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Editorial: Envisioning Greenlight's boon for cities

 
Some Pinellas residents listening to the debate over the Greenlight Pinellas transit referendum have wondered why the plan’s light-rail line would run from St. Petersburg to Clearwater’s rather empty downtown. Clearwater’s top business and government leaders offered some answers earlier this month as they stood in front of a block that is being cleared on the busy main route to Clearwater Beach. One of them is that the light rail would spur new interest in the redevelopment of urban areas, from Clearwater to Largo to St. Petersburg.
Some Pinellas residents listening to the debate over the Greenlight Pinellas transit referendum have wondered why the plan’s light-rail line would run from St. Petersburg to Clearwater’s rather empty downtown. Clearwater’s top business and government leaders offered some answers earlier this month as they stood in front of a block that is being cleared on the busy main route to Clearwater Beach. One of them is that the light rail would spur new interest in the redevelopment of urban areas, from Clearwater to Largo to St. Petersburg.
Published Oct. 23, 2014

Some Pinellas residents listening to the debate over the Greenlight Pinellas transit referendum have wondered why the plan's light-rail line would run from St. Petersburg to Clearwater's rather empty downtown. Clearwater's top business and government leaders offered some answers earlier this month as they stood in front of a block that is being cleared on the busy main route to Clearwater Beach. One of them is that the light rail would spur new interest in the redevelopment of urban areas, from Clearwater to Largo to St. Petersburg.

Clearwater plans to build an intermodal transportation center on the block at Court Street and Myrtle Avenue — a center where light-rail cars, buses and trolleys would pick up and discharge passengers and where riders could make connections to a trolley to Pinellas' top beach destination, Clearwater Beach, or to other points north and south. The opportunity for Clearwater to be North Pinellas' transit hub is among the reasons those city leaders stand in full-throated support of the Greenlight Pinellas referendum on the Nov. 4 ballot.

"The bottom line is, this a great boon for Clearwater, and I relish seeing it happen," said Alan Bomstein, president of Creative Contractors.

"This has more potential positive impact on our community than any other thing we could vote on. We must do this," said Lee Arnold, CEO of real estate firm Colliers International.

"The city of Clearwater has planned for this a lot of years," added Mayor George Cretekos. "I ask Pinellas to take this small step on Nov. 4."

In envisioning the transit center and purchasing the property for it, Clearwater is well ahead of other communities along the proposed 24-mile light-rail line. St. Petersburg officials have discussed building an intermodal center that would serve light-rail and bus riders and have scouted potential locations, but they will make no decisions before the referendum. Largo would get a major segment of the line and several stations, and officials there have begun looking at changes to city codes to foster new development around them. Largo leaders foresee their city being home for rail commuters working in the Pinellas Gateway area employment center, where the light-rail line would have a major stop.

It isn't just Pinellas residents and workers who would benefit from the Greenlight plan, which would use revenue from a new 1-cent sales tax to begin building a modern, urban transit system with better bus service and new light rail. While opponents claim the extra penny of tax would hurt tourism, Frank Dame, chief operating officer of the Clearwater Marine Aquarium, argues Greenlight is more likely to benefit tourism by helping visitors get around Pinellas.

Public officials and business leaders throughout Pinellas, as well as in Hillsborough and Pasco counties, are rooting for the Greenlight Pinellas plan because they believe it would bring positive change to densely populated, traffic-clogged Pinellas. And they know that if Pinellas leads the way, the chances of building a true regional transit network to span Tampa Bay and county boundaries will improve. Voters should consider Greenlight a significant first step, not the final one, in making the region's transit options more attractive to new businesses, residents and tourists.