Pinellas Mass Transit Effort Rolls On

A St. Petersburg-Tampa rail connection would have to be built on a new span of the Howard Frankland Bridge over Tampa Bay

Lost in the news about Hillsborough County having a referendum on a mass transit tax is the work Pinellas County has been doing. Friday, Pinellas officials came to an agreement with the regional transporation authority to coordinate their efforts.

Pinellas County transportation officials are working on a plan to have a similar light rail network that would link Clearwater, St. Petersburg and the beaches to a proposed rail system in Hillsborough County. Today, county officials inked an agreement with the Tampa Bay Area Regional Transportation Authority to work together on a master plan.

Indian Rocks Beach Mayor R.B. Johnson is chairman of the Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority.

"For the first time, we're coordinating the planning for a rail system across Pinellas County," he says. "And at the same time, by partnering with TBARTA, we're expressing our desire to be part of a regionwide, region rail system."

The critical Tampa-to-St. Petersburg link is envisioned to go over a new span on the Howard Frankland Bridge over Tampa Bay. The money to pay for that would likely come from the state Department of Transportation, which is closely linked with TBARTA.