While it doesn't seem to be rigorously enforced, the current Code of Temple Terrace only allows golf carts to be used on certain streets when travelling to and from the golf course.

With the recent increases in fuel costs and rising popularity of golf carts as a mode of transportation, we need to update the Code to allow more use of golf carts as means of getting around our city.  This includes shopping destinations that do not require driving on our major thoroughfares.

Most of us have no idea whether the City is planning to install a sidewalk on our street or in our front yards until a contractor shows up and starts staking out the project.  I will go through the list of proposed sidewalk projects and work with the Public Works Department and neighbors of proposed projects to make sure that we are constructing the sidewalks that we need most urgently first and not wasting money on projects that may not be very necessary.

Let's be honest:  mass transit is not for everyone.  In fact, most residents probably won't fully embrace it until we have a rail system with numerous stops and frequent service.  However, we have to recognize that while all of us can't take the bus everywhere we need to go, for each person who does, that is one less car on the road, which does improve our local traffic situation.

Our City leaders need to make sure that we help residents know what HART has to offer and to make our residents aware of upgrades to the bus service that may impact their decision to give the bus system a try.  Recent investments by HART include:

• Security cameras installed on all buses to improve safety.
• Increased number of bus shelters.  Within the next year, HART bus stops will start to be upgraded with GPS locating systems that tell you exactly when the next bus will be there to pick you up.
  Bus rapid transit (BRT), which are limited-stop buses that utilize dedicated lanes and  technology that adjusts traffic signals to keep the bus from sitting in traffic.  One of the first two BRT lines will be from Temple Terrace to Downtown Tampa and the Airport.
• Wi-Fi internet service on express buses.

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We need to make sure that Temple Terrace is represented in future plans for improved bus service in order to provide our residents with alternatives to sitting in traffic.

We should also recognize that one of the biggest impediments to taking the bus is the relatively long walk that some folks would have to take from their house to the bus stop.  I will work with City staff to identify whether small parking areas can be set up near select bus stops so that residents can drive golf carts to bus stops, and whether this might increase use of the bus system.

In all likelihood, when a light rail system is constructed in Hillsborough County, it will include a line that connects New Tampa to USF and onward to downtown.  Plans that were prepared years ago show a potential rail stop at USF, potentially near MOSI.  We should be considering ways to connect Temple Terrace to this system so that as plans begin to solidify, we are not left behind or struggling to get past Square One.

As I stated with respect to Parks and Recreation, paved multi-use trails are tremendous assets to communities in that they provide a means of recreation, exercise, and connectivity between residential areas that reduce our reliance on cars to get from one point to another.