Tampa Bay Commuting Follies [Part 2]

Continuing some further analysis you won't find anywhere else around Tampa Bay, we have some more data to dissect.

Again, using the Tampa Bay Times Graham Brink's article on our increasing commutes as a starting point, Brink states

Pity the 117,000 Tampa Bay workers who spend at least an hour getting to work and then have to do it again going home.

No joy for those folks in their commutes, for sure.

But how are those 117,000 workers getting to work?

Tampa Bay Commuting Follies

Recently the Tampa Bay Times business writer Graham Brink published an article lamenting the increasing commute times in the area.

You’re not going crazy if you feel like your trip to work keeps getting longer. 

Ten years ago, about 1 in 7 Tampa Bay area workers spent more than 45 minutes commuting to work. Now it’s approaching 1 in 5, according to U.S. Census data released last week.

Typical morning commute in Tampa

What is going on with commutes? Did Brink address any of the issues with transportation across Tampa Bay?

Lies, Damned Lies and CO2 Statistics

The Tampa Bay Times recently published yet another misleading editorial blaming cars for all that ails us.

The best thing Tampa Bay leaders can do to fight climate change is simply get more cars off the road. But that’s a hollow hope in a region that still lacks meaningful mass transit, and where building more toll roads is seen as progress. A sense of urgency in solving the transportation problem is no longer just about convenience and economic competitiveness — it’s also now about global warming. Tampa Bay is particularly vulnerable to every aspect of climate change, from sea level rise to more powerful hurricanes. That’s something to ponder while stuck in another gridlock on the Howard Frankland Bridge.

Cars are the problem. Transit will help. Are you sure about that?

With 2 of 3 Municipalities Opposed to PSTA's Proposed BRT, Feds Must Reject Grant Request

PSTA, Pinellas County's transit agency, submitted a request in 2017 for a Federal Transit Administration (FTA) grant to fund their proposed Central Avenue Bus Rapid Transit Project (CA BRT). PSTA has requested about $22 million of federal tax dollars to fund this proposed $45 million BRT.

But it is time for PSTA's federal grant request to be dead in the water and the FTA reject their grant.

Two of the three municipalities along the CA BRT route oppose the BRT project. S. Pasadena and St. Pete Beach passed formal Resolutions earlier this year opposing the CA BRT.

And Another Hillsborough Misleading Survey

We recently reported on ABC Action News coverage of the Hillsborough Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) Fall 2019 survey results, and how misleading it was. We wondered why ABC was covering a dated survey. Now we know. 

The Hillsborough MPO is due to report on a supposedly more specific survey at the October 1, 2019 board meeting. We can expect more accolades about the survey, but it suffers from similar pathologies as in the earlier survey -- seriously flawed in its construction, unless its goal is to drive to a preferred agenda.