According to TBBJ, yesterday morning the St. Pete Beach City Commission voted unanimously to pass a resolution opposing PSTA's Central Avenue Bus Rapid Transit project.
The stipulation the board agreed upon if the BRT project were to launch, is that the transit could enter St. Pete Beach, but could not pass the intersection of 75th Avenue and Gulf Boulevard.
It's a decision that is leaving St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Kriseman frustrated.
In a recent letter to St. Pete Beach Mayor Alan Johnson, Kriseman stated, “These new provisions do not represent an acceptable compromise to the original plan. It significantly waters down the original plan far beyond the compromise we could accept which would still meet the need of our respective communities and our region."
Despite pushback from St. Pete Beach City Commission, St. Petersburg City Council members unanimously voted to approve $4 million in funding for the 11-mile rapid transit project.
The estimated cost for the BRT is $43.9 million, leaving the state and county to foot the rest of the bill.
More details will become available as the project moves forward with funding and construction.
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This article appears in Jun 13-20, 2019.