to the Florida Legislature and the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT).
“Throughout the Envision 2030 process we’ve had an active public engagement effort, including community outreach and education, two online surveys and more than 40 public presentations,” said Chris Jadick, TBARTA’s director of communications. “Now that we have a proposed plan, we need the public’s input once more to review the proposal to ensure it best meets the collective transit needs of our region.”
Both the Executive Summary and Envision 2030 Plan Draft can be viewed on the Envision 2030 page at TBARTA website. The public can also review complete project information, including peer analysis, public survey results, technical memos, the project plan and Envision 2030 Vision Map.
“TBARTA is ready to lead and collaborate to solve the many challenges our region is facing today and will face in the coming decades,” Green added. “We look forward to working with local and state leaders to make Envision 2030 a reality.”
