Well it turns out after so much hoopla a few weeks ago, the actual vote to approve language for Hillsborough's upcoming transit vote was actually delayed until last Wednesday.  I actually had to remove my "thing gonna be approved today" blog entry which had been sitting stagnant here until I noticed.  Tsk, tsk, on blog presentation.

Ultimately, however, Hillsborough Commissioners finally settled on the following:

Shall transportation improvements throughout Hillsborough County, Tampa, Temple Terrace and Plant City be funded by levying a one percent transportation sales surtax from January 1, 2011 until repealed, deposited into a dedicated trust fund, all spending reviewed by an independent oversight committee of citizens and experts, with 75 percent spent on transit, including local rail and an expanded bus system for express, local and neighborhood service, and 25 percent spent on improving roads and other transportation projects?

I actually find that pretty kick-ass straight up.  It's got the "tax" in there so if that sort of thing bothers you (it actually doesn't bother everyone, and, in fact, the majority when it comes to developing mass transit in Hillsborough), you can't say you were "deceived".  As well, language referencing the starter rail system - if having transportation choice over roads and $3.00/gallon gas, somehow bothers you too, also gets clear and no-bones-about-it mention.

This language and the vote itself is all the Hillsborough County rail advocate could hope for at the moment.  We'll concentrate on passing the referendum once it's ready to go.  And so will the Tampa Bay business community which is gung-ho to keep Tampa relevant against progressively competing cities that will now be but a high speed rail link away.  To those who hate "big government" or "taxes" for tax's sake, room for you in Hillsborough County and Tampa is shrinking fast.  Hence, no doubt, the screaming will be loudest now.

Where does that leave Hillsborough and Tampa today?  Now that the language is approved, Hillsborough officials are working out details on the road funding portion of the investment.  As that now seems to be working through pretty quick, we should see a final referendum approval in early May, late April at the absolute earliest, either month following public hearings on the matter. 

Meanwhile, is the Westshore Light Rail Link as 1st Gaining (Quiet) Favor?

Alas, lest you think this post is just about catching up on the progress of the referendum, I also want to make sure that I point out something very subtle and very interesting I think I'm spotting.  It seems, and maybe with great cause, that the thinking about where the first light rail route should run may be switching from the North/South USF to downtown line to the East/West "Westshore" line.  I base this on Airport Link Crucial to High-Speed Rail Plan for Tampa, which gives ominous nod to at least a justification for starting in Westshore over anyplace else.  The idea perhaps being that, somehow, this section could be more easily "capped" with links at the downtown high speed rail terminus and at the airport.  That, even though neither of the two proposed starter light rail systems include current plans as such. 

A rail connection to the airport is something favored and planned on by the TIA director for some time.  If a Westshore line to that general airport "area" were completed first following a referendum (and additional funding), talk of an airport extension would nonetheless gain fantastic merit.  Connections to local airports are logical next-steps for new light rail projects.  With a connection to USF and downtown first, the Westshore extension becomes an intermediate build that might never happen, or, may take another decade.  The dream of high speed rail connecting TIA via light rail, then, becomes a shaky one.

If the growing underground talk is in fact gently nudging things in that direction, I'm not instantly against it.  Bearing in mind I'm for anything really, I nonetheless maintained a personal fascination for the nearly "presumed" route that ran through most of the neighborhoods and connected to most of the institutions I associated with while living there.  Only one thing, as I've previously noted, that might override this nostalgia and make the Westshore a must, is the idea that light rail could connect to the airport.  However, I stipulated that for me to be excited  about that personally, it would have to be done in the very same build.  A pause for another series of funding and possibly more political obstructionism would mean that USF and North Tampa are the ones that are "never quite connected", instead of the airport.  My thinking on this has not changed, but, as I say, I would never quibble.  The arsenal of the business community (read Westshore) is the best hope in trouncing ideological opponents in Hillsborough County, and they'd have defacto groundbreaking rights.  Let's just face it.

National Train Day 2010

And, finally, to very happily address an e-mail I received I will post this nearly verbatim as it includes all of the linkage and other information right from the horse's mouth.  It would be a symbolic gesture as a celebration of Tampa's acquisition of high speed rail, and, a statement for the evolution of light rail in November, to show up and participate in the fun!

Friends of Tampa Union Station, the National Association of Railroad Passengers, and the Florida Coalition of Rail Passengers are pulling together another National Train Day celebration again this year at Tampa Union Station.

This year's event is on Saturday, May 8, from 12:00 PM to 5:00 PM. We will again have exhibits from area transportation groups and agencies, operating model train layouts, and Amtrak equipment on display.

Details are up at www.fcrprail.org now and will be up at www.nationaltrainday.com soon.