Two possible sites for a light rail operation facility that would service light rail to Tampa International Airport were proposed last night at a Hillsborough Area Regional Transit Authority meeting.
Mary Shavalier, HART Chief of Strategic Planning, said that officials with TIA have identified two possible locations: One would be slightly north of Hillsborough Blvd. at the east side of Hoover Avenue. The second would be in the Drew Park area, encompassing 19 acres.
Shavalier also said that the airport had built a tunnel where light rail could possibly fit.
The idea of a light rail station being built at the airport is relatively new, even though HART officials have been going through their Alternative Analysis of possible rail stops for months – but still do not have the first routes finalized, just seven weeks before Hillsborough voters will decide on a penny sales tax to fund the construction of those first lines.
But a couple of issues have occurred in the past month that has put the airport towards the top of discussions for a possible rail line.
One is that the man who formerly ran TIA, Louis Miller, is gone (and yesterday accepted the job to run Hartsfield- Jackson International Airport). Miller never supported putting light rail at the airport, but instead "through it."
This article appears in Sep 9-15, 2010.