Private high-speed rail company Brightline is eyeing Tampa for a future expansion. The estimated time of arrival is yet to be determined, but the Hillsborough Transportation Planning Organization has started planning and preparing. In February, the TPO, part of local planning agency Plan Hillsborough, launched a Brightline Station Area Study for the greater downtown Tampa area.
To be clear, this study is
not looking at where a station will go and how it gets sited, says Plan Hillsborough Executive Planner Sarah Caper, project manager for the study.
“Our goals with the study are to look at who might be using Brightline and what kind of demand there is to go to different destinations, what kind of investments in infrastructure we need, and then setting up an early action plan on how we fund, plan, and coordinate those,” she says. “It’s focused on what kind of access and connectivity needs there might be and how we provide the support so when a station does come, we’re ready for it.”
As part of the study, the TPO has launched an online survey to gather feedback on how prospective passengers would use a Tampa station. Will they be visitors arriving at a Tampa station or locals departing from it? Are they traveling same-day or making an overnight trip? Traveling for business or leisure? It also gathers feedback on the mode of transportation they expect to use to get to the Tampa station, the Brightline station where they’ll likely disembark, their end destination, and what factors would most influence the decision to use a Tampa station.
Caper says the survey is a useful tool for getting an early idea of the percentage breakdown between commuters and visitors at a Tampa station. That will give some insight into how they’ll get around Tampa and the future transportation investments to accommodate them.
“Commuters are looking for something different than visitors and we’re trying to understand all of those needs,” Caper says.
The ongoing station study is expected to finish in December. The work so far has included an analysis of the Brightline stations in Miami, Fort Lauderdale, and West Palm Beach that looks at details like parking, pick up and drop off, access to the local transit network, connectivity for walking and biking, and zoning and land use policies for the area near the station.
For more information and the survey, go to Brightline Station Area Study
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