He recalls one day when — despite departing Orlando early to get a head start on a business trip — traffic and farm animals got the best of him near U.S. Route 27 and Interstate 4.

A cow had wandered past a fence onto the road, causing tie-ups and headaches.

“I ended up missing lunch because of that cow,” Panyanouvong said with a laugh. “I don’t like missing lunch and I especially don’t like getting stuck in traffic due to wandering farm animals or any other reason.”

For generations, much of the nation has been forced to use cars, buses or pricey aircraft to travel to nearby cities. But this year, Washington opened the door to what may be a historic turning point in regional travel.

The Department of Transportation awarded $8 billion among 31 states to begin developing America’s first nationwide high-speed intercity passenger rail service.

Panyanouvong said he loves the idea of jumping on a train, turning on his computer and getting some work done on his way to Tampa, “without having to worry about traffic or driving.”

But the idea is much bigger than convenience, say supporters, who believe high-speed intercity rail will cut U.S. dependence on foreign oil, reduce climate-changing pollution and fatten wallets by triggering economic development.

Soon, Americans might find themselves rocketing along ribbons of rails at 200 mph in sleek, painted passenger cars — never stopping until they arrive at destinations awake and refreshed.

The federal funding served as a down payment to develop the groundwork for 13 new high-speed rail corridors in the United States, including an Orlando-Tampa route.

“High-speed rail in America is long overdue and President Obama understands we can’t build the economy of the future on the transportation networks of the past,” said Federal Railroad Administrator Joseph Szabo.

Funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, these new dollars represent a historic investment in the country’s transportation infrastructure. It will help create jobs and transform travel in America, according to a U.S. Department of Transportation official.

“High-speed rail will also revolutionize the way Americans travel by reducing U.S. dependence on foreign oil, lowering harmful carbon emissions, fostering new economic development and giving travelers more choices when it comes to moving around the country,” said the official.

Despite these promises from the government, high-speed rail comes with its share of opponents, who say it is too expensive and won’t save energy. Some even question if it will ever be built.

“Even in a strong economy, building high-speed rail makes little sense, offering minimal reductions in travel times at exorbitant costs,” said Ronald Utt, who is the Herbert and Joyce Morgan senior research fellow for the Thomas A. Roe Institute for Economic Policy Studies at the Heritage Foundation.

“For instance, one has to wonder what exactly motivated the review team to endorse the proposed $1.1 billion investment in the Kansas City-St. Louis-Chicago route, which would allow customers to reach their destinations 10 percent faster than they could by driving between Chicago and St. Louis,” said Utt.

Utt said the $1.25 billion federal investment in a $3.2 billion project to build a high-speed rail line between Orlando and Tampa would reduce travel time between the two cities to less than one hour, compared to about 90 minutes by car. He said other projects have similar travel time differences.

Randal O’Toole, a senior fellow with the CATO Institute, said it is far more cost-effective to save energy by encouraging people to drive more fuel-efficient cars than to build and operate high-speed rail.

“Moreover, in places that do generate electricity from renewable sources, it would be more cost-effective to use that electricity to power electric or plug-in hybrid cars than high-speed rail,” O’Toole said. “A Department of Energy report adds that boosting train speeds to 110 mph will reduce the energy efficiency of the trains, making them less energy efficient than automobiles.”

A report from the United States Government Accountability Office also highlights potential issues with high-speed rail plans in the United States.

“Passenger rail service, especially services at higher and high speeds, will require new safety rules, constant public capital investment and operating subsidies, and balance with freight rail service and the rest of the national transportation system — and currently only some of these elements are in place,” according to a GAO report.

While the recent federal funds may serve as a catalyst for many projects and have generated high public expectations, the planning necessary to meet the many concerns outlined above has not yet occurred, the GAO report said.

“Given the funding, I would say that it is fairly likely that at least a few moderate-speed rail projects will eventually be completed,” said O’Toole. “But the California high-speed rail project remains fairly unlikely considering that more than three-fourths of its costs are not yet funded. Florida probably has a 50-50 chance of completion since about half its costs are funded.”

High-speed rail also has many supporters.

The United States Conference of Mayors, American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials and America 2050 — a coalition of regional planners, scholars and policy-makers — back high-speed rail plans. The U.S. High Speed Rail Association is also among the supporters.

“Experts in the oil industry have been saying for a number of years now that there is not enough oil left in the ground to continue our current level of consumption, not to mention no way to meet growing demand, and we can expect half as much oil available to us in the next 20 years,” said Andy Kunz, president and CEO of the rail association.

“If we are to continue economic development and prosperity, we will need to greatly reduce our daily oil consumption, and high-speed rail is the only possible solution that can scale up to meet the growing demand of American mobility while greatly reducing our oil consumption,” said Kunz.

High-speed rail supporters say the industry would stimulate the economy by creating millions of jobs across numerous sectors.

“Based on our company’s 45 years of experience with high-speed rail in Japan, bringing high-speed rail to the United States will translate into jobs,” said Mike Finnegan, an executive with US-Japan High Speed Rail and US-Japan Maglev.

“Importantly, these jobs pay well and they cannot be shipped overseas.”

“The $8 billion investment in high-speed rail for America is just the beginning,” said Szabo. “We know that it won’t be built overnight, but the federal government is committed to the long-term development of the program. Of course, the Department of Transportation will fund projects that have the best chances to succeed and have instituted rigorous requirements to ensure successful completion of these projects.”

So if and when high-speed rail does move forward in the United States, how would it be built and what type of technology would be used?

The Department of Transportation says funding for the program is “technology neutral” and does not place preference on the type of technologies used to build high-speed trains. Instead, it is allowing states and regions to choose the technology, as well as routes and station locations that meet their needs.

Most high-speed rail lines in the United States will be upgraded using existing freight rail rights-of-way, but the project in Florida and portions of California will be built on newly constructed high-speed rail lines, said Nazih Haddad, the chief operating officer for Florida Rail Enterprise.

Trains could reach up to 168 mph on Florida’s high-speed line. Estimates from the U.S Department of Transportation say speeds could reach up to 220 mph for some portions of California’s rail lines, while most other regions would top 110 mph.

Maglev train technology, which is popular in many scientific circles around the world for its high speeds, is one mode of high-speed rail that is not catching on in the United States because of its high cost, according to the Department of Transportation and rail industry insiders.

Maglev is a train technology in which magnetic forces lift, propel and guide a vehicle over a guideway. It follows guidance tracks with magnets and does not use steel wheels or steel rails usually associated with trains.

A well-known high-speed Maglev system operates commercially at Shanghai’s Pudong International Airport in China. Its train reaches speeds of 268 mph and is much faster than the high-speed trains proposed in the United States. Japan and Germany also use Maglev train systems.

So what’s the time frame?

One Department of Transportation report said high-speed rail lines in portions of California may not be completed until 2026.

For Joe Panyanouvong and the millions of Americans searching for solutions to “traffic headaches,” the answers appear complex and in some cases, highly debatable and costly.

Panyanouvong will have to wait until at least 2015 until he has a chance to chuck his car and ride the rails from Orlando to Tampa.

Nonetheless, he said he’ll be ready. “I would rather keep my 2002 Nissan Maxima at home.”

By Katherine Dorsett, CNN

Click here for full article.

]]> http://www.hhbslawblog.com/?feed=rss2&p=859 http://www.hhbslawblog.com/?p=848 http://www.hhbslawblog.com/?p=848#comments Mon, 16 Aug 2010 15:54:01 +0000 admin http://www.hhbslawblog.com/?p=848

The Seminole County has approved a plan that would outsource control over a major road construction project.

The Orlando-Orange County Expressway Authority will design, construct and then place tolls on the Wekiva Parkway.

“The citizens of Seminole County who are going to be mostly be impacted by this will now no longer have a voice,” said Brenda Carey, the only commissioner to vote “no” on the plan.  Her colleagues said the plan is the only way to finish the beltway around Central Florida.

“The beauty about them building it is that they’re using toll money from the region to build a small section in Seminole County,” said Commissioner Bob Dallari.

He says Seminole County will have influence shaping the parkway with a seat on a right-of-way subcommittee.

But Commissioner Carey says the important decisions like where to place tolls and how much to charge will be made without local input.

By Drew Petrimoulx

August 10, 2010

Click here for full article:

]]> http://www.hhbslawblog.com/?feed=rss2&p=848 http://www.hhbslawblog.com/?p=845 http://www.hhbslawblog.com/?p=845#comments Wed, 28 Jul 2010 14:32:53 +0000 admin http://www.hhbslawblog.com/?p=845 Metro Orlando’s main road-building agency is expected to approve today the first steps toward building the final leg of a long-sought Central Florida beltway.

The board likely will decide today to borrow $300 million to start design of that missing link, called the Wekiva Parkway, as well as to widen the area’s most popular toll road.
“Things are starting to happen with the Wekiva,” said Walter Ketcham, chairman of the Orlando Orange County Expressway Authority.

Agency officials say about $26 million of the planned debt, which would be raised through the sale of fixed interest-rate bonds, would go toward the parkway, the 26-mile final stage of the beltway around greater Orlando.

Another $33 million would be spent on widening State Road 408, formerly known as the East-West Expressway, and the most heavily traveled stretch of pavement in the 105-mile system.

And about $76 million would be spent adding the last five miles to the John Land Apopka Expressway in northwest Orange.

The rest of the money would go toward more than 30 smaller projects, such as repaving, minor widenings and sign improvements. “It’s part of maintaining our roads,” said authority spokeswoman Lindsay Hodges.

The completion of John Land — five miles already are in place — sets the stage for linking it to the Wekiva Parkway on the west end. The east side is in Seminole, near Interstate 4.

Ketcham said the authority is close to signing agreements with Seminole and Lake counties to allow the agency to build the parkway there. Seminole, in particular, has been holding out for a seat on the five-member authority board of directors, a change that would have to be approved by the Legislature.

Today’s expected action by the agency means construction on the $1.8 billion Wekiva Parkway could start as early as 2014, with completion in 2018.

Nita Crowder, the authority’s chief financial officer, said the probable bond sale would not have been possible without a toll increase and a series of future raises pegged to the cost of living index approved by the board last year.

All four of the candidates to replace Orange County Mayor Rich Crotty, who also sits on the authority board because of his elected position, have said they would like to roll back all or parts of the toll increases.

Crotty, who leaves office and the board in January, dismissed the stands of his would-be successors, saying, “the question has to be asked, ‘Do you not support protecting the Wekiva (River)? Do you not support completing the beltway?’ ”

Authority officials say it would be virtually impossible to reduce the tolls because bonds have been sold based on the amount of money the agency brings in from fees drivers pay. Right now, the agency is more than $2.4 billion in debt and pays $135 million a year on the bonds.

Without the toll increases, Crowder said, the authority would not have enough reserves, possibly leading to higher borrowing cost and, more unlikely, the bondholders taking over the agency because not enough money would be coming in.

In another financial matter today, the board also is expected to once again give Crowder the go-ahead to try to get rid of $250 million worth of variable-rate bonds that are swapped weekly. Those bonds — initially sold in 2005 — once were popular but are hard to sell now because they fell into disfavor with investors during the financial meltdown of 2008.

Crowder, who previously refinanced $200 million worth of bonds and saved more than $9 million, said she would not get rid of the bonds unless the pre-payment penalty was no more than $14 million.

By Dan Tracy, ORLANDO SENTINEL

Click here for full article

The move will save construction jobs and probably keep some construction companies out of bankruptcy, at a time of unprecedented hardship for the building industry.He also vetoed the USF pharmacy school in Lakeland and several other worthy education projects, but their delay is acceptable. When revenue is as short as it is this year, some sacrifices are unavoidable.

Delaying the pharmacy school will give the Legislature time to reconsider putting it where it belongs and where it was originally intended, near the USF medical school in Tampa.

A bigger problem was the Legislature’s plan to spend $160 million in fuel taxes on public schools instead of roads. The switch would have allowed for a small increase this year in per-pupil spending, but according to the Florida Transportation Builders Association, the diversion would have caused $400 million in transportation projects to be delayed or canceled.

And Crist also was right to veto an unprecedented legislative attempt to force the Tampa-Hillsborough Expressway Authority to immediately repay $19 million of a long-term obligation to the State Department of Transportation.

The loss of the money would have delayed a planned widening of the toll road in Tampa and possibly hurt the agency’s bond rating.

From a larger perspective, it would have threatened all local toll agencies with legislative raids on their reserve funds. It would have added a new layer of politics to the straightforward concept of charging local users for improvements in local expressways.

As for the larger raid on the transportation trust fund, even if the entire $160 million had to be subtracted from school expenses, the per-pupil reduction would be less than 1 percent, an acceptable cut in these challenging times.

But Crist refused to veto the level of school spending set by lawmakers, so the money appears to be coming out of reserves.

And that has its own costs. House Speaker Larry Cretul said additional withdrawals of reserves could lower the state’s bond ratings. The Ocala Republican has a point, but so does Crist.

Postponing needed construction projects is no way to stimulate the economy or prepare for future growth. Crist is gambling that growth will return before the reserves are needed.

Even in the tight budget year, key lawmakers found lots of money for their pet projects. Crist pointed out that instead of tightening their belts, “they just spent like crazy. It’s incredible.”

He has vetoed some $371 million from the state budget, which really isn’t very much, only about one half of one percent of total spending. And it’s actually less than that in total savings, because he also restored $216 million to Medicaid.

The best thing that can be said about this year’s $70.4 billion budget is that it had less fat than usual, but it did have projects that were safe to delay, including the pharmacy school.

Many of the vetoed projects are in Miami-Dade County, which raises the question of why so much money was going to the home county of the House budget chairman, David Rivera, a Miami Republican.

The best of these vetoed projects, including the pharmacy school, will come back to life next year. But the bad pets won’t return, which will be a good deal for taxpayers.

Click here for full article.

“Florida received the largest share of grant funds because our federal partners realize we are ready to go now with our high speed rail project,” said Governor Crist. “Florida’s high speed rail will create efficient transportation options, boost our economy and put Floridians back to work.”

Florida’s grant covers the next six months of work and will include completing 30 percent of the design for the Orlando-Tampa segment, ramping up the public outreach plan, updating ridership projections, buying right of way and doing preliminary station design.

“All of this hard work and preparation is getting us closer to building the country’s first, true high speed rail system,” said Kevin Thibault, Interim Executive Director of the Florida Rail Enterprise. “We will eventually ask private companies to compete for the right to submit bids to build, operate and maintain the system.”

Work has already begun on Florida’s high speed rail project. Motorists will see soil testing crews working in the median of I-4 in the next few weeks. Other Florida firms have been doing aerial and ground surveys for the past two months. In addition, preliminary engineering and design work on the high speed rail project will begin shortly.

For more information, please visit www.floridahighspeedrail.org.

Click here for the full article.

The Orlando Orange County Expressway Authority is still waiting for a reply.But that silence should not be taken as a no, Lake and Seminole officials say. In fact, they say, they likely will give the authority written consent to build the so-called Wekiva Parkway on their soil within 60 to 90 days.

“We’re very supportive of the parkway,” said Lake County Commissioner Linda Stewart, whose district would be bisected by the road.

Added Seminole County Chairman Bob Dallari: “We’re hashing it through.”

But that’s not to say everyone agrees on everything.

Both Seminole and Lake officials want a seat on the policy-setting board of the authority. And Lake wants to ensure that a toll-free road will run along the parkway so that local residents will not be forced to pay, for example, to drive from Mount Dora to the Seminole Towne Center mall.

Agency officials say they cannot accommodate the request to enlarge the five-member board because it was established by the Florida Legislature, meaning a state law would have to be passed for the additions.

State Sen. Andy Gardiner, R- Orlando, has pushed for a regional authority but has not found enough support in the Legislature.

As for the toll-free road, the authority is working on plans for a local-access road, but is wrangling with Lake over who and how to pay for what could be a $90 million undertaking.

The 26-mile Wekiva Parkway would complete the beltway around greater Orlando by cutting through parts of Orange, Seminole and Lake counties. Construction on the $1.8 billion project could start as early as 2014, with completion in 2018.

Probably the biggest holdup has been acquiring the necessary state and federal approvals for the road because it would run through environmentally sensitive land, primarily the Wekiva River and surrounding wetlands. Hemmed in by housing and commercial tracts, the river starts at Wekiva Springs in Orange and mingles with more springs as it flows 14 miles between Seminole and Lake counties to the St. Johns River.

Right now, three bridges cross the river, the most prominent being State Road 46 between Mount Dora and Sanford. Wildlife often is killed attempting to cross the road, which rolls through largely rural land.

Ecologists such as Charles Lee of Audubon of Florida support the parkway because they believe a limited-access road would reduce environmental damage by preventing large-scale development that often follows new roads.

But Lee said he is worried the project is in danger because, in his estimation, the authority is moving too slowly on winning permits and getting the signatures of Lake and Seminole counties. He fears the road might get bogged down in administrative hassles and never be built.

“I’m very concerned,” Lee said.

Road builders have talked about the parkway for years, but no one had enough money to build it. That changed a year ago, when the authority voted in a 25-cent toll increase, as well as a series of future inflation-adjusted rate increases.

Over time, the agency should have the cash it needs for the parkway, but that has not stopped authority director Mike Snyder from looking for a funding partner. Paying for the entire road would almost double the agency’s existing debt of $2.1 billion, and $360 million worth of other projects are already in line ahead of the parkway.

Former authority Chairman Rich Crotty recently wrote a letter seeking up to $450 million from the federal government to pay for the road’s planned interchange with Interstate 4. That request helped prompt the agency to undergo the rigorous federal environmental assessment of the project.

Snyder said the authority should finish the federal paperwork within weeks and could begin holding public hearings on the road’s alignment by the end of the summer. That could lead to final federal approval near year’s end.

“It doesn’t look like it from the outside,” Snyder said, “but we really have made progress.”

Author: Dan Tracy

Click here for full article.

But the planned $1.2 billion SunRail commuter train remains on schedule.“My orders are the same: Keep moving forward on the project,” said Todd Hammerle, who manages SunRail for the Florida Department of Transportation.

That’s good news for backers of mass transit, but not so great to those who rely on their cars and trucks to get around.

“To maintain our quality of life here — as it is, for better or for worse — means at a minimum maintaining our current road networks,” said William Shallcross, a Winter Park developer.

Here’s the problem: Collection of several taxes earmarked for road work is off by more than $75 million this budget year. The worst hit are fees from drivers licenses, vehicle registrations and titles. All together, the state is projecting a drop of almost $488 million to its five-year work plan.

Florida DOT officials are spreading the pain of the deficit over the entire state. That means the nine Central Florida counties that comprise District 5 are losing or pushing back 22 jobs. Some are just delayed a few months, from one fiscal year to the next.

But the I-4 segment from Orange Blossom Trail to Ivanhoe Boulevard fell out of the five-year plan, saving FDOT about $42 million. Another $10 million to buy land on another portion of I-4 was pushed from 2011 to 2012. Both are part of a planned $1 billion makeover of the freeway.

“You’re not really a project until you are in the work program,” said Roger Neiswender, Orlando’s chief transportation planner. “Bottom line: You’re out of the money.”

A widening job on U.S. Highway 441 in Lake County also was dropped from the work plan, while some preliminary engineering work on State Road 40 in Volusia County was pushed back to 2014, from 2013.

The financial crunch could worsen, too.

Members of the Florida House are talking about swiping nearly $460 million from FDOT’s $7 billion annual allotment to balance the state’s general budget. The Senate has not seriously discussed raiding FDOT, at least not yet.

Losing even more money would be devastating to the state’s road network and its struggling economy, said Bob Burleson, president of Florida’s Transportation Builders Association, a Tallahassee lobbying group.

“It’s only going to make a bad situation worse,” Burleson said. “It will speed up layoffs [in road construction].”

The House briefly considered shelving SunRail for a year, but the idea was voted down. The state is expected to set aside tens of millions of dollars this year for the train, which would link DeLand in Volusia County with downtown Orlando and Poinciana in Osceola County.

Construction could begin next year, with operations of the first 31 miles starting in 2013. The entire 61-mile system could be up and running by 2015.

Legislators contend that the train, a top priority of area leaders for several years, will create thousands of construction jobs, along with providing an alternative for motorists tired of idling in traffic. Adding an extra lane in either direction to I-4 for 61 miles could cost as much as $7 billion.

Burleson said he understands why SunRail is important to Metro Orlando. But, he said, residents and elected officials need to understand that road dollars are lost for good once they are spent elsewhere.

“The only thing we do is fall further and further behind. It’s not a pretty picture right now,” Burleson said.

Officials who support SunRail say they are not happy about losing road projects, particularly I-4, the area’s main transportation spine.

“That’s pretty troubling to the region,” said Orange County Mayor Rich Crotty, who backs SunRail and serves on MetroPlan, which sets transportation policy in Orange, Seminole and Osceola counties.

“Robbing Peter to pay Paul should not be the plan,” added Seminole County Commission Chairman Bob Dallari, also a MetroPlan member.

George Lovett, FDOT director of transportation development, told a recent MetroPlan meeting that his agency has lost nearly $10 billion since 2006 because of the poor economy and the Legislature taking road money for other needs.

“We’re sort of teetering on the edge,” he said.

But there are factors working in FDOT’s favor: He said that land and construction prices have fallen because of the recession.

“It’s a shame” projects are being delayed, Lovett said. “We wish we didn’t have to move them.”

Road work knocked off track
Five key projects being delayed or dropped:
Orange County
•Add lanes and reconstruct West State Road 50, from Florida’s Turnpike to Avalon Road, $12.9 million delayed from 2012 to 2013.
•Add lanes and reconstruct Interstate 4, from Orange Blossom Trail to Ivanhoe Blvd., $42.3 million, from 2014 out of the work plan.
Lake County
•Add lanes and reconstruct U.S. Highway 441, from Martin Luther King Blvd. to Lake Ella Road, $32 million out of the 5-year work program from 2014.
Volusia County
•Preliminary engineering work to widen portions of State Road 40, $12.5 million, from 2013 to 2014.
Districtwide
•Resurfacing, $8 million from 2010 out of the work program.
Source: Florida Department of Transportation

By Dan Tracy, Orlando Sentinel

Click here for article.

The City of Palm Coast, with the Florida Department of Transportation, has scheduled a public hearing on proposed improvements to Palm Coast Parkway from Cypress Point Parkway/Boulder Rock Drive to Florida Park Drive.

The hearing will begin as an open house at 6 p.m. on March 16 at the Palm Coast Community Center, 305 Palm Coast Pkwy NE. A formal presentation will follow at 7 p.m.

Immediately following the formal presentation, officials will open the meeting for public comment.

The hearing is being held to allow interested parties a chance to express their views about the location, conceptual design and social, economic and environmental effects of the proposed improvements to that area of Palm Coast Parkway.

The proposed improvements consist of widening the roadway from a four-lane to a six-lane divided facility with shared-use paths on both sides and improvements at the intersections at Cypress Point Parkway and Old Kings Road.

Minimal additional right-of-way may be required along the 1.23-mile project.

Work is scheduled to begin in 2012.

The Draft Project Development Summary Report (PDSR) and environmental documents, along with other pertinent information, will be available for public review during normal business hours at the City of Palm Coast offices located at 160 Cypress Point Parkway.

These materials will also be available at the hearing site from 6 p.m. until the end of the meeting/hearing.

Those who want to submit written statements and other exhibits, in place of or in addition to oral statements, may do so at the hearing or by sending them to the City of Palm Coast, 160 Cypress Point Parkway, Suite No. B106, Palm Coast, FL 32164.

All exhibits or statements postmarked no later than March 26 will become a part of the public hearing record.

Public participation is solicited without regard to race, color, national origin, age, sex, religion, disability or family status.

Those with disabilities who require special accommodations under the Americans with Disabilities Act or those who require translation services (free of charge) should call Marsha Lidskin, Community Relations coordinator, at (386) 986-3708 at least seven days before the hearing.

Click here for full article. ]]> http://www.hhbslawblog.com/?feed=rss2&p=824 http://www.hhbslawblog.com/?p=811 http://www.hhbslawblog.com/?p=811#comments Thu, 18 Feb 2010 20:07:56 +0000 admin http://www.hhbslawblog.com/?p=811 In December, the State Legislature authorized SunRail, Central Florida’s commuter rail system. The eventual route runs from DeLand, through Orlando, to Kissimmee and Poinciana.Then just three weeks ago, President Barack Obama came to Tampa to announce Florida was getting over $1 billion in stimulus money for its High-Speed Rail project. The bullet train route goes from Orlando International Airport to Tampa.

But there’s a problem with the two new trains – they don’t connect. The routes do cross, but there’s no train station planned where they cross.

Orange County Mayor Rich Crotty has sent a letter to the State Department of Transportation asking DOT to come up with a plan for connectivity.

There are several options.

There is a spur off the SunRail track that runs out near Orlando International Airport. That could be extended to the Bullet Terminal at OIA.

There has long been talk of light rail from the airport, to the Sand Lake Road station of SunRail, then on to I-Drive, and the High-Speed Rail station near the convention center.

Orange County has put together a map showing current and potential rail lines and possible connections.

Mayor Crotty said the professionals need to come up with the answer. The professionals in Florida are with the state DOT. That’s why he said he sent the letter.

Source: Channel 13 news.

Author: Scott Harris

Click here for article

“I’m excited,” he said. “I’m going to come back down here and ride it. … Y’all have a date!”

After a rock-star welcome from the crowd of approximately 3,000, Obama harkened back to his messages from the campaign trail and Wednesday’s State of the Union address.

He said he and Vice President Joe Biden sought office because they wanted to solve problems, not take the easy road.

“We ran to get the tough stuff done,” he said. “I make no apology for trying to fix stuff that’s hard.

“Change,” he said, “never comes without a fight.”

“You’re doing a good job,” someone yelled from the crowd.

He said job creation has to be the No. 1 priority in 2010.

“The markets have stabilized,” he said. “The economy is growing again. The worst of the storm is past. But I think all of you understand the devastation remains.”

At times during his speech, which began just before 1:30 p.m., the cheers and applause were so loud it was hard to hear what the president was saying.

Obama and Biden arrived at the University of Tampa just as it was announced the Bob Martinez Sports Center had reached capacity.

Organizers gave out too many tickets and just before 1 p.m., officials took about 100 ticket holders across the street to an outdoor stadium on campus where sound from the event is being piped in.

Obama and Biden arrived separately at MacDill Air Force Base about noon. U.S. Reps. Kathy Castor, D-Tampa, Kendrick Meek, D-Miami, Alan Grayson, D-Orlando, and Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Weston, flew in on Air Force One with the president. Biden traveled separately, as is protocol when he and the president go to the same place.

Gov. Charlie Crist, state Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink, Tampa Mayor Pam Iorio and Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer were there to greet the president.

Crist shook the president’s hand, gave him a letter and the two spoke for less than a minute. (A pool reporter timed their handshake at 27 seconds.)

At a Board of Governors meeting at USF later in the day, Crist was asked why he didn’t attend the town hall.

“Well, I was with him today, the only Republican to be with him, and I was proud to be there because it was the right thing to do,” Crist said. “It’s important for us to work together for the betterment of our people, and I’ll do it every single day.”

Asked earlier about rumors that he did not want to appear with the president, Crist said, “If that were true, I wouldn’t be here.”

Crist went on to say, “We don’t agree on everything, but we agree when it comes to fighting for jobs for my fellow Floridians. I have an opportunity as governor to fight for them every day, and damn it, I’m gonna do it.”

By 10:30 a.m. the room was filling up at the Bob Martinez Sports Center. A jazz band greeted the crowd, along with a large red banner that announced, “The University of Tampa Welcomes President Obama.”

Several local and state leaders were there. Among them was state Sen. Charlie Justice, D-St. Petersburg, who said the high-speed rail money is huge for Tampa Bay in terms of bolstering the economy and bringing jobs to Florida.

“To make it a true success, the regional mass transit is going to have to come through,” he said.

Justice, however, voted against the regional rail initiatives the state Legislature considered in a special session last month. Some said the initiative was seen as necessary to attract the federal stimulus money for high-speed rail.

Justice said, among other things, he had concerns about the state’s liability in the regional rail system.

“You want to do it the right way, and there were portions of that bill that weren’t the right way,” he said. “It doesn’t mean I don’t believe in mass transit.”

Tampa defense attorney Barry Cohen, who brought a photo of his young son with the president for Obama to sign, gushed about the State of the Union address from his cushy viewing spot close to the stage.

“I think he’s a visionary,” he said. “People forget what he inherited. He wants to unite the country and unite the world.”

Joe Robinson, a Tampa mechanical engineer, arrived wearing a Kevin White for Hillsborough County Commission T-shirt and a whistle around his neck. He said he planned to blow it loud and long when Obama announces the funding for high-speed rail. “The train is leaving the station, and we just want to make sure African-American companies are going to get a piece of this,” he said.

Republican Hillsborough County Commissioner Rose Ferlita said she was putting party politics aside and was excited to hear the president speak. The high-speed rail money, she said, would likely build momentum for Hillsborough County’s rail efforts. But like fellow commissioner Kevin Beckner, she wants to make sure local voters understand that the local rail referendum will also consider more than just trains. “There’s going to be some confusion,” she said.

The County Commission in the coming months will consider a referendum on a 1-cent sales tax to pay for light rail, expanded bus service and road improvements in Hillsborough County. Beckner said it’s important for people to understand that although the federal money is exclusively for rail, the local efforts are for all forms of transportation.

“Yes, the rail is involved, but it’s not just trains,” he said.

State Sen. Arthenia Joyner, D-Tampa, was also in the audience at the University of Tampa. She, too, voted against the state rail initiative.

“The state of Florida can’t afford it at this time,” she said, noting that funding health care is more vital.

Joyner said she has supported Florida’s high-speed rail efforts in the past before Gov. Jeb Bush pulled the plug on them in 2004. She declined to say whether she thought the federal investment in high-speed rail is a wise expenditure.

“That hasn’t come before me yet,” she said.

Susan Glickman, a climate and energy advocate, said she found Obama’s State of the Union remarks about clean energy “very inspiring.” High-speed rail, she said, is another part of the broader clean energy package.

“It’s the wave of the future, and clearly the president recognizes it,” she said.

Former Bucs coach Tony Dungy was also in the crowd, and the president reserved a special shout-out for him at the start, saying he’s “a model individual and leader.”

The speech resonated with people of all ages.

“I’m just exuberant,” said Tampa resident Altamese Saunders, 81.

“This is just an opportunity of a lifetime,” said her daughter, 55-year-old Karen Saunders.

University of Tampa sophomores Rebecca Coogan and Maggie Redmond, both 19, trembled and screamed after running down from their bleacher seats to get a close-up look of the president and vice president shaking hands in the crowd.

Coogan made sure to get a cell phone picture that captured both the leaders and her Obama shoulder bag.

“He’s not a robot,” Coogan said. “He’s a human being.”

“He’s such a modern thinker,” Redmond said. “He makes me want to be involved.”

“I’m going to freak out!” Coogan said.

Times staff writers Marlene Sokol and Rick Danielson contributed to this report.

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