Whither Goes the TECO Line Streetcar?
Plus, keep off the dunes and away from the sharks. And the week on Wall Street.
Happy Monday. Have you ridden the TECO Line from downtown to Ybor City? If so, let us know your experience with the streetcar. Meanwhile, last week on Wall Street was a big week for local stocks. OK, now on to the news.
CURRENTS
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TOP NEWS
Major overhaul of Florida’s circuit court system is advancing despite widespread opposition. Florida Phoenix
DeSantis, Rubio call for banning Palestinian refugees, rescinding visas of Hamas supporters. The Center Square
Hundreds of evacuees from Israel land in Tampa during rescue mission. WUSF
Gas prices across Florida reach a 3-month low. WUSF
Florida Capitol to get 1,656 new bulletproof windows by 2027. Cost? $61 million. Gainesville Sun $
Want to rent alone in Tampa Bay? Here's how much more you need to earn. Tampa Bay Business Journal $
Pebble Creek golf dispute changes course in Hillsborough County. Tampa Bay Times $
Florida storm season quiet since Idalia. Florida Phoenix
Jimmy Buffett Highway gets bipartisan nod. Spectrum Bay News 9
Florida State is 6-0: Thoughts, analysis after Seminoles’ win over Syracuse. Tomahawk Nation
WEATHER
Temperatures Remain Cool With Mostly Sunny Skies
Looks like fall has made an arrival, with coolish temps and mostly sunny skies and lower humidity this week, according to this week’s forecast from The Weather Channel:
MONDAY 🌦 Showers possible in the morning with partly cloudy skies in the afternoon.
🌡️72° / 54° 💦 57% / 62% 🌅 7:30 a.m. / 6:59 p.m.
TUESDAY ☀️ Mainly sunny.
🌡️73° / 54° 💦 52% / 72% 🌅 7:31 a.m. / 6:58 p.m.
WEDNESDAY ☀️ Mainly sunny.
🌡️80° / 60° 💦 53% / 72% 🌅 7:31 a.m. / 6:57 p.m.
THURSDAY 🌤️ Sunshine and some clouds.
🌡️83° / 64° 💦 58% / 75% 🌅 7:32 a.m. / 6:56 p.m.
FRIDAY ⛅️ Intervals of clouds and sunshine.
🌡️81° / 69° 💦 66% / 79% 🌅 7:33 a.m. / 6:55 p.m.
SATURDAY 🌤️ Plentiful sun with a slight chance of rain.
🌡️77° / 62° 💦 60% / 72% 🌅 7:33 a.m. / 6:54 p.m.
SUNDAY 🌤️ Sunny with afternoon clouds.
🌡️80° / 60° 💦 56% / 76% 🌅 7:34 a.m. / 6:53 p.m.
TODAY’S SPONSOR
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BRIEFS
Sunset Beach Dunes: Treasure Island and Pinellas County officials are
asking for the public's help in protecting the major multi-million-dollar sand
dune restoration on Sunset Beach by staying off the newly created dunes before the project has been completed. Sunset Beach remains closed, but some people continue to defy the closure, making their way onto the beach to surf or walk. By trampling on the dunes, these trespassers are tearing down the dunes before vegetation has been planted, which will help keep the
dunes in place. This area is a designated construction zone and trespassing is
prohibited. Phase two of the Sunset Beach Emergency Dune Restoration project will begin today, Monday, Oct. 16, consists of planting native dune plants over a two-week period. Beaches are expected to reopen on Oct. 30, weather permitting. Parking lot closures will likely extend past this date for contractor demobilization and restoration.
Narcotics, Weapons Arrests: Cornelius Washington and Melvin Lee Gay were arrested and face numerous drug and weapons charges as a result of a Tampa Police Department investigation into community concerns regarding an increase in narcotics activity around 3016 N. Sanchez St., according to Tampa PIO Eddy Durkin. Police began a narcotics investigation and on Oct. 12 obtained a court-ordered search warrant related to the investigation. The search warrant resulted in the seizure of 1 kilogram of cocaine, 1,246 additional grams of cocaine, 205.9 grams of methamphetamine, 104 grams of fentanyl, 96 grams of heroin, 9.2 pounds of marijuana, 14 oxycodone pills and multiple guns including a silver Taurus .357 revolver, a semiautomatic Ruger .380, a Rossi .357 revolver, a semiautomatic Sig Sauer .45 caliber, and four 9 mm handguns. Almost $40,000 was also seized during the operation. Arrests were made on multiple narcotics and weapons charges.
Illegal Cast Netting: Subjects in St. Johns County were issued citations for illegal cast netting, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission division of law enforcement’s weekly reports. Senior Officer Thomas and Officer Aultman responded to a wildlife management area in early October to investigate subjects using a cast net to fish from a canoe. In this wildlife management area, fish may be taken by hook and line only. After conducting surveillance from a concealed location of the subjects, the officers conducted a resource inspection and found the subjects were in possession of close to 100 fish, which varied in species.
REPORTER
A Free Ride For Now
The long-term answer for the TECO Line Streetcar requires more funding.
By Judith M. Gallman
You might say the Hillsborough Area Regional Transit Authority recently got lucky again with its TECO Line Streetcar.
Last month, the Florida Department of Transportation came through with another commuter assistance grant of $700,000, which allowed the Ybor City-based electric streetcar to remain fare-free for another year.
It was a $2.7 million state innovation grant in 2018 that first allowed the TECO line to become fare-free, with increased frequency and expanded service hours. And every year since then, the Department of Transportation has ponied up another grant.
But HART must reapply for state funding each year, with no guarantees about the future. Which means the long-term future of the existing streetcar service is unclear, not to mention various proposals for its expansion.
By all accounts, the TECO line is a success, with steadily increasing ridership. The bright, yellow streetcars rumbling through Ybor hark back to an earlier mode of popular local transportation.
For anyone unfamiliar with them, they rattle and jerk along just how you’d expect on rails designed to evoke the past. Their bench seats can face either direction, and at the last stop, the conductor flips them the other direction before setting off. They are air-conditioned, stylish and sleek yet a little retro. Their interiors are light polished wood with matching polished wooden benches. Leather loops hang to steady standing passengers who can see the area through big screened windows
The TECO line connects Downtown Tampa, the Channel District, and Ybor City — 2.7 miles of track with 11 stops. Trains typically run every 15 minutes. Service begins each weekday morning at 7 a.m. and on weekends at 8:30 a.m. Trains run until 11 p.m. on school nights, and 2 a.m. on weekends. Trains run more frequently between 1-9 p.m. on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays.
The Board of Directors of Tampa Historic Streetcar, Inc. is responsible for the operation, management, and maintenance of the streetcar system. Board members have discussed extending the rail line to Armature Works, as well establishing a bus circulator service connecting downtown, Water Street, and Tampa Heights; or even an express rapid service to the University of South Florida. Rail extension appears to be the board’s preference.
But funding for such an expansion hasn’t materialized. Another $70 million state grant for expansion sits untouched for the lack of local matching funds. Streetcar Board Chairman Michael English said the agency hasn’t sought matching funds because they would have to come from existing local sources that are already tapped out.
In addition to state funding, the TECO Line Streetcar receives financial support from the City of Tampa, the Downtown Community Redevelopment Areas, and the Tampa Downtown Partnership.
English would like to shore up financial support for the TECO line, including upping contributions from affected community redevelopment agencies, renewal of the community reinvestment tax as a final option, or even a referendum earmarking more funds for the streetcar.
“I’d like to do one next year, but there’s not a chance this county commission is interested,” he said. English has been affiliated with the streetcar since its inception in 2002. And while he expected the most recent state grant would come through, he remains concerned about what would happen if the TECO line ever did not receive state funding.
“If we know it is going to be an issue next year, HART can prepare for it,” English said. “The day of reckoning for transportation is coming.”
Keeping service free and thriving keeps HART engaged in creative thinking. In the face of a budget shortfall, HART Planning and Scheduling Director Justin Willits said his agency would have several options. HART could increase contributions from participating redevelopment agencies or bring fares back and adjust service, though Willits said both would present headaches of their own.
Willits also noted that the tax assessment funding a portion of the streetcar’s operating cost falls to businesses inside a special assessment area within downtown and Ybor City. It does not include assessments for area residents, which Willits and English both said might be worth exploration, given that the neighborhoods served by the streetcar are being transformed into a dense live-work area.
Officials often note that locals use the service. One survey concluded that regular users would be willing to pay for the service, which once cost $2.50. However, a reporter’s unofficial recent mid-week survey mostly encountered another kind of prevalent rider: tourists — including conventioneers and parents with young kids who asked for directions to the Riverwalk, Armature Works, Water Street, and Curtis Hixon Park.
Oliva Rokotuiveikau of New York was in Tampa for business meetings downtown but went sightseeing via the streetcar. She rode it from downtown to its Ybor City terminus and walked through the historic area. A public transit advocate who doesn’t have a car, she described the service as convenient because of its frequency, ease, and affordability.
“It’s really great; it’s an easy option,” said Rokotuiveikau, adding she likes to take public transit when in other cities she visits. “I just wanted to see something new.”
Lizzy and Danny Perez of Miami were in Tampa while their daughter took the state bar exam. “It’s very good,” Lizzy said about the streetcar. “It took us directly where we wanted to go. I like it.”
“It’s very convenient,” her husband said. “I thought it was nice. It comes by so often, that makes it convenient.”
Another passenger, Manuel Cuaiga of Miami, said he hadn’t used his car for two days, thanks to the streetcar being able to drop him off at local points of interest. As a driver, he said he’s too busy wrestling with traffic to pay much attention to area restaurants and attractions.
“There’s nothing like this in Miami,” he said and suggested something similar could boost tourism and lessen traffic woes in his home city.
As of last week, the streetcar system has reported 1,249,511 passenger trips so far this fiscal year, setting new ridership records. In announcing its latest grant award, HART said it “will work with the partners to hopefully identify funding to keep the Streetcar fare-free for the foreseeable future.”
HART keeps a positive outlook.
“The TECO Line Streetcar just achieved its busiest month ever and has become an even more viable transportation option in downtown and Ybor City thanks in part to our incredible funding partners,” HART spokesperson Frank Wyszynski said in a statement upon receiving the latest grant. “HART is studying all options as we work with them to identify funding to continue to provide the best service and value for streetcar riders.”
Despite the uncertainty, English remains optimistic overall. “The streetcar is going to be fine,” he said. “It’s a really important and iconic part of Tampa’s reputation and its visual history.”
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CURRENTS
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BAY AREA
Tampa Winn-Dixie on MLK among first local stores to become an Aldi. Creative Loafing
Toddler in critical condition after falling from 4th story, Tampa Police say. ABC Action News
Indian Shores bans shark fishing after pregnant tiger shark found dead on beach. Spectrum Bay News 9
Review: Florida is the butt of the joke in Natalie Symons’ hilarious ‘Nightsweat’. Creative Loafing
The creamsicle Bucs took an L, but so did the rest of the NFC South. Creative Loafing
Takeaways: Time to be honest about USF’s defense after demoralizing Homecoming loss to FAU. The Oracle
FLORIDA
Florida members of Congress call for temporary protected status for Nicaragua. Spectrum Bay News 9
Florida's reported COVID cases continue to fall, but deaths pass 91,500. WUSF
Floridians can now get 50% off state park passes. Tampa Bay Times $
Senator-turned-university-president disses fellow educators for silence. Politico
Here's what changes to Florida's election laws mean for voters. WUSF
Rare ‘flesh-eating’ bacteria, no stranger to Florida, spread north as oceans warm. WUSF
Five takeaways from Florida's nail-biting win over South Carolina. Gators Wire
POLITICS
DeSantis camp looks to reverse high burn rate to quell donor nerves. Politico
Ron DeSantis fumes about fiat currency ‘problems’, stops short of backing return to Gold Standard. Florida Politics
Ron DeSantis throws cold water on national abortion ban. Florida Politics
COMMENTARY
Why a robust IRS beats what we’ve got now; CFO needlessly raising alarms about tax enforcement. Florida Phoenix
Preserving ‘Heart of the Everglades’ sparks fuss over access by Florida airboat operators. Florida Phoenix
ABOUT US
Editors: Judith M. Gallman and Stephen Buel
Contributing editors: The Navigator is seeking contributors