There have been many mis-conceptions about the Bus Rapid Transit
(BRT) PSTA project and St. Pete Beach’s (SPB) attitude toward it that
need to be rectified.
SPB is a barrier island community that currently contracts with PSTA for service by the “Beach Trolley” and “Central Avenue Trolley” (CAT). These are 35’ busses that operate over our entire island.
The Beach Trolley originates in Clearwater and traverses the barrier islands to SPB at 75th Ave. and then returns North to Clearwater. The CAT originates in downtown St. Pete, goes down Central Ave. to Pasadena Blvd. and takes the Corey Causeway to SPB. After stopping at the 75th Ave. bus stop, it continues down Gulf Blvd. all the way to Pass a Grille and then retraces the route back to St. Pete.
The SPB Commission is not against the BRT. We see the benefit to having bus service to connect us to St. Petersburg and want to maintain that. The current trolley service is very lightly used from our perspective, although we realize we are at the end of the route and it may be more heavily used along the Central Avenue corridor. Still, from our perspective, adding more seats to a service that we see operating at less than 10% capacity does not seem like a wise move. Adding the BRT to the CAT route basically doubles the capacity even using the existing 35-40’ busses (not 60’) and reducing the CAT service by 1/3. We are requesting more detailed ridership data than what we have been given (like time of day,
etc.) so we better understand the need.
I received a letter on Wednesday June 12th from St. Petersburg Mayor Kriseman urging us not to pass a resolution against the BRT. On June 13th we did. That resolution, SPB Resolution 2019-05, opposes the project in its current form which includes using 60’ articulated busses that would
enter SPB on the Corey Causeway/75th Ave. and traverse the island turning around at the Don CeSar and retracing the route back to St. Petersburg. Also included in that resolution is a directive instructing our City Manager to help facilitate a coordinated effort with PSTA, St. Petersburg and South Pasadena to jointly arrive at a plan that is acceptable to all. I’m optimistic that we will be able to do that.
Examining the route of the BRT it seems apparent to me that it would be a great addition to the development of the Central Avenue corridor and therefore supported by St. Petersburg. I can’t see the same benefit to South Pasadena and St. Pete Beach. My discussions with the business and resort owners here tells me they would not expect to see an increase in their business and few if any of their employees use the bus to get to work (in spite of some of them offering it to employees for free).
Whatever we decide there is no need to rush into this. Our resolution only expresses our rejection of the current plan. We will continue discussions and hopefully arrive at an interlocal agreement that supports the project and maintains the character of our island paradise!
On behalf of the City of St. Pete Beach, Alan Johnson – Mayor
Information courtesy of the City of St. Pete Beach and Mayor Al Johnson