T BARTA Envision 2030 regional transit plan

1:11:04Yeah. We do have T Barta on the line and this is your item again, uh to Mr. Commissioner Starkey.

1:11:09Yes. Um and David, is that you? Who's presenting from T Barta this morning?

1:11:17This is Bill Ball from Tyndall Oliver representing T Barter.

1:11:19Oh, okay, great. Булакам.

1:11:25Mm-hmm.

1:11:27Okay, thank you, Commissioner. Mr. Chairman Members of the Board, again I'm pleased to be here at Bill Ball with Chindal Oliver representing T BARTA on Envision 2030, which is the first ever regional transit development plan for the Tampa Bay Area. Next slide.

1:11:42Really the number one thing we're trying to accomplish with Envision twenty thirty is to get regional consensus on a vision, on a blueprint for the future of regional transit in the Tampa Bay area. Next slide.

1:11:57And we've learned we've worked substantially with the key regional partners, the five local transit operators. You can see the existing local bus services that are provided by each of those operators on this map here, as well as the MPO Chair's Coordinating Committee. and the Florida DOT.

1:12:14Let's say.

1:12:18Now this really depicts the values and benefits that we're targeting for T Barter to contribute to. We feel strongly that the r the more robust regional transit investment would have great contributions to these benefits. I'm going to talk about two in particular in the next two slides. Next slide.

1:12:37First is job access throughout the region, and no doubt that if Envision twenty thirty were implemented, we'd have a substantial increase in the number of jobs that the average resident has access to, and that's particularly true for the low income and moderate income populations throughout the region. Next slide. Now this talks about regional competitiveness. The Tampa Bay Partnership, they facilitate a regional assessment of how Tampa Bay ranks with other regions around the country.

1:13:07And unfortunately, T Tampa Bay does not rank particularly well in a lot of those categories, including transit supply and transit demand. as well as the housing and transportation affordability. So the whole concept here is a more robust regional transit investment would contribute to a more competitive region. Next slide.

1:13:29Well more than ten thousand people were engaged over the last twelve to fifteen months as part of Envision twenty thirty and we've in incorporated those th the th that input into what we've come up with with the vision we have today. Next slide.

1:13:45There are two key priorities that T BARTA is focusing on, and this is important to the board today, and they'll continue to discuss this at their meetings on Friday. Number one is increasing the total transit funding that comes to the Tampa Bay region. That whether it's regional services, local service, regardless, we're talking about increasing the total transit funding by. Secondly, is really the consensus with the regional partners as to how TBARTA can best help support making progress towards that regional transit

1:14:15vision. That's fine. We did spend a lot of time learning from other peer regions around the country. We picked some specific areas of the country that focus on how they use regional transit to improve their connectivity throughout the region. These regions have traditionally been more successful in securing federal transit funding, so we wanted to learn from their best practices. And we've identified a number of areas and provide details in the plan as to what we should potentially consider here in the Tampa Bay area. Next

1:14:46slide.

1:14:49We didn't reinvent the wheel. There's been a lot of work done by local transit agencies, by the MPOs, by T BARTA previously, and the input that we received and put together the the transit vision that we have in front of you today. Next slide.

1:15:05And this is that regional transit vision. And you can see in the map that we provided vision of what transit could look like to provide connectivity throughout the five county areas with a variety of technologies that would be pursued over over the course of time in the future. And you can see that the range of technologies that are indicated on this slide. And you can see the other major corridors that are covered in Pasco County and how you connect to the regions to the to the north and south throughout the T Bart area area. Yeah. Next

1:15:35slide.

1:15:38So now that we have a vision indicated, we needed to step back and decide now what can we accomplish to make progress toward that vision in the next 10 years. So what we did is put together three investment scenarios to facilitate that discussion, and they're indicated on this slide here. Number one was really a status quo scenario where T-BARTA would continue as they are today, focusing on regional transition. planning and commute Tampa Bay, which is van pooling and other commuter services. The second scenario is

1:16:08what we've termed the lower impact scenario, where T Barter would focus on generating new funding to the region that they could in turn provide to local transit providers to improve the existing regional services that are out there today. And then number three is the high impact scenario where we're talking more substantial transit investments in the region, including the phase one of the regional rapid transit project. That's the premium bus project between Wesley Chapel, downtown Tampa, and downtown St. Pete.

1:16:39As well as beyond that, some additional new express bus routes that would provide commuter service to the counties throughout the region. Next slide.

1:16:51Now what this map shows is a visual of what scenario three, the high impact scenario would look like. It's basically a subset of that regional transit vision. that we showed earlier and it shows progress toward the vision uh recognizing that today this is not a funded scenario but what we want to strive for in the next 10 years. Next slide.

1:17:16Now, cost, the the ultimate question. We wanted to show what T BARTA has in terms of existing revenues, which is the $42 million a year that you see, I mean, per over the 10-year period, $42 million over that 10-year period, and how it compares to the operating cost of each of the scenarios. It's balanced with the status quo, and then you can see the deficit that increases with each of the scenarios that we have on the slide. Next slide. Similarly, with capital cost, it's pretty minimal capital

1:17:46investment with the first two scenarios, and then we start having that major capital investment with the high impact scenario, a lot of that related to that regional rapid transit project. You can see the large deficit associated with that investment. Next slide. So we wanted to give you a a feel for the existing funding that T Barta has over the next ten years with existing sources of revenue. You can see that they have about 42 million in operating, about 10 million in capital over that 10 year period.

1:18:17The bulk of those revenues are from state and federal sources of funding. There is a small portion in the gold that's local funding from the five counties in the region. That accumulates to about 5.6 million over the ten year period. Next slide. And that comes from the $550,000 that the counties contribute to T BARTA on an annual basis today. And this is how it's distributed amongst the five counties based on population.

1:18:46Next slide.

1:18:49So the ultimate question is T BARTA funding in the future. To enable progress towards that vision, we've got to come together as a region to pursue dedicated funding from the state from two perspectives. One to fund the agency and its operations, and secondly, to be able to implement regional transit projects like regional rapid transit. So the big question will be: T BARTA is working. now on the board and its committees are discussing what form collaboration should take with

1:19:19our local partners to further discuss the specific strategies that we've laid out in this plan. to decide what are the best ways to increase that total transit funding to the region. Next slide.

1:19:33We did pull together a call to action and some recommendations that would help facilitate that discussion. That's in the plan. And it's organized into the three areas that you see on this particular slide. And I'll talk briefly about each one. Next slide.

1:19:48First is the policy call to action. Now the T BARTA board adopted the plan back in June 22nd at the June Board meeting. And we really need to move on to the next steps of educating further the local partners that are involved in this regional planning effort and demonstrating the value that T BARTA aspires to today and in the future and what needs to happen to really achieve those values down the road. Really pursuing support from our partners and and the key will be those collaborative workshops that I reference as the T Barter Boards

1:20:18decides the best way to move forward with those those workshops. Next slide.

1:20:25The funding call to action. There's a number of things that T BARTA staff are working on that they can, but the bottom line is to secure dedicated and sustainable funding, especially at the state level, it will require some legislative change. And and so that will be the target of discussions as we decide what are the best things to pursue in terms of getting support for that change at the state level. Next slide. Like it's coming down to commitment and collaboration, building consensus on the regional approach, and then

1:20:55building support and champions from the T Barter Board, of course, the county commissions like yourself, the MPO boards, the transit agency boards, and then ultimately the state legislative delegation, which will be critical to securing some changes in legislation to to pursue that funding in the future. And beyond that, it's also business and grassroots support and leadership that we we saw was really starting to come evident as part of this planning process, but needs to be continued to build as we move forward.

1:21:27Next slide.

1:21:29Again, I'll reiterate the values and benefits that we're trying to aspire to with regional transit investment helping secure these benefits for the region in the future. Next slide.

1:21:43Now back on June 22nd, the Board did adopt the plan and they focused on three elements as at this point in time, which is number one, they adopted the regional transit vision that I presented earlier with the understanding that it's unfunded at this point in time. Secondly, they adopted the status quo scenario, essentially the cost feasible plan that's funded with existing revenue sources. And then third, they really supported the continued evaluation of how we can make changes, pursue

1:22:13additional funding, and do that in collaboration with our local partners so that we can pursue these higher impact scenarios in the next 10 years. Next slide.

1:22:24So this is where we are today. We're trying to get out, present to all the commissions like yourselves. We presented to the C Chair's Coordinating Committee for the MPO last week. And we're continuing to present in the coming weeks and months as we have the opportunity to do so. So we'd be happy to answer any questions today, but stay tuned. For Teamer will be reaching out to to invite your participation in some type of collaborative workshop to discuss the steps for the Envision 2030 plan. Great.

1:22:57I'll just mention here there's additional information on this website if you want to see more information about the plan. But I'll be glad to answer any questions. I believe David Green's on the line as well if you have questions for the executive director.

1:23:07Thank you so much. Any questions or comments, questions?

1:23:12I just want to say, you know, as has been as has been stated, we are the largest MSA that doesn't have any kind of transit And um this is our our first baby step. um to getting transit for the region. And I think we're doing a very cost affordable project. Um I know there's some people that are disappointed it's not a train. But um that just You know, I think we all hope one day we'll have something like that, but this is a great first step Um and

1:23:42we have it starting, you know, at State Road 54 and going all the way down to to Saint Pete. Um And uh it will be a blend of state, local and federal money, correct? Um Right? So uh but right you know, right now our our our federal money's going to other areas. We're funding other people's transit solutions. So I hope we really come together and um and and that in ten years or

1:24:12maybe even five years we we can see this operating here in the Tampa Bay area.

1:24:18Thank you, Commissioner. I think and I'm just gonna jump in real quick if you don't mind and I know we had these discussions before and I think Commissioner Mariano both ag agree on this too because we both stated this in the past that one of the main things too is we want to see that dedicated lane here in Pasco County, right? Yeah. That's what we want to continue to see and we appreciate that because I know when I was on T Barta, that's what I brought up constantly, but with that I'll pass it up to Commissioner Mariano.

1:24:41Could you go back to slide fourteen?

1:24:45Oh. Could you go back to slide fourteen?

1:24:50Uh

1:24:51there you go.

1:24:54Can you talk about the um So at status quo we got a five million dollar surplus and a t point two million dollar deficit for low impact. And then high impact you get a deficit of four hundred and three million. Can you elaborate into that what that exactly means?

1:25:09Sure. The deficit this is Bill Ball again. Thank you. Um the impact scenario includes the first phase of that regional rapid transit project, which would be those exclusive lanes on the I-275 corridor between Wesley Chapel and all the way to downtown Tampa and to downtown St. Pete. So it's the substantial investment that would come online and commensurate with with the interstate uh uh reconstruction. that would occur on on the segments of the interstate. That's why you have the significant capital investment.

1:25:39Okay, so it's all all capital is what we need. So we need to get together.

1:25:44Now

1:25:44the prior

1:25:45slide also showed the operating costs associated with the service that would be implemented on that once it's once it's in place.

1:25:52And when when I look at the um conversations we had Friday. We had like three transportation meetings back to back to back and two of 'em seem to ob overlap completely with each other is like Yeah, we we do have enough transportation meetings in the area. But there's definitely a uh an issue that one of the commissioners from Hillsborough has, maybe more, about the park and garages. When I when I look at an area like you know, when we go to D C we see uh Central Station there. All that stuff's right there and all that commercial that's

1:26:22right in there. I I wonder if we shouldn't take a better look at those garage situations.

1:26:29businesses would want to locate where the parking is going to be, is where the people are going to be, where the business can be before and after. Maybe we need to go look at that a little bit separately and maybe that'll that'll win the support that you need to to get us, 'cause we do need a united voice across the board. And right now Uh it w it's divided out there. And and I and I agree continually as well. We need that continual lane, the gold standard they call it all the way through. So Have you have you guys looked at that or do you have the c capability to actually go look at doing something like that with those

1:27:00park and ride areas?

1:27:04Again, this is Bill Ball. I'll start and maybe David wants to chime in. But the parking needs are being evaluated as part of the project development evaluation that's occurring right now. So there's 13 stations currently identified along that corridor, and each station is being evaluated for the purpose that it will serve, including many parking needs. Uh for example, those in the more outlying areas and and more like Wesley Chapel, if we have a gr a station there. That's more likely greater need for

1:27:34a park and ride situation where you would park Catch that and then take it in t into the job areas to the south. David, do you want to add anything to that?

1:27:44Yeah, uh, and uh that was kind of a a great intro into the comments that I was gonna make. Uh there is no one size fits all uh for the stations. The the original concept that we started with came out of the the regional transit feasibility plan. And you know, admittedly there was a uh a lot of parking incorporated in that plan as a placeholder. So once we got out of the P D and E for this existing project, the parking has been scaled down significantly.

1:28:15Uh we have we have already um Conducted some charrettes for the stations. We wanted to hold them at each individual station location because the needs of each station will be different based on whether the station will be located in the neighborhood or just off of the interstate. So we met with residents of the neighborhoods around each station and businesses and even received. Input from the MPOs and the transit agencies to

1:28:46come up with what these stations potentially could look like. And there may be stations that have no parking whatsoever if that best meets the needs of that particular neighborhood. So we are having those conversations and we'll continue to do so as the plan continues to evolve. Commissioner Starkey.

1:29:06Um yeah, just to add on to that, I I I think our our friend the commissioner from Hillsboro is premature in um banging the gong like she always does on the parking garages. 'Cause we that's We're not we're not down to that level yet. Um but I can tell you that uh I know that at least in the suburbs, well I think in the in r in urban areas as well, It's a it's an economic opportunity to

1:29:36have those people to have a station near Near your business or to put your business near a station. So Um I don't look at this as a detriment, I look at this as a positive um something positive economically for whoever gets to have those stations near them as long as they're done correctly. So um I know I think that the developer that I believe is planning on having the station and at uh State Road 54 is very excited to have that station

1:30:07there and help feed his businesses. So um I just I just think it's a matter of maybe deeper education for for some.

1:30:16Yeah. Thank you, Commissioner Starkey. I would agree with both you, Commissioner Starkey and Commissioner Mariano. It makes you're 100% on on point there. So well with that, um gentlemen, um thank you so much for being here today. If I don't see any other I don't see any other questions from the board, I don't see Commissioner Oakley, you're good. Commissioner Weightman. Okay. Great. Thank you all so much. We appreciate ya. Take care. Okay, moving down the line. So we have exciting things happening

1:30:46today, obviously. So I'm gonna pass it on. to our County Administrator Dan Biles to make an introduction. And