The year is 2036 and the TBX project has been completed for over a decade. How are things going?
Not very well — not very well at all.
The TBX project, completed in 2025 at a total cost of $12 billion, came to be known as The Big B — short for Boondoggle.
TBX turned into a nightmare for the politicians who promoted it. Rick Scott, credited with building more miles of tolled roadways than any other governor, was vilified when his projects worsened Florida’s transportation woes.
Due to the cost of TBX, mass transit initiatives came to a halt and Tampa Bay remained the last major metro area to remain car-dependent. The only thriving areas in either Tampa or St. Pete are those which connect via the downtown ferry link or buses.
FDOT’s extra investment in making sure the TBX lanes dumped fans at the new baseball stadium on Nuccio Parkway was a complete fiasco, due to the gridlock that occurred when the cars tried to park. The stadium, which ended up costing $600 million ($400 million in public dollars), was a failure as well: too few fans, CRA money wasted on parking garages, and a location that killed all life and connectivity between downtown and Ybor City.
Tampa Heights, V.M. Ybor and Seminole Heights all used the political skills honed during the Stop TBX movement to raise their power profile and now have filled several City Council and County Commission seats with their members, albeit too late to actually prevent The Big B.
In fact, there was such a groundswell of anger after the TBX decision that the 2018 elections were all about replacing those who had voted to support The Big B. Tampa’s mayoral election hinged on that issue, summed up as “Neighborhoods Vs. FDOT: Whose side are you on?”
Meanwhile, in the suburbs, commuters from Wesley Chapel’s gated communities decided that $17.55 in toll fees each way was not worth the minor time savings provided by the express lanes, so the lanes are “underperforming.” The resulting underuse means that FDOT’s projected revenues were completely overblown. The funding gap means that any prayers for a rail system are shot: All local transportation dollars are now directed to the shortfall resulting from this “miscalculation” — which opponents had pointed out in 2016.
Frustrated by traffic snarls during construction, lawsuits from Pasco and Hernando counties added to the construction price. (These counties ironically supported the project, but suffered a double whammy when construction delays coincided with the 2021 recession, and 30 percent of their projected new homebuyers evaporated.)
The original price tag and timeframe also ballooned when TBX-adjacent neighborhoods demanded health buffers to contain the additional particulate matter, which caused asthma numbers in those areas to skyrocket.
But this could all be different: What if TBX were defeated?
The year is 2036, the Tampa Bay Light Rail System has been in place for almost a decade, and Tampa is booming. After the contentious defeat of the proposed TBX toll road, residents and elected officials opted to fund a light rail system.
Both St. Pete and Tampa mayors, along with regional business leaders and the Sierra Club, banded together to get Tallahassee to change the rules to allow cities to float their own referenda. Buoyed by that victory, both cities successfully passed funding for light rail transit which was then matched by state and local funding.
Business leaders recognized that the bulk of rush hour woes could be lessened by Transportation Demand Management, which is being adopted by smart areas all over the U.S. TDM means that folks can enjoy flexible work hours, telecommute, ride-share or get business subsidies for taking buses.
After the frustration of TBX, FDOT rethought its mission and decided to work collaboratively with these cities to offer real transit choices. The grassroots organizers for Stop TBX became rail activists, helping speed the process of selecting station locations and getting local buy-in.
Thanks to the intrepid insistence of these citizens that their neighborhoods not be decimated, the City of Tampa changed its ways and began to actually protect historic homes, instead of just photographing them before their demolitions. The city created a revolving housing fund offering no-interest loans to fill in the empty swaths of property left by FDOT.
Once the dark shadow of TBX floated away, the impacted neighborhoods blossomed with new homes, shops and investment. Previously under the radar, these older areas enjoyed healthy reinvestment by some who hadn’t known they were there.
The Tampa Bay Rays rethought their location options based on a transit system and decided to relocate to the Floriland Mall site, sparking new life in a centrally located but underinvested area.
Jeff Vinik’s project flourished once transit helped bring in workers during the week and fun-lovers on the weekend. His strong support for the bike-friendly ferry to St. Pete also contributed to the urban core’s vitality and the ultimate Riverwalk expansion up to Seminole Heights.
Finally, the Urban Land Institute, long a champion of urbanity, convinced the mayor and Tampa City Council to follow the lead of cities around the world to shift the use of Malfunction Junction from an Interstate into a boulevard.
Ah, I can dream!
Please plan to attend the MPO meeting Wednesday, June 22, at 6 p.m. at the Hillsborough County Office Building at 600 E. Kennedy Blvd. to share your thoughts prior to this critical vote.
This article appears in Jun 16-23, 2016.