# Mass-transit referendum in Hillsborough County (Tampa), Florida **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [August 21, 2010, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mass-transit-referendum-in-hillsborough-county-tampa-florida/550942 "2010-08-21T02:28:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2010, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mass-transit-referendum-in-hillsborough-county-tampa-florida/550942/41 "2010-08-23T19:40:57Z")
Getting back to this referendum: [There’s some concern](http://blogs.creativeloafing.com/dailyloaf/2010/08/19/concern-about-lack-of-specifics-in-hillsborough-light-rail-measure-intensifies/) that Hillsborough Area Rapid Transit has not announced the specific routes/alignments for the first light-rail lines and does not plan to announce them before the election. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2010, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mass-transit-referendum-in-hillsborough-county-tampa-florida/550942/42 "2010-08-23T19:53:04Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > Besides which, how about freedom from pumping gas, paying for repairs and maintenance, getting stranded by a flat tire, and finding a place to park. Along with the flexibility, there are burdens involved with driving. Not all of which are immediately visible. Air quality, for instance. And, of course, a lot of your tax dollars – federal, state **and** local – go for automobile-related expenses: Building, repairing and maintaining paved streets, roads, highways; putting up signs and signals; cops to patrol for traffic violations; special courts for traffic violations; EMTs and tow trucks to clean up after traffic accidents; examining and licensing every driver; everything government has to do to regulate, or sometimes bail out, the auto industry; and maintenance of the world’s most expensive military establishment, the prime unstated mission of which is to make sure America’s supply of cheap imported petroleum is never interrupted. And yet so many think of motoring as an instance of the individual’s independence from the state. ---
**Author:** ![Alienhand](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8edcca/32.png) [@Alienhand](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alienhand)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2010, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mass-transit-referendum-in-hillsborough-county-tampa-florida/550942/43 "2010-08-24T00:51:15Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > How would you change it? To preface it a little, I don’t have an issue with the new shiny sparkly train but with the rest of the plan and partly with the focus on the train. The first and main issue I have with the proposed plan is that it’s basically entirely focused on getting people to downtown. I realize that the experts and local experts in the various necessary fields have looked at the data and that’s where they think the needs land. I also realize there is a need to move people downtown. But, if you work anywhere except downtown, taking the bus is not an option. Even if you do work downtown and you need to go somewhere after work, the bus is not an option. That needs to change if anyone except those who absolutely need to are going to use the system. So, for me, it breaks down into an issue of ridership and how many people would actually benefit from the money spent. Very minor, personal, kinda ranty and not related to my support for the plan: The newer Northwest Transfer Center blows donkey cock. There are no seats in the shade. All the seats are either in the hot boxes or out in the open. It’s isolated enough that you can’t wander off somewhere to find relief from the heat. Netp@rk, UATC, Yukon and West Tampa transfer centers aren’t much better. The proposed stations seem to be on the same plan as Yukon and NWTC. I’d never use the system 9 months a year just because of that. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2010, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mass-transit-referendum-in-hillsborough-county-tampa-florida/550942/44 "2010-08-25T13:28:01Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > [County government page on the referendum.](http://www.hillsboroughcounty.org/transportref/) > > The referendum has become an issue in [a Republican County Commission primary](http://blogs.creativeloafing.com/dailyloaf/2010/08/09/sharpe-vs-burgin-in-hillsborough-county-commission-gop-primary-a-preview-of-the-transit-tax-vote/) (the incumbent is for it, the challenger is agin it). Aaand [pro-transit incumbent Mark Sharpe beats anti- challenger Josh Burgin, 55-45.](http://results.enr.clarityelections.com/FL/Hillsborough/20674/31992/en/summary.html) ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2010, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mass-transit-referendum-in-hillsborough-county-tampa-florida/550942/45 "2010-08-25T17:52:03Z")
> [@Alienhand](#): > > > [@BrainGlutton](#): > > > > How would you change it? > > To preface it a little, I don’t have an issue with the new shiny sparkly train but with the rest of the plan and partly with the focus on the train. > > The first and main issue I have with the proposed plan is that it’s basically entirely focused on getting people to downtown. I realize that the experts and local experts in the various necessary fields have looked at the data and that’s where they think the needs land. I also realize there is a need to move people downtown. But, if you work anywhere except downtown, taking the bus is not an option. Even if you do work downtown and you need to go somewhere after work, the bus is not an option. That needs to change if anyone except those who absolutely need to are going to use the system. So, for me, it breaks down into an issue of ridership and how many people would actually benefit from the money spent. Here’s how I would do it: Elevated light-rail lines running down the medians of the county’s most major highways – Dale Mabry and Hillsborough to start with – not so much as because those highways would take riders to high-value ultimate destinations (though the Hillsborough line would reach the airport, and the Dale Mabry line would reach Macdill AFB and the Raymond James Stadium), as to connect with a much finer, slower network of streetcar lines running along the next-most-important roads, which **do** touch nearly every important destination. North-south streetcar lines: Westhore-Interbay-Bayshore Howard Avenue Nebraska Avenue (reaches downtown) 50th-56th Street (reaches Temple Terrace USF area) East-West streetcar lines: Fletcher Avenue Gunn Highway - Busch Boulevard - Bullard Parkway Waters Avenue MLK Boulevard (reaches the airport) Columbus Drive (reaches the airport) Kennedy Boulevard (reaches downtown and the airport) And, eventually, a light-rail line along Gandy Boulevard, starting at Bayshore and leading to Pinellas County, using the abandoned span of the [Gandy Bridge](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gandy_Bridge) – the “Friendship Trail Bridge” (now closed even to joggers and fishers) – as a railbed. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2010, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mass-transit-referendum-in-hillsborough-county-tampa-florida/550942/46 "2010-08-25T19:58:58Z")
> [@](#): > > And, eventually, a light-rail line along Gandy Boulevard, starting at Bayshore and leading to Pinellas County, using the abandoned span of the Gandy Bridge – the “Friendship Trail Bridge” (now closed even to joggers and fishers) – as a railbed. If the bridge is currently considered too structurally unsound even for pedestrians, it’d be more trouble than it’s worth to renovate it enough to handle trains. You might as well just tear it down and build a new one. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2010, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mass-transit-referendum-in-hillsborough-county-tampa-florida/550942/47 "2010-08-25T23:24:48Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > > [@](#): > > > > And, eventually, a light-rail line along Gandy Boulevard, starting at Bayshore and leading to Pinellas County, using the abandoned span of the Gandy Bridge – the “Friendship Trail Bridge” (now closed even to joggers and fishers) – as a railbed. > > If the bridge is currently considered too structurally unsound even for pedestrians, it’d be more trouble than it’s worth to renovate it enough to handle trains. You might as well just tear it down and build a new one. [Cost estimates:](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gandy_Bridge#Friendship_Trail_Bridge) > [@](#): > > In May 2009, the initial estimates were revised:[15] > > ``` > * $10 Million to retrofit both ends of the bridge ONLY. > * $15 Million to retrofit the entire structure. > * $17 Million to demolish the bridge ONLY. > * $19 Million to demolish and rebuild the bridge. > > ``` > > \ > > In April 2010, the fate of the bridge was sealed, as both Hillsborough and Pinellas County Commissions voted to demolish the entire structure. The commissions are still proposing ways to commence demolition and a timetable has not yet been set.[17] I guess they voted to demolish because they see the thing only as a jogging trail. But retrofitting would be cheap at the price if it could be used as a railbed, and save it for joggers too. Just an idea. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2010, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mass-transit-referendum-in-hillsborough-county-tampa-florida/550942/48 "2010-08-27T01:38:05Z")
Well, **this** is interesting . . . This evening I went to a TBARTA presentation on mass transit in the Tampa Bay Area. And at the end of the presenter’s engaging talk, as an oh-by-the-way, he offered everyone a “No On 4” leaflet, saying that the proposed Amendment 4 “would be a killer for mass transit.” Amendment 4 will be on the state ballot this November; it would require any change to a local comprehensive land-use plan to be approved by the community’s voters. (See [this thread.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=575776) I don’t see the connection . . . except that he had been touting mass transit as a boost to local property development – i.e., developers will locate their projects near a light-rail line or BRT (bus rapid transit) route if they have a choice. Thing is, though, he made it sound like Amendment 4 would mean requiring a public vote on **every single building permit,** which I’m pretty sure is not the case. The leaflet says at the bottom: “NAIOP” – the acronym is not explained – “COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE DEVELOPMENT ASSOCIATION - TAMPA BAY CHAPTER”; and below that, “Paid political advertisement. Paid for by the Tampa Bay Regional Coalition.” Whatever that is; googling turns up nothing. ---
**Author:** ![E-Sabbath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e19adc/32.png) [@E-Sabbath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-Sabbath)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2010, 11:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mass-transit-referendum-in-hillsborough-county-tampa-florida/550942/49 "2010-08-27T11:09:12Z")
Google Sez: NAIOP Trade association for developers, owners and investors in industrial, office and related commercial real estate. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2010, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mass-transit-referendum-in-hillsborough-county-tampa-florida/550942/50 "2010-08-27T13:22:12Z")
> [@E-Sabbath](#): > > Google Sez: > > NAIOP > Trade association for developers, owners and investors in industrial, office and related commercial real estate. Yeah, I tried that too; but the site I found did not explain the acronym. One would expect an “R” in there somewhere, for “Realtors” or “Real Estate.” ---
**Author:** ![waterj2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/858c86/32.png) [@waterj2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/waterj2)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2010, 7:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mass-transit-referendum-in-hillsborough-county-tampa-florida/550942/51 "2010-08-29T07:50:33Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > > [@E-Sabbath](#): > > > > Google Sez: > > > > NAIOP > > Trade association for developers, owners and investors in industrial, office and related commercial real estate. > > Yeah, I tried that too; but the site I found did not explain the acronym. One would expect an “R” in there somewhere, for “Realtors” or “Real Estate.” For some reason, the [Massachusetts chapter](http://naiopma.org) uses the full name in their website, “The National Association of Industrial and Office Properties”. ---
**Author:** ![JoelUpchurch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f05b48/32.png) [@JoelUpchurch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JoelUpchurch)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2010, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mass-transit-referendum-in-hillsborough-county-tampa-florida/550942/52 "2010-08-30T13:17:32Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > [Here,](http://www.ushsr.com/hsrnetwork.html) BTW, is the U.S. High Speed Rail Association’s vision for a national HSR network. According to this map, from Orlando I would have direct rail HSR connections to 3 cities. Currently if I go to Orlando airport, I can fly non-stop to over 90 cities. Direct flights are over 100. With one change of plane I can get to hundreds of cities on every continent except Antarctica. The reality is that it costs billions of dollars to connect two cities by HSR, while with air travel you only need an airline that thinks there are a couple of hundred people a day that needs to go to the destination to allocate some equipment and announce a new flight. ---
**Author:** ![JoelUpchurch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f05b48/32.png) [@JoelUpchurch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JoelUpchurch)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2010, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mass-transit-referendum-in-hillsborough-county-tampa-florida/550942/53 "2010-08-30T13:29:07Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > > [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > > > Personally, I think it’s going to fail on simple ridership considerations. The number of people who commute between the bay area and Orlando is pretty miniscule. > > The stretch of I-4 between Tampa and Orlando is always pretty busy, I can tell you, at practically all hours of the day. **Somebody** wants to get from here to there. The people aren’t going from Tampa and Orlando. Polk County has become a suburb for both. I know people who live in Lakeland and work at Disney in Orange county. I think Disney should have their own bus system like Google. It would take a lot more people off the road than a light rail system. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2010, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mass-transit-referendum-in-hillsborough-county-tampa-florida/550942/54 "2010-08-30T13:43:18Z")
> [@JoelUpchurch](#): > > > [@BrainGlutton](#): > > > > [Here,](http://www.ushsr.com/hsrnetwork.html) BTW, is the U.S. High Speed Rail Association’s vision for a national HSR network. > > According to this map, from Orlando I would have direct rail HSR connections to 3 cities. Currently if I go to Orlando airport, I can fly non-stop to over 90 cities. Direct flights are over 100. With one change of plane I can get to hundreds of cities on every continent except Antarctica. > > The reality is that it costs billions of dollars to connect two cities by HSR, while with air travel you only need an airline that thinks there are a couple of hundred people a day that needs to go to the destination to allocate some equipment and announce a new flight. So? Every country that has HSR also has an air transportation system. Yet the HSR lines still get plenty of riders and nobody seems to regret the investment. As for the U.S., it’s obvious we need **alternatives** to air travel, at least along the busiest corridors. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2010, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mass-transit-referendum-in-hillsborough-county-tampa-florida/550942/55 "2010-08-30T13:52:30Z")
> [@JoelUpchurch](#): > > > [@BrainGlutton](#): > > > > The stretch of I-4 between Tampa and Orlando is always pretty busy, I can tell you, at practically all hours of the day. **Somebody** wants to get from here to there. > > The people aren’t going from Tampa and Orlando. Polk County has become a suburb for both. I know people who live in Lakeland and work at Disney in Orange county. I think Disney should have their own bus system like Google. It would take a lot more people off the road than a light rail system. You could write a letter to Disney; but I’m sure they’re making all their plans around the HSR, which is a done deal and will have a special stop at Walt Disney World. In any case, the HSR line will have a stop in Lakeland, so if you live in Polk County you could use it to commute to Tampa or Orlando. ---
**Author:** ![JoelUpchurch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f05b48/32.png) [@JoelUpchurch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JoelUpchurch)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2010, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mass-transit-referendum-in-hillsborough-county-tampa-florida/550942/56 "2010-08-30T16:04:05Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > You could write a letter to Disney; but I’m sure they’re making all their plans around the HSR, which is a done deal and will have a special stop at Walt Disney World. > > In any case, the HSR line will have a stop in Lakeland, so if you live in Polk County you could use it to commute to Tampa or Orlando. You might want to study a map once in a while. Only 94,000 people live in Lakeland city, but 580,000 live in Polk county, which is half again larger than Rhode Island. When I talk about the Lakeland Metro area which is Polk County. Very free people would bother driving to the Lakeland city to catch the train. They just go to the closest I-4 exit. Stops at Disney and Lakeland? Congratulations, they have created a HSR system that is slower than driving. I’d also like to point out it isn’t a done deal. If Congress doesn’t appropriate money for it next year it can be undone just like that. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2010, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mass-transit-referendum-in-hillsborough-county-tampa-florida/550942/57 "2010-08-30T16:50:55Z")
> [@JoelUpchurch](#): > > You might want to study a map once in a while. Only 94,000 people live in Lakeland city, but 580,000 live in Polk county, which is half again larger than Rhode Island. When I talk about the Lakeland Metro area which is Polk County. Very free people would bother driving to the Lakeland city to catch the train. They just go to the closest I-4 exit. If you’ll study the [TBARTA Master Plan](http://www.tbarta.com/sites/tbarta.com/files/vision-maps.pdf) – go to the second map, “Long-Term Supporting Network” – you’ll find it includes expanded bus service througout Polk County. IOW, you could hop a bus to Lakeland to catch the HSR. > [@JoelUpchurch](#): > > Stops at Disney and Lakeland? Congratulations, they have created a HSR system that is slower than driving. Cite? > [@JoelUpchurch](#): > > I’d also like to point out it isn’t a done deal. If Congress doesn’t appropriate money for it next year it can be undone just like that. You know something we don’t? Is there some move afoot to petition Congress to kill Florida’s HSR? Or are you assuming the midterm elections will return a GOP majority that will kill it? If so, **why** would a GOP majority kill it? As noted in the OP, I just don’t understand people who oppose HSR or light rail or new urbanism for **ideological** reasons. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2010, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mass-transit-referendum-in-hillsborough-county-tampa-florida/550942/58 "2010-08-30T16:52:27Z")
I’m pretty sure the money was already appropriated. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2010, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mass-transit-referendum-in-hillsborough-county-tampa-florida/550942/59 "2010-08-30T17:01:40Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > I’m pretty sure the money was already appropriated. [Yes.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florida_High_Speed_Rail#Plans_revived_in_2009) > [@](#): > > **Passage of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 designated $8 billion for the development of a high-speed intercity passenger rail system. The Federal Railroad Administration named Florida one of ten high speed rail corridors potentially eligible for the federal funding.[9]** The HSRA met on February 26, 2009 to being planning their application for these funds.[10] Due to the passage of time, potential legal issues, and new federal funding criteria rendering the earlier bids from 2003 inapplicable, the decision was made in May 2009 that a new bidding process would be necessary.[11][12] A first round application was summited in August 2009 for $30 Million to conduct a two year environmental study on the Orlando-Miami route. In October 2009, the authority summited an application during the second round for the entire Tampa - Orlando - Miami corridor, broken into two components: Orlando-Tampa and Orlando-Miami.[13] Connect Us, a political action committee, was launched on August 18, 2009 to rally public support for these applications.[14] > > On December 16, the Florida Legislature passed a bill authorizing FDOT move forward with the purchase from CSX of the Central Florida Rail Corridor for the SunRail commuter rail project, and providing much needed additional funding for South Florida’s Tri-Rail commuter rail system.[15] Funding of these initiatives was vital to the state’s hopes to win federal HSR funding, as it showed the state of Florida was committed to creating a comprehensive rail network allowing connectivity between high speed rail and local mass transit systems.[16] The legislation also replaced the Florida High Speed Rail Authority with the Florida Rail Enterprise, a new agency created under the FDOT, responsible for construction, maintenance, and promotion of the state’s high-speed rail system, as well as development and operation of publicly funded passenger rail systems in general.[17] > > **On January 28, 2010, the White House announced that Florida would receive $1.25 Billion of its request, about half of the cost of the Tampa-Orlando segment.[3]** The state’s efforts towards high speed rail between 2000 and 2005 put Florida ahead of the field in terms of the level of planning already completed, and this proved to be a major factor in winning the funds.[2] The preservation of the I-4 corridor by the FDOT, and completion of the environmental impact studies in 2005 meant that the project could proceed to construction in a very short time frame for a relatively affordable cost. As of March 2010 the Florida Rail Enterprise was seeking to refine cost estimates based on advanced engineering, finish development of possible Early Works (Install permanent barrier systems along most of I-4 and remove/relocate elements in median) and contract for bid this year and finally initiate a new bid procurement process specific to the Tampa to Orlando phase.[1] Construction of the line is slated to begin in 2011, with the initial phase completed by 2014.[2] In June, 2010, the Federal Railroad Administration issued its record of final decision, the final stage of approval for the design, purchase of land and construction of phase one. Tendering is thus able to begin.[18] Of course, that leaves the state to raise the other half. But at this point, I’d say it’s a done deal politically in Florida. Disney obviously is panting for the day it gets its own HSR stop, and in this state you don’t diss Disney. And Miami is already building a [new central train station](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miami_Central_Station) next to the airport, in anticipation of HSR (pending which it will be the central station for Amtrak, Tri-Rail, and Metrorail); which is only part of the new [Miami Intermodal Center](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miami_Intermodal_Center) complex (with a huge car-rental facility). ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2010, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mass-transit-referendum-in-hillsborough-county-tampa-florida/550942/60 "2010-08-30T17:05:44Z")
Breaking news: [Florida is going for even more federal funding for HSR.](http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/08/28/1796658/fla-seeks-more-federal-funding.html) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mass-transit-referendum-in-hillsborough-county-tampa-florida/550942.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mass-transit-referendum-in-hillsborough-county-tampa-florida/550942.md?page=4)