I actually feel that the best way for rail to work here is for it to be a BAY AREA effort. Unite the efforts under one name...perahps BART: Bay Area Regional Transit. I think the area would do better this way for any sort of funds both state and federal that might come our way to fund the project. Look at Orlando's multi county rail plan that now has better than $400 million in funds from the governor! Let's make it a group effort here because we're all in it together. Hopefully soon, our counties will actually put the question out there for us to vote on. As it is now, we're only putting off what will eventually happen. We're just increasing the construction price with each passing day it's put off.

I agree with Phillip and would add that people from outside of the Bay area expect the area to think and act as one, just as the area is usually referenced as one (Tampa Bay area). Somebody in local government has to show some leadership to get it done - and it may start with reorganizing how transportation is planned, prioritized, authorized and funded. Don't wait for authority to come from the state level, regional leaders should take the initiative. If ever a monorail system that encompasses the entire region without even interfering with street traffic is built, it'll be because of local initiative and state and federal help, not because the legislature was watching out for the Bay area.

Those who doubt the desirability of mass transit, particularly a metroplolitan system, should ask Miami if they would like to trade their system for some new 8 lane highways.

I don't know how long I can wait. I just fell like sending a letter to my Representative with so many reasons why the Region needs a rail system now. We have put this on the shelves numerous times and I am not willing to allow that happen again.Pinellas is getting closer, but you know what, Tampa is still in the shadows. So many other cities that are like sisters to Tampa are getting rail and Tampa is still in the planning stages. I am not able to sit here knowing that Orlando is getting rail before Tampa and all we are doing is trying to set up a board. If you need a board member, then here I am!

It is so refreshing to know that there are smart people living
in this Tampa Bay Area. I moved here from the Caribbean and I experienced a culture shock when I found that there was no mass transit system in the area. I recalled seeing and old man and his
wife sitting for over 30 mins. in the hot sun waiting for a bus.

I lived in Europe and I never owned a car because it was not necessary, car insurance and gas was not in my budget. Taxes from these two systems should go into financing a mass transit sytem for people who would use this system. I for one would not need to own 3 cars- kids, wife and myself. I would happily put this money into a Transit system. I support every effort because Florida's aquafer is certainly being affected by the square miles of concrete and asphalt that is rapidly covering it. Why is the rain so infrequent now? Where are all the common sense people? I hope Mr. Christ is one of them.

I feel like a slave to the car and insurance industry.

Check this out!! FINALLY A TRUE REGIONAL TRANSIT VISION!
www.fdot-srtna.c-b.com

Thanks for the tip Catherine, I will make a brief post about this too. If anyone is interested, the corrected link is:

http://fdot-srtna.c-b.com/ (without the www as presented above).

Okay, one last time LOL

http://fdot-srtna.c-b.com/

Putting in a light rail system has been long overdue The Tampa BAy area should have gotten with the progran long ago Especially when The 'energy crisis'hould have beena wakup call at that point when light rail was being proposed for Bsoton and San Frnacisco

I agree, LIght Rail (or any fixed guideway transit like monorail) is LONG over due in Tampa; however, it must be noted that Boston and San Francisco have long histories of mass transit and dense cores (San Fancisco being the most dense city in the US after New York City)...perhaps a better comparison would be Atlanta, Charlotte, Denver, or St. Louis...

One of the best things for Tampa Bay regional area is if you can step off a light rail line, connected to the high speed rail station in Tampa, and walk to a white sand beach. We can book our local hotels full of tourists who would prefer to stay on a gorgious white beach over Orlando scrub land/swamp. We can take a lot of tourist stay nights, thus dollars, away from Orlando if we can make our regional transit system work to serve both regional and tourist trafic needs. High speed rail makes this possible... we should capitalize on that and make sure tourists don't need to rent a car to come stay on our beaches.