PSTA plans to make 1st Aves N & S less friendly – Act NOW to have a say before it’s a done deal!
Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) is giving Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority (PSTA) $9.5 million through the state’s New Starts Transit Program for the Bus Rapid Transit project being developed in the Central Ave corridor in St. Pete. The New Starts Transit Program provides FDOT funding to Florida transit systems that have been approved by the Federal Capital Investment Grant program, which funds rapid transit projects across the country. PSTA’s Central Avenue BRT project is the first transit project in Tampa Bay history to be approved for this program.
These state funds will provide approximately 25% of the 11-mile Bus Rapid Transit project, a “premium” rapid transit service to connect St. Pete Beach with downtown St. Petersburg. PSTA’s website says “The service, which will primarily run along First Avenues North & South, will feature uniquely branded stations and vehicles, and operate on semi-dedicated lanes every 15 minutes from 6 am ‘til midnight.”
They mean to restrict the left lanes to buses that are running once every 15 minutes. We are to stay out of it unless we are turning left. The project Is anticipated to open to riders in late 2020 / early 2021. For info contact:
Cyndi Raskin-Schmitt, Dir. of Communications & Marketing, Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority
O: (727) 540-1828 | C: (727) 265-5249 orKris Carson, Public Information Director Florida Department of Transportation District 7 (813) 975-6060 and visit https://www.psta.net/ media/2915/brt-presentation-5-2017.pdf
Dr. Ed Carlson of the Jungle Terrace Civic Association, Inc. and West Neighborhoods United, Inc. wrote to each member of the St. Petersburg City Council commenting that Mayor Rick Kriseman opened the “State of the Economy” presentation by saying “the city needs density and height in order to keep growing. Corollary: We need more vehicle travel lanes! (not less) “The reason Lincoln Property Company left Tampa was because Tampa lost its view and its vision on the car,” Scott Stahley, Exec. VP of Lincoln Property Co.
The plan, which has already been handed off to a design company for a $1.7 million design, calls for reassigning the LEFT lane on First Aves. N. & S. for the express bus (more at www.psta.net).
This will lead to more congestion and make life more difficult. To protest against this, write NOW to Mayor Rick Kriseman— mayor@stpete.org:.
West St. Pete resident Livia Kohn is using email to spread the word. “The express bus project could use the right lane and pull-off areas for its stations instead of the left lane with stations as islands in the middle of the road. It has applications pending for funding with the New Start program: $20 million from the federal and $10 million from the state. To prevent the changes on First Aves N & S, write NOW to State Representative Wengay Newton and State Senator Jim Sebesta, both of whom have links to St. Pete and are involved in transportation committees: newt.newton@myfloridahouse.gov, sebesta.jim.web@flssenate.gov.
Livia continued said “I am very concerned about lane closures in major arteries in St. Petersburg due to a design for a new BRT express bus line that proposes to use the left lane with stations on islands in the middle of the road, thereby most likely causing severe traffic congestion and an increased danger of accidents. Please do your utmost to prevent this from happening by using your considerable influence to block the $10 million in state funding through the New Start program until a design has been found that works for everybody.”
Next, go to websites of Congressman Charlie Crist and Senators Marco Rubio and Rick Scott, click on Contact, and post the same message, mentioning $20 million.
All these elected officials also have Facebook pages and can be reached on Twitter.
Article by Peter Roos