One week ago, Phoenix inaugurated their Sky Train with the arrival of the rail line’s first car. The Sky Train will connect Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport to the Metro light rail. Speaking at last Tuesday’s ceremony, Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon called the project an
“economic engine for the state of Arizona.”
Earlier this month, the Utah Transit Authority (UTA) opened 15 miles worth of new light rail, connecting Salt Lake City to surrounding suburbs. The projects were 20 percent under budget and opened to riders a year early than originally planned. West Valley City, Utah Mayor Mike Winder said the rail line will create
a half-billion dollars worth of development along a “string of pearls” at the West Valley City stations.
How did Tampa Bay respond?
Hillsborough Area Regional Transit Authority (HART) took a step backward in proposing a long-term plan for transit that
ignores rail technology. As if that was not enough, they have proposed cutting bus services to the bone, in the face of increased demand.
It is no wonder then that
the St. Petersburg Times wrote, “This is the mind-set Hillsborough needs to change if it hopes to address transportation and job development in a meaningful way.”
Maybe Tampa Bay doesn’t need the 8,000 jobs that the Sky Train produced or the private investments that have sped up the UTA light rail lines. But it is awfully hard for rational people to make that case. In a region with an overwhelming amount of construction workers looking for paychecks and top-tier real estate being ignored in favor of those in cities without traffic headaches, Tampa Bay can’t afford to keep falling behind.
In the world of economic development, jobs and companies go to the cities with the features they need to be a successful. That includes infrastructure. Sure, regulations and taxes play a role. But, low taxes do not equal good infrastructure.
Governor Rick Scott knows this, which is why he is proposing
tolls of $0.15 cents per mile on new highways. The Governor knows that taxing vehicle miles traveled on new roads will fund the public subsidy for building them.
New roads have the ability to create development. That is why they were a part of the November 2010 transportation referendum. New transit lines have the same ability. Widening highways, like the Veterans Expressway, might help development if it takes less than 15 minutes to travel the three miles between Gunn Highway and Waters Avenue. But that is not likely, since
the widening stops at the Anderson Road exit.
Transit is not only necessary to move people, it is necessary for jobs and economic development. And that soot on your car? It may not be from the exhaust of the idling truck on I-4. It might be the desert sand kicked up by Phoenix and Salt Lake City as they speed ahead of Tampa Bay.