Guiding Principles of the Plan:

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1 REGIONAL TRANSIT FEASIBILITY PLAN The Regional Transit Feasibility Plan continues to make progress, having completed the first step of the defined process to evaluate opportunities for premium transit within the urbanized areas of Hillsborough, Pasco, and Pinellas Counties. Once complete, the Plan will identify a prioritized network of mobility options to connect our region and promote continued economic growth and job opportunities. Premium Regional Transit can bypass congestion, and move people longer distances quickly. It accomplishes this by serving key activity centers, crossing county lines with fewer stations with more amenities, and providing rider conveniences such as comfortable seating, reliable travel times, and wi-fi. This plan will address the first of 3 questions needed to build a premium transit project What is the project to be built? How is it funded? Who is responsible for building and maintaining it? The three principles to the right will guide all efforts undertaken by the Regional Transit Feasibility Plan. To ensure no stone is left unturned, the Plan s evaluation process is designed to comply with federal and state grant programs, even if no grant dollars are sought for implementation. These procedures are clear, easy to understand, and represent decades of premium transit experience in our country. The Plan will also consider a number of exciting emerging technologies in transportation, and most importantly, any recommendation for premium transit will make serving Tampa Bay its number one priority. This is our opportunity to show the world that Tampa Bay is an amazing place to live and work and we have made the investments in our community that will serve us well into the future. Guiding Principles of the Plan: Greatest potential to compete for federal and state grants Most forward thinking and best use of today s technology Best serves our region today while supporting tomorrow s growth Technical Bulletin #2 May 2017 Page 1

2 Step One: Where are the top performing connections? The first step in the Plan identifies where the top performing connections for premium transit are within our region. A connection is not defined by a corridor or transit mode, but highlights generally where to link the areas with the greatest densities and highest travel patterns. Because this is a plan to move our region forward and not another study, we built upon decades of planning in our region and evaluated more than 65 connections, all of which are publicly adopted in the region s Long Range Transportation Plans (LRTPs). Step One evaluated the following: Regional Connections: This category evaluated each connection s ability to serve key regional activity centers and regional travel needs. Most Regional Activity served Greatest number of regional trips served to these activity centers Economic Development: This category evaluated each connection s ability to provide access to jobs and redevelopment areas. Highest density of jobs and residents within ½ of the connection Most s within areas of transit supportive policies and/or designated as Community Redevelopment Areas Community and Environment: This category evaluated each connection s ability to serve community amenities or resources and length within storm surge areas and flood zones. Least s of the connection within storm surge areas or flood zones Highest number of community amenities served (cultural, educational, institutional, recreational) Most frequently studied over the past 30 years (building upon decades of best practices and available data to avoid starting from scratch) The top performing connections within each criterion received a point. The connections with the highest cumulative score are shown in blue on the map to the right. Included is a Bus Rapid Transit project between St. Petersburg and St. Pete Beach, accepted into the federal program in Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority (PSTA) plans to submit a federal funding application this fall. If funding is approved, it will be the first project to become a reality out of the top performing connections. Step One Results The top performing connections out of the Step One evaluation will advance to the next step and are shown in blue on the map on the next page: Westshore to Brandon Downtown Tampa to USF Wesley Chapel, USF, Tampa, St. Petersburg Clearwater, Gateway, St. Petersburg South Tampa to Downtown Tampa Regional Transit Vision To be successful, any of these top performing connections must be part of a complete network of regional transit services. Therefore, additional components of the Regional Vision include the Critical Regional Connections, shown in green, and Commuter Services, shown in orange. The Plan s emphasis on the top performing connections does not preclude moving forward with any other element of the regional network. Technical Bulletin #2 May 2017 Page 2

3 Technical Bulletin #2 May 2017 Page 3

4 Every agency, stakeholder, and citizen has a role to play in supporting the implementation of all elements of the network. Step One Evaluation The 65+ initial connections were evaluated to determine the top performers within each criterion. The table below shows the categories for which the top performing connections scored highest. To quantify the evaluation, the five top performers in the category were given a point for that category. The numbers in blue show the threshold required to receive a point. For example, the connection must serve at least three activity centers and more than 625,000 trips to the activity centers by Following the evaluation, the scores for each category were totaled to identify the top performers overall. The results of the top performers are shown in more detail on the following pages. More detailed descriptions of the evaluation criteria and the full evaluation results for the initial connections are available on the website at: top performing connections Technical Bulletin #2 May 2017 Page 4

5 *Yellow highlight indicates the categories in which the connections were one of the top five. WESTSHORE TO BRANDON Most Studied 7 Plans Activity Served Trips to Activity Jobs per Mile Pop. per Mile TOD Policy and CRAs (Linear Miles w/in) 290K+ 450K+ 5.1K+ 9.7K+ 2.5K+ 6.7K Regional Activity Linear s w/in TOD Policy area Linear s w/in CRA Boundaries Resiliency (Linear s w/in flood plains/storm surge) 7.5+ Linear s w/in CAT 1-3 flood areas Amenities per Mile (Parks, libraries, schools, hospitals) 0.2 mean avg. per DOWNTOWN TAMPA TO USF Most Studied 10 Plans Activity Served Trips to Activity Jobs per Mile Pop. per Mile TOD Policy and CRAs (Linear Miles w/in) 275K+ 435K+ 4.5K+ 9.0K+ 4.3K+ 9.8K Regional Activity Linear s w/in TOD Policy area Linear s w/in CRA Boundaries Resiliency (Linear s w/in flood plains/storm surge) 6.9+ Linear s w/in CAT 1-3 flood areas Amenities per Mile (Parks, libraries, schools, hospitals) 1.3+ mean avg. per Technical Bulletin #2 May 2017 Page 5

6 *Yellow highlight indicates the categories in which the connections were one of the top five. Wesley Chapel to USF, Tampa, and St. Petersburg Most Studied 10 Plans Activity Served Trips to Activity Jobs per Mile Pop. per Mile TOD Policy and CRAs (Linear Miles w/in) 410K+ 625K+ 14K+ 26K+ 4.5K+ 16K Regional Activity 2010 Highest mean avg. per 2040 Highest mean avg. per 2010 Highest mean avg. per 2040 Highest mean avg. per 2010 Highest mean avg. per 2040 Highest mean avg. per Linear s w/in TOD Policy area Linear s w/in CRA Boundaries Resiliency (Linear s w/in flood plains/storm surge) 17+ Linear s w/in CAT 1-3 flood areas Amenities per Mile (Parks, libraries, schools, hospitals) 1.8+ Highest mean avg. per Clearwater, Gateway to St. Petersburg Most Studied 8 Plans Activity Served Trips to Activity Jobs per Mile Pop. per Mile TOD Policy and CRAs (Linear Miles w/in) 141K+ 180K+ 4.5K+ 5.2K+ 3.2K+ 3.8K Regional Activity Linear s w/in TOD Policy area Linear s w/in CRA Boundaries Resiliency (Linear s w/in flood plains/storm surge) 8.4+ Linear s w/in CAT 1-3 flood areas Amenities per Mile (Parks, libraries, schools, hospitals) 1.2+ mean avg. per Technical Bulletin #2 May 2017 Page 6

7 *Yellow highlight indicates the categories in which the connections were one of the top five. South Tampa to Downtown Tampa Most Studied 4 Plans Activity Served Trips to Activity Jobs per Mile Pop. per Mile TOD Policy and CRAs (Linear Miles w/in) 101K+ 256K+ 7.0K+ 11.2K+ 4.3K+ 7.8K Regional Activity Linear s w/in TOD Policy area Linear s w/in CRA Boundaries Resiliency (Linear s w/in flood plains/storm surge) 5.1+ Linear s w/in CAT 1-3 flood areas Amenities per Mile (Parks, libraries, schools, hospitals) 2.1+ mean avg. per An additional connection included in the Regional Vision is downtown St. Petersburg to the Gulf Beaches. This important project will be included in the Regional Vision but will not be assessed as part of the Regional Transit Feasibility Plan because it s already on it s way to being built! Downtown St Petersburg to Gulf BEaches The transit service type for this project will be bus rapid transit in its own lane for most of the length. The project is currently in the federal process to be considered for federal funding from the Federal Transit Administration s Capital Investment Grant program. For more information on this project, visit Technical Bulletin #2 May 2017 Page 7

8 To ensure the Vision Network with and without the Critical Connections meet the guiding principle of serving the region today and growth of tomorrow, the connections were compared to where the residents and jobs are expected in the future. The map to the left shows where the concentration of residents are anticipated by 2040, and the map to the right shows the concentration of jobs by The Vision Network (including Critical Connections) The Vision Network (including Critical Connections) is anticipated to serve approximately 5in10 Or RESIDENTS in Tampa Bay (by 2040) The Top Performing connections alone are The Top Performing connections alone are anticipated to serve approximately 2in10 Or RESIDENTS in Tampa Bay (by 2040) is anticipated to serve approximately 1.81 million 6in million Or JOBS in Tampa Bay (by 2040) anticipated to serve approximately 0.63 million 3in10 Or 0.65 million JOBS in Tampa Bay (by 2040) Technical Bulletin #2 May 2017 Page 8

9 Next Steps The next steps of the Regional Transit Feasibility Plan will begin to look at the following: Transit modes The team will look at the top performing connections and pair transit modes based on the connection s characteristics and the type of service that would be most successful in serving the connection. Transit modes to be considered include rubber-tire modes like bus rapid transit (BRT), express bus, autonomous BRT, and automated people mover, as well as steel-wheel modes such as light rail, modern people mover/automated guideway transit (AGT), modern streetcar, commuter rail, and diesel multiple unit (type of train). For more information about each of the transit types, visit the Frequently Asked Questions, or FAQs, on our website. Return on investment and benefits evaluation The team will assess the potential return on investment of the top five performers to identify the most cost-effective connections with the highest benefit to the community. Environmental review The team will conduct a high level environmental review to determine the anticipated level of potential effect related to sociocultural, cultural, natural, and physical resources. Ridership and mobility The team will begin to test, or model, the potential connections to see how many riders each might get. The testing takes into account many things, including where the jobs and homes are, how people travel today, and the speed and capacity of the roads, among many other things. Bus Rapid Transit Autonomous bus TIMELINE As we move forward with each step, the schedule may be refined to more accurately reflect the progress of the Plan. The following timeline was updated in April 2017: Step One: Where are the top 5 performing connections? November 2016 April 2017 Photo Credit: Matt Johnson modern streetcar Deisel Multiple Unit (train) High-level costs Cost ranges for each connection will be estimated based on similar projects around the country, taking into account circumstances that may affect the cost, such as how many bridges are needed or the amount of land, or right-of-way, available. Costs will vary depending on the transit mode, too. Step Two: What are the 3 best projects? April 2017 September 2017 Step Three: How and When are the best projects built? October 2017 January 2018 Draft Implementation Plan January 2018 Implementation Plan Vetting Process January 2018 August 2018 Technical Bulletin #2 May 2017 Page 9

10 Be Part of the Plan Over the past few months, the team has presented updates on the plan to area organizations, leadership boards, and agency boards and committees. Throughout the remainder of the effort, there will be more in-person engagement opportunities with public workshops and community meetings. Check out the Get Involved page of our website to see what s coming. We even have a narrated version of the most recent presentation available! In addition, we will continually have a survey available online. Our current survey is about transit preferences and we ve already heard from over 450 people. Don t miss out on letting us know your preferences. So far, 96 percent of survey respondents believe the Tampa Bay region should have more transit options than we have today, and over 230 have provided additional comments. If you haven t told us your transit preferences yet, please do! You can find the survey on the website at If you have ideas for public engagement related to the plan, please let us know! You can send them to TBRegionalTransit@gohart.org or tell us via or and use #TBRegionalTransit. The first survey is underway! Please go to to tell us your transit preferences. Primary Points of Contact: This plan is funded by the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT). The Hillsborough Area Regional Transit Authority (HART) is administering the work effort with Jacobs. For more information, contact HART s Director of Service Development and Project Manager Steve Feigenbaum, or TBRegionalTransit@gohart.org. Advisory Support: Members of our region s business community, the Tampa Bay Transportation Management Area (TMA) Leadership Group, and a coalition of Hillsborough, Pasco, and Pinellas transit agencies will contribute to the plan. GET INVOLVED: Visit the project website to provide your input and sign up to receive updates. Technical Bulletin #2 May 2017 Page 10