Column: Even With Rapid Buses, Tampa Bay Needs Light Rail

Carlton Fields President and CEO Gary L. Sasso published an opinion piece in the Tampa Bay Times entitled, “Even with rapid buses, Tampa Bay Needs Light Rail.”

Sasso argues the community needs to shed various limitations — thinking of light rail systems as regional projects, depending on federal funding and voting against the taxes that would make light rail possible — to make light rail a reality in Tampa Bay.

“Let’s issue a request for proposals to solicit proposals by developers to develop the system we need through a public private partnership known as P3 … Groups of developers and others are putting together proposals too enticing and provocative to pass up, encouraging the public sector to seek proposals. There are ways to get this done, but only if we stop being derailed by arguments that can’t withstand scrutiny,” he wrote. 

Read the article.

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