In The News

Bike-Friendly St. Pete Wins National Accolades

Huffington Post Tuesday, March 27, 2012

St. Petersburg, FL made a recent Top 10 list of best U.S. cities (with populations over 100,000) for cycling.

The Huffington Post cited the city's new bike share program, myShare, and the Pinellas Trail as well as government efforts to re-stripe city streets and add bike lanes to make riding bicycles safer.

Read the complete story.

Florida To Cuba Ferry Efforts Stall Till After November Election

Cuba Standard Tuesday, March 13, 2012

Five separate groups trying to create a ferry system between Cuba and Florida apparently decide to put off their efforts until after the November election.

Read the complete story.

Tampa Bay Gears Up For RNC Visit In August

ABC Action News Tuesday, March 06, 2012

Major interchanges and routes to hotels and other venues from Tampa International Airport are moving up the priority list for completion before the horde expected to surround the Republican National Convention arrives in August.

Among the improvements: road upgrades, new sidewalks, trees, flowers and signage.

Watch the complete story.

JetBlue Launches New Tampa To DCA Flight

In Airline News Tuesday, March 06, 2012

JetBlue is adding flights nationwide, including a new nonstop from Tampa to Reagan National next to downtown Washington D.C.

The airliner starts with a few $79 one-way fares in June.

Read the complete story.

Kudos For Pinellas Light Rail Plan, Sales Tax

Tampa Bay Times Tuesday, February 28, 2012

The Tampa Bay Times editorial board applauds the introduction of a new light rail plan that would connect downtown Clearwater with downtown St. Petersburg initially.

The system could eventually connect to Hillsborough County and Tampa, as well as northern Pinellas, Pasco and inland.

Read the complete editorial.

Tampa Begins To Turn Zack Street Into Arts Corridor

The Tampa Tribune Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Zack Street in downtown Tampa will soon become a pedestrian friendly arts space designed to encourage connectivity between downtown offices, shops and cafes with the Tampa Riverwalk, Curtis Hixon Park and museums along the Hillsborough River.

The work should be completed in July, a month before the Republican National Convention arrives in town.

Read the complete story.

Hillsborough: Repave Tampa's Bayshore Boulevard, $1.3M

Tampa Bay Times Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Hillsborough County commissioners agreed to dig deep into reserve funds to pay $1.3 million to repave Bayshore Boulevard in Tampa before all eyes focus on Tampa during the Republican National Convention in August 2012.

County Administrator Mike Merrill promised that the expenditure wouldn't affect planned road improvements elsewhere.

Read the complete story.

Taking The Train: Tampa To NYC, Alternative Travel

The New York Times Tuesday, January 03, 2012

Joe Sharkey, a feature writer at The New York Times, takes the Amtrak train from Tampa to New York as a rare treat to travel across country without the stresses of being on the road or in the air.

Ride along as he documents the beauty and the bumps along the way.

Read the complete story.

City Of Tampa Picks LA Firm To Create Master Plan

St. Petersburg Times Tuesday, December 06, 2011

Los Angeles-based accounting firm AECOM was recently hired by Tampa mayor Bob Buckhorn to create a 20-year blueprint for urban development in the neighborhoods of downtown Tampa, Tampa Heights, Ybor City, the Channel District and North Hyde Park.

Funding for the project is through a U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development grant totaling $1.18 million, a $125,000 match from the city and $125,000 from in-kind support, according to the St. Petersburg Times.

Read the complete story.

TIA's Master Plan Includes Bus, Train Hub

The Tampa Tribune Tuesday, November 08, 2011

A study to update the master plan of Tampa International Airport launches in November.

Airport officials hope to include an "intra-modal and multi-modal center" near the economy parking garage for bus, rail and trams linking to the main airport terminal. Plans will also include space for new firms that refurbish aircraft parts, according to The Tampa Tribune.

Read the complete story.

Urban Land Institute Maps Tampa's Future

St. Petersburg Times Tuesday, October 25, 2011

The Urban Land Institute, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit research group, recently toured Tampa to brainstorm ideas on what steps the city can take to revitalize its urban core.

For starters, finish the Hillsborough Riverwalk and allow food trucks to dot the riverfront. Improve transit and consider fare-free zones to attract riders. The panel also suggested banning new private parking lots, increasing street parking and converting existing lots into parks.

How to pay for it? One potential option could be federal community development block grants, according to the St. Petersburg Times.

Read the complete story.

Fastest-Growing U.S. Companies? 68 In Tampa Bay

St. Petersburg Times Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Inc. Magazine's 2011 ranking of the fastest-growing companies in the nation recognized 68 Tampa Bay area companies for impressive 3-year revenue growth.

Among those companies are St. Petersburg's Crystal Clear Technologies at #5, Clearwater's AutoLoop at #71, Brooksville-based manufacturer AME International at #637 and Largo-based Atomic Tattoos at #3,051.

Crystal Clear Technologies ranking makes it the fastest-growing company in Government Services, woman-owned businesses and in the Tampa Bay region overall.

Check out the full list of companies on Inc. Magazine's 500/5000 list.

Read the complete story.

Lakeland's Saddle Creek To Add 80 Natural Gas-Fueled Trucks

The Lakeland Ledger Tuesday, October 11, 2011

National logistics firm Saddle Creek recently announced they will add 40 natural gas-run Freightliner trucks this year, and an additional 40 trucks by early 2012.

The Lakeland-based firm also plans to invest $2 million for a natural gas fueling station at its headquarters -- the first for-hire fleet in the state to do so, according to The Lakeland Ledger.

Compressed natural gas is odorless and contains up to 90 percent fewer emissions than conventional fuels, according to the U.S. Department of Energy.

Read the complete story.

TIA Adds Edelweiss, Newest Euro Route In 15 Years

USA Today Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Tampa International Airport recently landed its first new European route in 15 years.

Starting May 25, Edelweiss Air will fly nonstop twice a week from Tampa to Zurich, cutting back to one weekly flight during the winter, according to USA Today.

Read the complete story.

Planetizen Makes A Case For Electric Vehicles, Sarasota

Planetizen Tuesday, August 02, 2011

In early 2011, President Obama declared a goal of putting 1 million electric vehicles on the road by 2015.

Compact, low-speed Neighborhood Electric Vehicles could be part of the equation, according to a Planetizen article by Lisa Nisenson of Nisenson Consulting in Sarasota.

NEVs have the potential to reduce urban sprawl by influencing developers to make neighborhoods more functional while reducing the road footprint. NEVs also introduce new types of transit and augment transit that already exists.

Read the complete story.

Transportation : In The News