June 22, 2026 • 20 mins
Forward Pinellas is a land use and transportation planning agency. We guide integrated transportation and land use solutions that sustain economic value by connecting the communities of Pinellas County and the Tampa Bay region. The agency is charged with addressing countywide land use and transportation concerns, as both the Pinellas Planning Council and Pinellas County Metropolitan Planning Organization. Forward Pinellas not only provides a forum for countywide decision-making on transportation and land use issues, but also assists Pinellas County’s 24 cities and unincorporated Pinellas County with technical support, regional coordination and policy advice and guidance.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Time now for our CEOs you should know segment here
on the Ryan Gorman Show when we're joined by Witt Blanton,
executive director for Forward Panellis, you can learn more about
all the work they do at Forwardpanelas dot org. With
thanks so much for take a few minutes to come
in the studio and join us and let me start
with what Forward Penelos does and what you're responsible for.
Speaker 2 (00:21):
Well, thanks for having me. Ford Panelas is a county
wide planning agency that's responsible for transportation, in land use
or redevelopment planning county wide. We serve all twenty five
local governments in Panellas County and we have a hand
in planning for transportation across the region for Tampa Bay.
Speaker 1 (00:37):
I want to start with transportation in those issues because
this is something that comes up time and time again
here in the Tampa Bay Area. What are some of
the biggest challenges that we're facing right now, specifically in
Penellas County.
Speaker 2 (00:52):
Well, in Panellas County, it's probably housing affordability. It's an
expensive place to live. A lot of people want to
be in Panelas County. Our workforce wants to be in
Penella's county. But housing is expensive, and we don't have
a great supply of homes that young families want, for instance,
with a lot of room and a lot of space
and things like that. So a lot of our younger
(01:15):
workers are moving to Pasco and Hillsboro and then there's
a commute and that just makes traffic worse. So that's
one of the bigger challenges. We don't have a lot
of vacant land in Penelas County, so everything is redevelopment.
Speaker 1 (01:28):
So when you have a potential redevelopment project that's going
to go up, and we're already talking about a very
densely populated area, what factors do you start to look
at to make sure that can work well.
Speaker 2 (01:41):
We have a county wide plan that all local governments
need to be consistent with, and that guides growth and
redevelopment to the appropriate locations where they can be better
served by infrastructure, traffic patterns, things like that, and out
of the coastal high hazard area where you're vulnerable. So
we have policies that restrict how much additional density or
(02:02):
development of residential development can go in those vulnerable areas.
So looking at major quarters like US nineteen Roosevelt East
Bay forty ninth Street. That's where a lot of the
multi family apartment complexes are being developed, and it's because
there's a market demand for people who want to live
in those areas that have regional access where they can
(02:25):
get to jobs in Tampa or they can get to
jobs in Panellas County pretty quickly.
Speaker 1 (02:30):
The transportation part of all of this, and we're joined
by Wit Blenton, executive director for Forward Panellis. You can
learn more at Forward Panellis dot org. Obviously, as these
redevelopment projects are popping up and you already had a
situation where sometimes it could be difficult to get around
in not just Panel's County, but really the broader Tampa
(02:51):
Bay area. What goes into taking a look at that
and other potential options that could help people get from
point to point B. Well, we look.
Speaker 2 (03:02):
At traffic flow, traffic counts, how we can time the
signals better so that traffic moves more efficiently through those intersections.
But it's always a balancing act because we have a
lot of different types of users of the transportation network.
There's a third of our population that doesn't have a
driver's license. Those are kids, Those are elderly, those are
(03:22):
people who choose not to drive, people with disabilities, and
so they need to get around as well. So it's
it's like I said, it's a balance. We are an
area where we kill and injure a lot of pedestrians
and bicyclists on roads.
Speaker 3 (03:36):
Talking about that, yeah, so we try.
Speaker 2 (03:38):
To make the streets safer and look to places where
those kinds of conflicts are occurring. We actually have cameras
that we have deployed around the area to look at
near misses, so not an actual crash, but where it's
getting close, and we can identify those and track those trends.
Speaker 3 (03:56):
But from a you know, just making traffic work better.
Speaker 2 (03:59):
We program transportation projects and have like sixty five projects
in the works across the county right now, and some
of them are big, like the Howard Franklin Bridge just
got reconstructed. We have US nineteen under construction. That's a
two hundred and fifty million dollar project to build a
couple of interchanges and overpasses. Yeah, so it takes time
(04:22):
to mobilize those dollars and get the construction done. And
our partner and all that is the Florida Department of transportation,
and occasionally we'll work with the cities and the counties
as well on transportation projects.
Speaker 1 (04:34):
Does it feel like, because I think this is the
feeling that a lot of residents of the area get,
does feel like we're always playing catch up with the
population growth and the infrastructure that's just not where we'd
like it to be to fit that growth.
Speaker 2 (04:49):
Well, it's expensive, right, so it takes time to get
the money in place, and then we're growing as fast
as we've ever grown. The nineteen eighties were a big
growth area, and we're actually outpacing the growth in the
nineteen eighties here with you know, people moving not only
to Tampa Bay but to Florida in general. So yes,
we are plane catch up for sure. These projects. It
(05:12):
takes years to get the money lined up and the
construction ready to go because a lot goes into design,
acquiring right of way, all those issues. And it's even
it's even more difficult because the state has plenty of
money for transportation. The state has a big budget, it's
eleven billion dollars statewide this year, but the local governments
(05:33):
have a part to play in it as well, and
the gas tax and the sales taxes aren't keeping up
with the costs of transportation projects, and especially with gas
taxes because cars have gotten more fuel efficient yep, and
we've got more electric vehicles on the road, so the
gas tax is probably not doing what it used to do.
Speaker 1 (05:52):
We're joined by Wit Blanton, executive director for Forward Pinelis
here and our CEOs you should know segment on the
Ryan Gorman Show. You can learn more at Fordpanellas dot org.
What about the coordination between Panellis County, Hillsborough County, Pasco County.
How do you work with the other counties on these
(06:13):
kinds of transportation issues.
Speaker 2 (06:14):
That's a great question because we are in the thick
of looking at a potential merger of our organizations, not
the counties, but are metropolitan planning organizations, which is what
Ford Panelas is. So there's one of us in each
of those three counties, and we do the same work
in each one of the three counties. But when people travel,
how much do they think about the county line they're crossing?
Speaker 1 (06:34):
Don't?
Speaker 2 (06:35):
Yeah, So we have been in this effort for a
couple of years, and you know, I think we're making
really good progress to create an organization that can really
telescope regionwide and then look at the local issues as well,
say in the Tampa area or in Saint Petersburg or Clearwater.
And because some issues are truly regional, like the Hard
(06:56):
Franklin Bridge I mentioned earlier in the West Shot Interchange,
those are projects. Bringing some kind of mass transit to
the Tampa Bay Area would take a concerted effort of
everybody in the region kind of working together for that.
But then you've got the bicycle and pedestrian projects, the
sidewalk projects, the transit projects, safety, all those things are
(07:17):
a little more local scale, and so you've got to do.
Speaker 1 (07:19):
Both mass transit. That's been something that feels like we've
been discussing in the Tampa Bay Area for so long
and really haven't seen any kind of game changing initiative
with that. What is the future of mass transit? What
are some of the different options that you look at
when you're looking at potential mass transit options for residents
(07:44):
take advantage of here?
Speaker 2 (07:46):
Well, I think the most important thing is you've got
to have a system that connects where people want to go,
so airports, downtowns, you need places that are walkable, that
are comfortable to walk because without that transit doesn't function.
I think our biggest success has been the sun Runner
line from downtown to Saint Pete Beach that was built
and operated beginning in twenty twenty two, and it's a
(08:09):
great success, but it was very controversial because it converted
two lanes, one in each direction on the first avenues
and a lot of people weren't happy being able to
not drive fifty five on a forty mile an hour road,
So they think we've destroyed the first Avenues, but it's
still there's still plenty of capacity on the road, and
the service is there, and it's we're building development around
(08:32):
those stations so that people can maybe do without a car.
So that's you know, we've planned a little flag with
that service. And now what we're looking at is more
express service that would maybe travel across the bridges to
connect downtown Saint Pete to the airport in Tampa. And
then we're looking at the US nineteen quarter to connect
workers in Pasco County all the way down to where
(08:54):
we're having our interview right now here in the Gateway
area of Penelas County.
Speaker 1 (08:58):
So light ran things like that, is that more of
an idea that's kind of in the past. At this point, I.
Speaker 3 (09:07):
Would say it's on pause more than anything else.
Speaker 2 (09:09):
Light rail and heavier rail is extremely expensive, and you
need a lot of political will to make that happen,
and that political will usually has to translate in some
form of revenue source, and so asking the public for
more revenue is often hard. And then you need state
leadership and local leadership who are aligned in wanting to
(09:30):
get something like that done, and right now there's just
not that support. So and I think the other issue
I mentioned about walkability, and while we're a very densely
populated county, our jobs and our.
Speaker 3 (09:42):
People are spread.
Speaker 1 (09:43):
They are all across.
Speaker 2 (09:44):
Penelas County, and it's a little more concentrated in some
parts of the county and in some parts of Tampa.
But when you spread peanut butter thin like that, it's
very hard to have a service like that that can
be cost effective cost efficient. So I have not advocated
for light rail and Penelas County since I've been in
this position, just because I'm not sure it would be
(10:04):
financially feasible. But I do think that over time that's
something that we can continue to look at and plan
because our plans go out to the year twenty fifty.
Speaker 1 (10:13):
Oh wow.
Speaker 2 (10:13):
Yeah, So looking out beyond then there is a possibility
that we can build our way toward something that would
be financially feasible.
Speaker 1 (10:23):
What about emerging technologies. We've heard a lot about these
vertiports and different things like that here in the Tampa
Bay area and the state of Florida trying to take
a lead on those kinds of things, autonomous vehicles, stuff
like that. How does that fit into the plans at forward?
Penelas well?
Speaker 2 (10:38):
I mentioned the political will, So that's where the State
of Florida's political will is in advancing what we call
advanced air mobility, the vertiports.
Speaker 3 (10:45):
The flying cars, things like that.
Speaker 2 (10:47):
These vehicles are here, they're ready to be approved by
the Federal Aviation Administration probably within the next year. We
have a test track test facility over in Polk So
the state is putting a lot of money into this.
And Saint Petersburg actually created an Advanced Air Mobility task
(11:07):
Force that delivered some recommendations to city council that were
unaniously approved back in March, and I was part of
that task force. So the city of Saint Pete is
ready and they're not only looking at it from where
are the the.
Speaker 3 (11:24):
Vehicles flying to and from?
Speaker 2 (11:26):
Yeah, but they're looking at it from a workforce development standpoint,
manufacturing and servicing. So there's an idea of creating a
center in Saint Petersburg that would really kind of crime
the economics of it.
Speaker 1 (11:40):
So that's a real thing. It's a real thing coming.
Is it going to be affordable for your The goal.
Speaker 2 (11:46):
Is to really get it to a price of an
uber So yeah, it would be affordable for certain types
of events like flying to a Bucks game for instance,
like that, or getting.
Speaker 3 (11:55):
From airport to Airport Albert Witted in Saint Pete to
Tampa International.
Speaker 2 (12:00):
The flight range of these are typically, you know, not
more than about twenty to one hundred miles depending on
the technology.
Speaker 3 (12:10):
So it's not going to get you to Miami.
Speaker 1 (12:12):
Role Yeah, no exactly. We're joined by with Blanton, executive
director for Forward Panelis. You can learn more at Forwardpanels
dot org. I want to go back to something that
you mentioned earlier in our discussion traffic light signals. Is
AI becoming an asset for you in any of the
(12:35):
planning that you're doing. The ideas that you're coming up with,
and is that something that we could start to incorporate
more in different things, like, you know, making our signals smarter.
I think everybody listening has probably come across a light
where they're sitting there forever and there's nobody going in
the other way, and they're like, boy, I wish this
light knew what was going on here because I could
(12:57):
be on my way right now. So how is that
impacting the work you do?
Speaker 2 (13:01):
AI is certainly going to change things for the better.
We use cameras now to adapt the traffic signals, and
there's some real technology upgrades that Penelas County is doing
right now. They have signal technology that can adapt and
since when somebody is getting ready to cross a road,
(13:22):
a pedestrian or a bicyclist, there's technology that some bicycle
manufacturers are developing that you can have in your helmet
or on your bicycle when a car is getting close
to you or maybe not giving you three feet to pass.
So all these kinds of technologies are there, but probably
where the biggest impact that most people will feel is
in the adaptive signal technology. And they will since when
(13:44):
queues are building, and they will then change the cycle
and the green time to get more traffic through.
Speaker 1 (13:51):
Is that being implemented. I'm sure that's a costly proposition
too to put all of that in place right.
Speaker 2 (13:57):
Panelas County received a federal grant a couple of years back,
and so they are working on adapting those signals and
implementing that technology in locations throughout the county.
Speaker 3 (14:07):
So it's happening.
Speaker 2 (14:08):
And also just the smarter retiming of the traffic signals.
They've been retimed for decades and you know, it's something.
Speaker 3 (14:16):
You have to just keep up with with AI.
Speaker 2 (14:18):
It's a lot more efficient and a lot and it
can be done more quickly and more frequently.
Speaker 1 (14:23):
That is I'm sure going to be welcome the information
for a lot of people listening right now. Scooters and
e bikes, we've i think seen both the good and
the bad here in the Tampa Bay Are and it's
really no different in other parts of the country where
they're being utilized in great numbers. How is that fitting
into all of this, including the safety part of the
(14:45):
work you do.
Speaker 2 (14:46):
Well, a few years ago, we didn't have e bikes
and we didn't have a scooters, so they've gotten really
popular quickly and I think with any kind of technology,
when you have a lot of usage that suddenly pops up,
then there's an adjustment period, and that's what we've been
going through for a couple of years. On the panelis Trail,
we hear a lot of complaints about the emotos, which
(15:10):
are these they're not really even street legal bikes.
Speaker 1 (15:13):
Yeah, parents of mind for their kids.
Speaker 3 (15:15):
And they're out there and almost like a motorcycle.
Speaker 2 (15:18):
There's some bad behavior and immature behavior that's happening. But
probably what I'm more concerned about is people getting e
bikes and e scooters and then just they don't really
have the skill set.
Speaker 3 (15:30):
Maybe they haven't been on.
Speaker 2 (15:31):
A bike in thirty years and now they've got an
ee bike and there's just a lot more power associated
with those things. I'm an EE bike user. I also
have a regular bike and I ride both a lot,
and it really is the user behavior, not the device.
So we are actually working on a white paper for
panelas County that would maybe lead to some policy changes
on who can ride these things, how we sell.
Speaker 3 (15:52):
Them, what sort of equipment you need to have, and.
Speaker 1 (15:56):
You wouldn't be the only ones doing that. Many of those.
Speaker 3 (15:59):
Stories think.
Speaker 2 (16:01):
Palm Coast has adopted some regulations. Orange County is considering some.
So it's something probably we'll bring to the County Commission
this summer. But I also think that let's not ignore
the fact that a lot of people are using e
bikes and scooters to commute and get places. And have
you seen the cost of a vehicle or car insurance lately,
So even used cars are expensive. So our workforce, you're
(16:24):
working out at the beach, you're working in a hotel.
A lot of our workforce are taking these devices and
they're crossing the bridge and it's a lot cheaper. And
we need to keep that in mind as well, because
that's a big part of our economy.
Speaker 1 (16:36):
And it could alleviate some traffic in certain areas. I
know there's been a big push for the utilization of
them in the more urban, you know, downtown areas and
things like that. We're jowinned by Wit Blenton, executive director
for Forward panelis last question for you. We've heard on
the Hillsboro side of the Bay some ideas and plans
(16:57):
about connecting the airport to say downtown and midtown, and
if there happens to be a new raised Ballpark near
rage A, you know, connecting all of that, How does
Panelas fit into something like that, because I'm sure you
would have a lot of people who would love to
go from downtown Tampa to downtown Saint Pete And we've
heard for years, you know, about of potential. We were
(17:19):
talking about light rail earlier, going across the Bay or
something like that. But when those plans are being looked
at on one part of our region, your involvement in
that and then also maybe doing something similar in Panella's
County for those areas that are seeing a lot of
(17:41):
traffic and the more densely populated parts of Panellas County.
Speaker 2 (17:45):
Yeah, and that's where coordination is so important, and that's
a big part of what we do. So I talked
to my counterparts in Pasco and Hillsboro all the time
and we are working together on that with the Florida
Department of Transportation and the airport and others. So what
Panelas is going to be doing is starting in October,
will be running an express bus service from downtown Saint
Petersburg across the Howard Franklin using the managed lanes the
(18:07):
toll lanes that just got okay, and they'll go straight
to the Tampa International Airport. That's not that far to
the future razed Stadium location if that goes through, and
then there is an envelope in the I two seventy
five corridor where they could continue the managed lanes I
forget the end termination, but from lois into close to downtown,
(18:27):
so that'll touch on Midtown and there's an envelope for
a future rail corridor there at some point in the future.
So you know, mainly we just want to connect people
to where people want to go, and that's the airport,
it's Midtown, it's downtown, and ultimately from downtown up to USF.
Those are all the desirable connections. It'll probably be bus
service for a long time and then maybe in the
(18:49):
future there'll be a fixed guideway technology of some sort.
Speaker 1 (18:52):
One other question for you before we wrap up the
gas plant district. What's the latest on that and Pinelis's
involvement in that, because that might be the biggest redevelopment
project in Pinellas County.
Speaker 2 (19:07):
Well, it's a city project and the land use approval
part of it. All the regulations are in place for
that to happen, so we don't need to change the
land use or go in and review that, so that's
all been done. It's an activity center. That's our terminology
for it. But what our role would be is helping
(19:28):
secure funding for transportation in the area to support whatever
needs happen there. And connectivity. There's talk about a new
bridge crossing I one seventy five, and there's also some
safety improvements that are needed to I Won seventy five itself.
Some years ago, there was some discussion about I Won
(19:49):
seventy five going away and becoming a boulevard, and state
law has changed to prohibit that from ever happening. So
we're looking at the safety aspects and connectivity aspects because
it does form a barrier between gas plant district and
the neighborhoods to the south that have felt left out
of the economic success of a lot of Saint Petersburg.
So connectivity is hugely important for that and that's a
(20:10):
role will play well.
Speaker 1 (20:11):
There's no shortage of things to do. It sounds like
at Forward Panellis wit Blanton, executive director for Forward Panelis.
You can learn more at Forwardpanelis dot org. Gits oar
CEOs you should know segment here on the Ryan Gormon Show.
WIT really appreciate it taking time to come in and
talk to us about all.
Speaker 3 (20:27):
Thanks for having me. I really enjoyed it.
Time now for our CEOs you should know segment here
on the Ryan Gorman Show when we're joined by Witt Blanton,
executive director for Forward Panellis, you can learn more about
all the work they do at Forwardpanelas dot org. With
thanks so much for take a few minutes to come
in the studio and join us and let me start
with what Forward Penelos does and what you're responsible for.
Speaker 2 (00:21):
Well, thanks for having me. Ford Panelas is a county
wide planning agency that's responsible for transportation, in land use
or redevelopment planning county wide. We serve all twenty five
local governments in Panellas County and we have a hand
in planning for transportation across the region for Tampa Bay.
Speaker 1 (00:37):
I want to start with transportation in those issues because
this is something that comes up time and time again
here in the Tampa Bay Area. What are some of
the biggest challenges that we're facing right now, specifically in
Penellas County.
Speaker 2 (00:52):
Well, in Panellas County, it's probably housing affordability. It's an
expensive place to live. A lot of people want to
be in Panelas County. Our workforce wants to be in
Penella's county. But housing is expensive, and we don't have
a great supply of homes that young families want, for instance,
with a lot of room and a lot of space
and things like that. So a lot of our younger
(01:15):
workers are moving to Pasco and Hillsboro and then there's
a commute and that just makes traffic worse. So that's
one of the bigger challenges. We don't have a lot
of vacant land in Penelas County, so everything is redevelopment.
Speaker 1 (01:28):
So when you have a potential redevelopment project that's going
to go up, and we're already talking about a very
densely populated area, what factors do you start to look
at to make sure that can work well.
Speaker 2 (01:41):
We have a county wide plan that all local governments
need to be consistent with, and that guides growth and
redevelopment to the appropriate locations where they can be better
served by infrastructure, traffic patterns, things like that, and out
of the coastal high hazard area where you're vulnerable. So
we have policies that restrict how much additional density or
(02:02):
development of residential development can go in those vulnerable areas.
So looking at major quarters like US nineteen Roosevelt East
Bay forty ninth Street. That's where a lot of the
multi family apartment complexes are being developed, and it's because
there's a market demand for people who want to live
in those areas that have regional access where they can
(02:25):
get to jobs in Tampa or they can get to
jobs in Panellas County pretty quickly.
Speaker 1 (02:30):
The transportation part of all of this, and we're joined
by Wit Blenton, executive director for Forward Panellis. You can
learn more at Forward Panellis dot org. Obviously, as these
redevelopment projects are popping up and you already had a
situation where sometimes it could be difficult to get around
in not just Panel's County, but really the broader Tampa
(02:51):
Bay area. What goes into taking a look at that
and other potential options that could help people get from
point to point B. Well, we look.
Speaker 2 (03:02):
At traffic flow, traffic counts, how we can time the
signals better so that traffic moves more efficiently through those intersections.
But it's always a balancing act because we have a
lot of different types of users of the transportation network.
There's a third of our population that doesn't have a
driver's license. Those are kids, Those are elderly, those are
(03:22):
people who choose not to drive, people with disabilities, and
so they need to get around as well. So it's
it's like I said, it's a balance. We are an
area where we kill and injure a lot of pedestrians
and bicyclists on roads.
Speaker 3 (03:36):
Talking about that, yeah, so we try.
Speaker 2 (03:38):
To make the streets safer and look to places where
those kinds of conflicts are occurring. We actually have cameras
that we have deployed around the area to look at
near misses, so not an actual crash, but where it's
getting close, and we can identify those and track those trends.
Speaker 3 (03:56):
But from a you know, just making traffic work better.
Speaker 2 (03:59):
We program transportation projects and have like sixty five projects
in the works across the county right now, and some
of them are big, like the Howard Franklin Bridge just
got reconstructed. We have US nineteen under construction. That's a
two hundred and fifty million dollar project to build a
couple of interchanges and overpasses. Yeah, so it takes time
(04:22):
to mobilize those dollars and get the construction done. And
our partner and all that is the Florida Department of transportation,
and occasionally we'll work with the cities and the counties
as well on transportation projects.
Speaker 1 (04:34):
Does it feel like, because I think this is the
feeling that a lot of residents of the area get,
does feel like we're always playing catch up with the
population growth and the infrastructure that's just not where we'd
like it to be to fit that growth.
Speaker 2 (04:49):
Well, it's expensive, right, so it takes time to get
the money in place, and then we're growing as fast
as we've ever grown. The nineteen eighties were a big
growth area, and we're actually outpacing the growth in the
nineteen eighties here with you know, people moving not only
to Tampa Bay but to Florida in general. So yes,
we are plane catch up for sure. These projects. It
(05:12):
takes years to get the money lined up and the
construction ready to go because a lot goes into design,
acquiring right of way, all those issues. And it's even
it's even more difficult because the state has plenty of
money for transportation. The state has a big budget, it's
eleven billion dollars statewide this year, but the local governments
(05:33):
have a part to play in it as well, and
the gas tax and the sales taxes aren't keeping up
with the costs of transportation projects, and especially with gas
taxes because cars have gotten more fuel efficient yep, and
we've got more electric vehicles on the road, so the
gas tax is probably not doing what it used to do.
Speaker 1 (05:52):
We're joined by Wit Blanton, executive director for Forward Pinelis
here and our CEOs you should know segment on the
Ryan Gorman Show. You can learn more at Fordpanellas dot org.
What about the coordination between Panellis County, Hillsborough County, Pasco County.
How do you work with the other counties on these
(06:13):
kinds of transportation issues.
Speaker 2 (06:14):
That's a great question because we are in the thick
of looking at a potential merger of our organizations, not
the counties, but are metropolitan planning organizations, which is what
Ford Panelas is. So there's one of us in each
of those three counties, and we do the same work
in each one of the three counties. But when people travel,
how much do they think about the county line they're crossing?
Speaker 1 (06:34):
Don't?
Speaker 2 (06:35):
Yeah, So we have been in this effort for a
couple of years, and you know, I think we're making
really good progress to create an organization that can really
telescope regionwide and then look at the local issues as well,
say in the Tampa area or in Saint Petersburg or Clearwater.
And because some issues are truly regional, like the Hard
(06:56):
Franklin Bridge I mentioned earlier in the West Shot Interchange,
those are projects. Bringing some kind of mass transit to
the Tampa Bay Area would take a concerted effort of
everybody in the region kind of working together for that.
But then you've got the bicycle and pedestrian projects, the
sidewalk projects, the transit projects, safety, all those things are
(07:17):
a little more local scale, and so you've got to do.
Speaker 1 (07:19):
Both mass transit. That's been something that feels like we've
been discussing in the Tampa Bay Area for so long
and really haven't seen any kind of game changing initiative
with that. What is the future of mass transit? What
are some of the different options that you look at
when you're looking at potential mass transit options for residents
(07:44):
take advantage of here?
Speaker 2 (07:46):
Well, I think the most important thing is you've got
to have a system that connects where people want to go,
so airports, downtowns, you need places that are walkable, that
are comfortable to walk because without that transit doesn't function.
I think our biggest success has been the sun Runner
line from downtown to Saint Pete Beach that was built
and operated beginning in twenty twenty two, and it's a
(08:09):
great success, but it was very controversial because it converted
two lanes, one in each direction on the first avenues
and a lot of people weren't happy being able to
not drive fifty five on a forty mile an hour road,
So they think we've destroyed the first Avenues, but it's
still there's still plenty of capacity on the road, and
the service is there, and it's we're building development around
(08:32):
those stations so that people can maybe do without a car.
So that's you know, we've planned a little flag with
that service. And now what we're looking at is more
express service that would maybe travel across the bridges to
connect downtown Saint Pete to the airport in Tampa. And
then we're looking at the US nineteen quarter to connect
workers in Pasco County all the way down to where
(08:54):
we're having our interview right now here in the Gateway
area of Penelas County.
Speaker 1 (08:58):
So light ran things like that, is that more of
an idea that's kind of in the past. At this point, I.
Speaker 3 (09:07):
Would say it's on pause more than anything else.
Speaker 2 (09:09):
Light rail and heavier rail is extremely expensive, and you
need a lot of political will to make that happen,
and that political will usually has to translate in some
form of revenue source, and so asking the public for
more revenue is often hard. And then you need state
leadership and local leadership who are aligned in wanting to
(09:30):
get something like that done, and right now there's just
not that support. So and I think the other issue
I mentioned about walkability, and while we're a very densely
populated county, our jobs and our.
Speaker 3 (09:42):
People are spread.
Speaker 1 (09:43):
They are all across.
Speaker 2 (09:44):
Penelas County, and it's a little more concentrated in some
parts of the county and in some parts of Tampa.
But when you spread peanut butter thin like that, it's
very hard to have a service like that that can
be cost effective cost efficient. So I have not advocated
for light rail and Penelas County since I've been in
this position, just because I'm not sure it would be
(10:04):
financially feasible. But I do think that over time that's
something that we can continue to look at and plan
because our plans go out to the year twenty fifty.
Speaker 1 (10:13):
Oh wow.
Speaker 2 (10:13):
Yeah, So looking out beyond then there is a possibility
that we can build our way toward something that would
be financially feasible.
Speaker 1 (10:23):
What about emerging technologies. We've heard a lot about these
vertiports and different things like that here in the Tampa
Bay area and the state of Florida trying to take
a lead on those kinds of things, autonomous vehicles, stuff
like that. How does that fit into the plans at forward?
Penelas well?
Speaker 2 (10:38):
I mentioned the political will, So that's where the State
of Florida's political will is in advancing what we call
advanced air mobility, the vertiports.
Speaker 3 (10:45):
The flying cars, things like that.
Speaker 2 (10:47):
These vehicles are here, they're ready to be approved by
the Federal Aviation Administration probably within the next year. We
have a test track test facility over in Polk So
the state is putting a lot of money into this.
And Saint Petersburg actually created an Advanced Air Mobility task
(11:07):
Force that delivered some recommendations to city council that were
unaniously approved back in March, and I was part of
that task force. So the city of Saint Pete is
ready and they're not only looking at it from where
are the the.
Speaker 3 (11:24):
Vehicles flying to and from?
Speaker 2 (11:26):
Yeah, but they're looking at it from a workforce development standpoint,
manufacturing and servicing. So there's an idea of creating a
center in Saint Petersburg that would really kind of crime
the economics of it.
Speaker 1 (11:40):
So that's a real thing. It's a real thing coming.
Is it going to be affordable for your The goal.
Speaker 2 (11:46):
Is to really get it to a price of an
uber So yeah, it would be affordable for certain types
of events like flying to a Bucks game for instance,
like that, or getting.
Speaker 3 (11:55):
From airport to Airport Albert Witted in Saint Pete to
Tampa International.
Speaker 2 (12:00):
The flight range of these are typically, you know, not
more than about twenty to one hundred miles depending on
the technology.
Speaker 3 (12:10):
So it's not going to get you to Miami.
Speaker 1 (12:12):
Role Yeah, no exactly. We're joined by with Blanton, executive
director for Forward Panelis. You can learn more at Forwardpanels
dot org. I want to go back to something that
you mentioned earlier in our discussion traffic light signals. Is
AI becoming an asset for you in any of the
(12:35):
planning that you're doing. The ideas that you're coming up with,
and is that something that we could start to incorporate
more in different things, like, you know, making our signals smarter.
I think everybody listening has probably come across a light
where they're sitting there forever and there's nobody going in
the other way, and they're like, boy, I wish this
light knew what was going on here because I could
(12:57):
be on my way right now. So how is that
impacting the work you do?
Speaker 2 (13:01):
AI is certainly going to change things for the better.
We use cameras now to adapt the traffic signals, and
there's some real technology upgrades that Penelas County is doing
right now. They have signal technology that can adapt and
since when somebody is getting ready to cross a road,
(13:22):
a pedestrian or a bicyclist, there's technology that some bicycle
manufacturers are developing that you can have in your helmet
or on your bicycle when a car is getting close
to you or maybe not giving you three feet to pass.
So all these kinds of technologies are there, but probably
where the biggest impact that most people will feel is
in the adaptive signal technology. And they will since when
(13:44):
queues are building, and they will then change the cycle
and the green time to get more traffic through.
Speaker 1 (13:51):
Is that being implemented. I'm sure that's a costly proposition
too to put all of that in place right.
Speaker 2 (13:57):
Panelas County received a federal grant a couple of years back,
and so they are working on adapting those signals and
implementing that technology in locations throughout the county.
Speaker 3 (14:07):
So it's happening.
Speaker 2 (14:08):
And also just the smarter retiming of the traffic signals.
They've been retimed for decades and you know, it's something.
Speaker 3 (14:16):
You have to just keep up with with AI.
Speaker 2 (14:18):
It's a lot more efficient and a lot and it
can be done more quickly and more frequently.
Speaker 1 (14:23):
That is I'm sure going to be welcome the information
for a lot of people listening right now. Scooters and
e bikes, we've i think seen both the good and
the bad here in the Tampa Bay Are and it's
really no different in other parts of the country where
they're being utilized in great numbers. How is that fitting
into all of this, including the safety part of the
(14:45):
work you do.
Speaker 2 (14:46):
Well, a few years ago, we didn't have e bikes
and we didn't have a scooters, so they've gotten really
popular quickly and I think with any kind of technology,
when you have a lot of usage that suddenly pops up,
then there's an adjustment period, and that's what we've been
going through for a couple of years. On the panelis Trail,
we hear a lot of complaints about the emotos, which
(15:10):
are these they're not really even street legal bikes.
Speaker 1 (15:13):
Yeah, parents of mind for their kids.
Speaker 3 (15:15):
And they're out there and almost like a motorcycle.
Speaker 2 (15:18):
There's some bad behavior and immature behavior that's happening. But
probably what I'm more concerned about is people getting e
bikes and e scooters and then just they don't really
have the skill set.
Speaker 3 (15:30):
Maybe they haven't been on.
Speaker 2 (15:31):
A bike in thirty years and now they've got an
ee bike and there's just a lot more power associated
with those things. I'm an EE bike user. I also
have a regular bike and I ride both a lot,
and it really is the user behavior, not the device.
So we are actually working on a white paper for
panelas County that would maybe lead to some policy changes
on who can ride these things, how we sell.
Speaker 3 (15:52):
Them, what sort of equipment you need to have, and.
Speaker 1 (15:56):
You wouldn't be the only ones doing that. Many of those.
Speaker 3 (15:59):
Stories think.
Speaker 2 (16:01):
Palm Coast has adopted some regulations. Orange County is considering some.
So it's something probably we'll bring to the County Commission
this summer. But I also think that let's not ignore
the fact that a lot of people are using e
bikes and scooters to commute and get places. And have
you seen the cost of a vehicle or car insurance lately,
So even used cars are expensive. So our workforce, you're
(16:24):
working out at the beach, you're working in a hotel.
A lot of our workforce are taking these devices and
they're crossing the bridge and it's a lot cheaper. And
we need to keep that in mind as well, because
that's a big part of our economy.
Speaker 1 (16:36):
And it could alleviate some traffic in certain areas. I
know there's been a big push for the utilization of
them in the more urban, you know, downtown areas and
things like that. We're jowinned by Wit Blenton, executive director
for Forward panelis last question for you. We've heard on
the Hillsboro side of the Bay some ideas and plans
(16:57):
about connecting the airport to say downtown and midtown, and
if there happens to be a new raised Ballpark near
rage A, you know, connecting all of that, How does
Panelas fit into something like that, because I'm sure you
would have a lot of people who would love to
go from downtown Tampa to downtown Saint Pete And we've
heard for years, you know, about of potential. We were
(17:19):
talking about light rail earlier, going across the Bay or
something like that. But when those plans are being looked
at on one part of our region, your involvement in
that and then also maybe doing something similar in Panella's
County for those areas that are seeing a lot of
(17:41):
traffic and the more densely populated parts of Panellas County.
Speaker 2 (17:45):
Yeah, and that's where coordination is so important, and that's
a big part of what we do. So I talked
to my counterparts in Pasco and Hillsboro all the time
and we are working together on that with the Florida
Department of Transportation and the airport and others. So what
Panelas is going to be doing is starting in October,
will be running an express bus service from downtown Saint
Petersburg across the Howard Franklin using the managed lanes the
(18:07):
toll lanes that just got okay, and they'll go straight
to the Tampa International Airport. That's not that far to
the future razed Stadium location if that goes through, and
then there is an envelope in the I two seventy
five corridor where they could continue the managed lanes I
forget the end termination, but from lois into close to downtown,
(18:27):
so that'll touch on Midtown and there's an envelope for
a future rail corridor there at some point in the future.
So you know, mainly we just want to connect people
to where people want to go, and that's the airport,
it's Midtown, it's downtown, and ultimately from downtown up to USF.
Those are all the desirable connections. It'll probably be bus
service for a long time and then maybe in the
(18:49):
future there'll be a fixed guideway technology of some sort.
Speaker 1 (18:52):
One other question for you before we wrap up the
gas plant district. What's the latest on that and Pinelis's
involvement in that, because that might be the biggest redevelopment
project in Pinellas County.
Speaker 2 (19:07):
Well, it's a city project and the land use approval
part of it. All the regulations are in place for
that to happen, so we don't need to change the
land use or go in and review that, so that's
all been done. It's an activity center. That's our terminology
for it. But what our role would be is helping
(19:28):
secure funding for transportation in the area to support whatever
needs happen there. And connectivity. There's talk about a new
bridge crossing I one seventy five, and there's also some
safety improvements that are needed to I Won seventy five itself.
Some years ago, there was some discussion about I Won
(19:49):
seventy five going away and becoming a boulevard, and state
law has changed to prohibit that from ever happening. So
we're looking at the safety aspects and connectivity aspects because
it does form a barrier between gas plant district and
the neighborhoods to the south that have felt left out
of the economic success of a lot of Saint Petersburg.
So connectivity is hugely important for that and that's a
(20:10):
role will play well.
Speaker 1 (20:11):
There's no shortage of things to do. It sounds like
at Forward Panellis wit Blanton, executive director for Forward Panelis.
You can learn more at Forwardpanelis dot org. Gits oar
CEOs you should know segment here on the Ryan Gormon Show.
WIT really appreciate it taking time to come in and
talk to us about all.
Speaker 3 (20:27):
Thanks for having me. I really enjoyed it.
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