Connecting Our Region: Share Your Thoughts with TBARTA at a Clearwater WorkshopTampa Bay Regional Transportation Authority seeks public participation as master plan development enters final phaseTAMPA –Tampa Bay Area Regional Transportation Authority (TBARTA) is one step closer to finishing the Regional master plan for multi-modal transportation in the seven-county West Central Florida region. The public is invited to join the efforts and assist in creating the master plan for a comprehensive and progressive transportation system to serve area residents and businesses into the next century. Fourteen community workshops, sponsored by Bright House Networks, are scheduled at locations around the region between Oct. 28 and Nov. 20, including one in Clearwater. Light refreshments will be served. Please join us: Clearwater Evening Workshop, Wednesday, November 12, 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. (Stop by anytime), Clearwater Public Library, 100 N. Osceola Ave., Clearwater All workshops will be held "open house" style, so that members of the public can conveniently participate. Two of the workshops will be held online. The master plan will include transportation options for Citrus, Hernando, Hillsborough, Manatee, Pasco, Pinellas, and Sarasota Counties. In Phase One of the master plan development, the public provided important comments on where transit service should be located to serve regional transportation needs. In Phase Two, the public told TBARTA what type of transit mode would be best for each of the transportation corridors identified in the first phase. Now, TBARTA is putting the pieces together into region-wide networks to illustrate how the entire system will link our seven county area. In addition to the Clearwater location, TBARTA will host 13 other workshops throughout the region. For a complete list of workshop locations, please visit www.tbarta.com. TBARTA will also host two online community workshops. The online workshops are scheduled for Thursday, November 13, from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., and Tuesday, November 18, from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Anyone interested in participating in an online community workshop can visit www.tbarta.com and click on the “Meetings” tab to locate the link for the online meetings. For more information on TBARTA and the Master Plan, visit www.tbarta.com or call 813-217-4048. Individuals requiring accommodations under the Americans with Disabilities Act or prsons who require translation services (free of charge) should contact Brandie Miklus at 813-217-4037 at least three (3) days prior to the meeting. Public participation is solicited without regard to race, color, religion, sex, age, nation origin, disability, or family status. The Tampa Bay Area Regional Transportation Authority was created by the Florida Legislature in 2007 to plan and develop a multimodal transportation system that will connect the seven counties of the Tampa Bay region. These counties include Citrus, Hernando, Hillsborough, Manatee, Pasco, Pinellas, and Sarasota. TBARTA’s mission is to improve mobility and expand multimodal transportation options for passengers and freight throughout the seven-county region. The legislature has mandated that TBARTA must create a Regional Transportation Master Plan for the Tampa Bay region by July 2009 and TBARTA is working to complete it by the end of 2008. The goal of this Master Plan is to engage the public in developing a vision for regional integration of transportation systems and foster partnerships with government agencies and business entities.
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