The Hillsborough Area Regional Transit Authority (HART) is examining the potential for a bus rapid transit (BRT) line with an exclusive guideway and full transit signal priority focusing on the current Nebraska Avenue MetroRapid corridor, Fowler Avenue corridor and the Florida Avenue corridor.
The project should also foster development that supports local land use plans as well as long‐term economic growth. The BRT Arterial Study is currently in Phase 1.
Two of HART's busiest and most popular local bus routes are Route 1 located on Florida Avenue and the MetroRapid on Nebraska Avenue. These routes, along with other local routes in this area that connect downtown Tampa and the USF Tampa Campus, are the focus of HART's Tampa Arterial BRT Study.
The study's primary goal is to identify a corridor, using some combination of Florida, Nebraska and/or Fowler avenues, to connect downtown Tampa to the USF Tampa Campus. This corridor will be able to provide a dedicated transit lane for a majority (at least 50 percent) of its length to ensure reliable bus travel times. Additional goals of the study are to improve local, street-level bus service along Florida, Nebraska and/or Fowler Avenues and adjacent corridors, as well as intersecting corridors between the USF Tampa Campus and downtown Tampa. The study will focus on how the proposed new bus service can best meet the needs of existing bus riders, as well as those who may not have chosen to use this form of transportation before.
This study has three main objectives:
- Improve safety and transit operating conditions for bus routes on Florida, Nebraska and/or Fowler Avenues between USF and downtown Tampa.
- Improve connectivity for east-west routes that cross the USF to downtown Tampa corridor.
- Improve local transit access on Florida, Nebraska and/or Florida Avenues for communities between USF and downtown Tampa, including bicycle and pedestrian connectivity and signalized crossing improvements, throughout the area for eventual connection to potential premium transit alignments.
Phase 2 is scheduled to begin in April 2020. Phase 1 included:
- Background research;
- Definition of alternatives and evaluation;
- Preliminary alternatives evaluation results and identification of recommended alternatives with public workshops;
- Recommended alternative decision with public workshops;
- And the definition of recommended alternative and supporting transit, bicycle and pedestrian projects.
The Tampa Arterial BRT Study is part of a comprehensive set of solutions to improve mobility in Tampa Bay. This study will be completed in coordination with the many ongoing transportation efforts throughout the Tampa Bay region.
