Frequently Asked Questions

by Glen Duke — last modified 2009-08-25 08:44

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The Hillsborough County Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) initiated the study to support decision-making during the update of the MPO Long Range Transportation Plan (LRTP). The study is also intended to inform updates to the local government comprehensive plans and the Hillsborough Area Regional Transit (HART) Transit Development Plan.

How does the MPO Transit Study relate to other past and present transit planning projects in the Tampa Bay Region?

HART Tampa Rail Study -
Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) Strategic Regional Transit Needs Assessment (SRTNA) -
Florida High Speed Rail Study -
Pinellas MPO Pinellas Mobility Initiative -

Contact Lynn Merenda at merendal@plancom.org or (813) 272-5940. Tell us the date, time, and location of the meeting or event; audience type and size; and preferred length of presentation. MPO staff will respond to your request in a timely manner.

To receive public input on community activity centers (e.g., employment centers and shopping districts) whose physical transformation resulting from a transit investment, would be desired by the community. Also, to build understanding among the study team and community stakeholders of the need for transit connections between these “places."

A transit scenario describes a possible future arrangement of station area neighborhoods linked by a system of transit technologies. The station area neighborhoods and transit technologies types could represent the full range of place and transit technology types, depending on location and community preference.

The transit scenarios will be designed to examine a wide-range of planning issues including:

Overall amount of residential and employment growth
Balance of land uses (jobs and houses, retail/non-retail jobs) within the ¼ mile area around stations (i.e., station area neighborhoods)
Potential infill and redevelopment
Overall compactness of development
Location of development relative to natural resource lands

I want to learn more about the analytical tools used to evaluate alternative transit scenarios. Who do I contact?

Participants worked in groups to discuss appropriate transit scenarios for their community as part of a planning “game.” The groups developed transit scenarios within four quadrants of the county, made refinements based on discussion and reported the their scenario and ideas to the full audience.

The community values and key issues conveyed at the eight community workshops held across the county will be used to create guiding principles for evaluation of transit scenarios.

Will the results of the MPO Transit Study affect future the MPO Long Range Transportation Plan (LRTP) priorities?

The answer to this question will not be known until the study is completed and results are known. The MPO initiated the study to help in decision-making for the update of the LRTP.

What if the results of the MPO Transit Study conflict with the local government comprehensive plans?

Hillsborough County and the cities are currently updating their comprehensive plans. The results of the MPO Transit Study will provide data, analysis and recommendations for consideration by local governments in the update of these plans.

Who will be responsible for implementing the results of the MPO Transit Study?

This information will not be known until there is direction provided by the study results. If the study indicates potential merits of a transit investment, then a strategy for pursuing such an investment will be developed. It is expected that if such a strategy would factor existing responsibilities and authorities. For example, local governments make land local land use and transportation policy and the MPO Board makes regional transportation investment decisions. State and federal transportation agencies will also need to be included in an implementation strategy.

Welcome to the Hillsborough MPO Transit Study!