Elections cloud Fla. high speed rail

Tampa mayor sees renewal

David Crossley, Nov 11, 10.

Are the wheels getting wobbly and in danger of falling off the high-speed rail project planned and partially funded to connect downtown Tampa and Orlando, asks the St. Petersburg Times on its tampabay.com website:

At a gathering of high-speed rail advocates this week in Orlando, just a whiff of backpedaling could be smelled after the Nov. 2 election that not only killed Hillsborough County efforts to fund the start of a regional light rail and bus system, but also ushered in Republicans at the state and national level keen on shrinking government.

The first hint of vacillation arose Monday when Florida congressman John Mica suggested building the mostly federally funded Orlando-to-Tampa route in phases.

But Tampa Mayor Pam Iorio, speaking at the same event, said a proposed station complex could help revive a center city area, according to the Tampa Tribune on its Tampa Bay Online site:

The Tampa mayor described a rail station intended to foster redevelopment in the central business district, reconnect neighborhoods north of Interstate 275 and add a downtown attractor similar to the impact of the Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park, the Tampa Riverwalk, Channel District redevelopment, and the city’s new museums.

“High-speed rail will provide iconic architecture for downtown and enhance the assets of an area still in need of redevelopment,” Iorio said.