Tough politics of transit
Tampa Tribune March 2, 2010
Rail will change how Florida, Tampa Bay move, think
St Petersburg Times August 23, 2009
Taken together, the articles do a fairly good job of trying to present both sides of the issue. The St. Petersburg times article describes Iorio's and Sharpe's position that Tampa needs light rail in order to remain economically competitive with other similar cities such as Charlotte. They state that Tampa's lack of rail is being noticed by businesses considering moving into the area and that a rail system coordinated with a stronger bus system would help make Tampa competitive for these corporate relocations and new offices. The St. Petersburg Times article also describes the relationship between the proposed high-speed rail and light rail in that the high-speed rail cannnot succeed without light rail for the obvious reason that high-speed rail needs a local system to connect to.
The Tampa Tribune article presents Commissioner Jim Norman's opposition position to light rail. He claims that voters will be confused about what they are voting for since in order for the referendum to succeed, it needs to be flexible however this flexibility can be confusing to voters. Norman also states that a rail line will primarily serve residents in the City of Tampa although residents of unincorporated Hillsborough county will also have to pay for it. The article does help to refute Norman's claim that the referendum is only or primarily about a train by stating that it can also help make progress on the county's road construction backlog. Finally, the article states that other cities have experienced the same issues and have been able to push through them and progress with their light rail systems.
Thanks Seth -- these seem to capture the various sides of this debate very nicely.
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