- Lisa Angela Lanza I receive the same comment from a local bully when I ask questions and or give opinions on the downtown Clearwater waterfront project
- Alan Petrillo Yeah, I get a kick out of that New Jersey carpetbagger from Tampa telling me to leave when I've lived here longer than he's been alive.
- Alan Petrillo Meh. I'm not a fan of PRT. IMHO it combines the disadvantages of car travel with the disadvantages of fixed guideway transit. It just doesn't have enough passenger capacity to justify the expense. That said, it is better than a bus sitting in traffic with the rest of the vehicles. If you can get a pod in a timely manner, which is an open question, especially at rush times.
- Alan Petrillo I could, however, see PRT as a feeder system for higher capacity transit.
- Lisa Angela Lanza First section proposed from downtown Clearwater to Beach and then to TIA.
- Alan Petrillo I saw the presentation on it at the Transit Forum. At only 1800 passengers per hour per direction I'm not impressed. Serious transit systems start at about 20,000 pphpd. It would, however, be a reasonable system for transit up and down the beach, where the need is less, and a good way to connect to a higher capacity system in downtown Clearwater.
When I advocate for better mass transit in the Tampa Bay area, and mention systems that work in other areas, over and over opponents ask me the same question: “If you like it so much then why don’t you move there?”
Simple. This is my home. I was born in Florida. I grew up in Clearwater. I have lived nearly half my life in St. Petersburg. My parents are here. My siblings are here. I have deep roots holding me here, binding me to this place. I love visiting other places, even staying for extended times, to experience other cultures and other people’s ways. But Florida, Tampa Bay, Pinellas County always calls me home.
So why do I want to change it? To improve it. I advocate for the improvement of mass transit, for the development of a real, first world transit system for the Tampa Bay Area, because I love my home and I want to make it better. I want to leave the area better for those who will come after me. I want something better for future generations than the same traffic strangled roads and car dependent infrastructure that I’ve lived with all my life. I want future generations to have options that I didn’t.
Rather than moving elsewhere I want to bring the best of other places I’ve been here, to my home, for my people. I want to release my people from the tyranny of the automobile. Rather than moving to the slush of the Northeast Corridor, or the snow of Montreal, or the rain of London, I want to bring the best of those places to the heat, humidity, sun, sand, and swamp of my home, the Tampa Bay Area.
That is why I don’t just move away.
Now to go build a transit system.
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