HART is soliciting public input regarding the soon-to-be Whiting Street Streetcar extension. HART is currently studying the prospect through a standard Environmental Assessment Study - typical to such projects - and is at that point where it holds public meetings to get our opinion on record and to consider any ideas we may have. You're free to attend these and get a feel for what's about to happen next with Tampa's sole urban rail example.

The current streetcar terminus facing Whiting

The extension is very important, despite its deceptive swath of a mere quarter mile, because it will connect Ybor parking facilities with the core of downtown just as the rail-connected community there is developing. This little extension enables the streetcar system to become a valuable transportation resource for condo dwellers who live throughout Channelside and to any other Tampa or Hillsborough resident fed up with trying to park downtown directly.

That's not to suggest that will happen immediately after the extension is complete. At this point I'm merely talking about bringing up capacity to meet the inevitable. The capacity the extension lends will open up the possibility for express service between Ybor and downtown (necessary to make the Ybor parking garages a real downtown parking alternative), modern streetcars (as opposed to just the heritage ones) if/when that ever makes sense, and of course, another leg of the complete system which is actually going to be a loop service according to the system's original design and intent. And of course, I'm not even yet talking about how the extension validates the little tourist system as "proof of morph" into a county wide light rail system. My theory is that the system will gradually become regional over the decades. Incredible as that may seem.

All of this becomes much more feasible with the extension in place. The meetings will be held at the Tampa Convention Center on January 9 and February 19, 5:30 PM to 7 (read complete release details).