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Commuters may get on track

A rail proposal would link St. Petersburg, Clearwater and maybe Hillsborough County.

By AARON SHAROCKMAN
Published December 12, 2006

Local officials are reviving a proposal to add passenger rail service to Pinellas County's existing freight line.

If built, the passenger line would link Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg to downtowns in Pinellas Park, Largo and Clearwater, officials said. It would continue north through Safety Harbor and Oldsmar.

It also could link to existing lines in Hillsborough County, as well as a new system that could be built to reach Tampa International Airport, officials said.

The system, the cost of which is unknown, had been bypassed in the 1990s for a high-profile, Disney-like monorail system.

But officials deterred by the monorail's $1-billion-plus price tag now say using rail lines already in place will be cheaper and quicker to implement.

Different solutions to the county's growing transportation crisis have been proposed for decades, with little actually being accomplished.

And although light rail and monorails have not materialized, local officials say this latest response is part of a more pragmatic approach to the area's increasing transportation concerns. Tampa Mayor Pam Iorio already has embraced the idea of working with existing rail lines.

The plan in Pinellas also seems to be gaining momentum.

"We have to do something," said Ronnie Duncan, a Pinellas County commissioner and chairman of the Pinellas Mobility Initiative steering committee. "We can't build any more roads. This is something that's achievable."

Duncan already has spoken with representatives from CSX, the Jacksonville company that owns the Pinellas line, about the proposal.

CSX officials, who did not return calls Monday, told Duncan there are opportunities to partner in Pinellas, Duncan said. The company is now working through a similar deal in the Orlando area, where governments are buying 61 miles of private freight rail line for commuter use starting in 2009.

That system will cost about $1-billion, with the federal government and the state paying for more than 75 percent of the cost.

Cheaper in Pinellas

In Pinellas, a deal would likely come cheaper, officials said, because the commercial line has only one client, the St. Petersburg Times. The Times uses the line to receive paper.

Governments in Orlando, for instance, have to pay to move some freight traffic to another line. In Pinellas, commercial and commuter rail could fit on the same line, said Brian Smith, director of the county's Metropolitan Planning Organization.

Passenger trains likely would be able to travel up to 40 mph, and the system could be built in phases, Smith said, with the first phase linking the downtowns of Clearwater and St. Petersburg.

The biggest hurdle may be finding ways for the commuter trains to cross heavily traveled roads during peak traffic hours.

The rail line crosses Ulmerton Road, Park Boulevard and 66th Street, and other major commuter routes.

Clearwater Mayor Frank Hibbard, a member of the MPO and a rail proponent, said overpasses likely would have to be built for vehicle or train traffic.

It can be done, Hibbard said.

The rail line "has real potential," said Hibbard, who has spoken with Iorio about connecting the line east. "Look at the swath of land that it cuts through. It cuts through the population centers, and there's locations on the line that we could potentially build some parking garages."

Talks could start soon

Serious discussions with CSX may not begin until after the company has finished negotiating on the Orlando system, which may happen early next year, Duncan said.

In the meantime, Duncan is convening a meeting of Pinellas, Hillsborough and Pasco county officials to discuss potential transportation partnerships. A more formal three-county regional organization and larger seven-county transportation authority are also being considered.

"I know none of this is new, but at some point we have got to quit being so car-centric," Hibbard said. "And I think we have to look beyond buses. I think now's the time."

[Last modified December 12, 2006, 05:37:56]