eTownHall: A Transit Alternative for a Stronger, Faster Pinellas | News

Phones will be ringing and bloggers will be blogging across Pinellas County on Wednesday, Jan. 18, as the Pinellas Transit Alternatives Analysis Team, in partnership with Pinellas County, reaches out to the public in the final phase of its transit study to discuss the future of Pinellas County’s transit.

This virtual, telephone, and televised event will also focus on the recommendation for a transit project connecting St. Petersburg to the Greater Gateway area and Clearwater, with a regional connection across Tampa Bay to Hillsborough County. The plans are the initial results of a large-scale transit study and public outreach effort conducted by the Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority (PSTA), the Pinellas County Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO), the Tampa Bay Area Regional Transportation Authority (TBARTA), and the Florida Department of Transportation.

Between 7 and 8 p.m., this live, interactive online blog-video-and-telephone communication will bring together people from around the county and give them the opportunity to ask questions, provide their opinions, or make comments about the project recommendation. This innovative event will feature members of the Pinellas Alternatives Analysis Project Advisory Committee answering your transportation questions live. The panel includes:

• Bob Clifford, TBARTA executive director, moderator
• Jeff Danner, St. Petersburg council member, TBARTA board member, and PSTA board chair
• Frank Hibbard, Clearwater mayor and TBARTA board member
• Sarah Ward, Pinellas County MPO interim executive director

Citizens can participate in the eTownHall event online at www.pinellascounty.org/etownhall. E-mail reminders will be sent to those who log onto the website and sign on early. The event will also be broadcast live on PCC-TV (Bright House channel 622, Knology channel 18 or Verizon channel 44).

In addition to joining online or watching on TV, a random sample of 40,000 residents will be called and invited to participate by telephone. Interested citizens who do not receive a call but wish to join the telephone portion may call toll-free, (888) 886-6603, conference code 17686#.

The panel will answer as many questions as possible during the hour-long program. Questions may be submitted via the online blog, scheduled to open at 9 a.m. Tuesday, Jan. 17, on the phone during the event, or through Twitter by including the #pinellastransit in the message before or during the event.

The conference room at the Pinellas County Communications Department will be open to the public during the live event as well. It is located at 333 Chestnut Street in Clearwater.

For more information on the event, go to www.pinellascounty.org/eTownHall or call (727) 464-4600.

For more information on the Pinellas Transit Alternatives Analysis, visit the project website at www.PinellasOnTrack.com.

The Pinellas Alternatives Analysis is a study identifying transit options to connect major residential, employment, and activity centers in Pinellas County – Clearwater, Largo, Greater Gateway, Pinellas Park and St. Petersburg – and to Hillsborough County. The study recommendation, also referred to as the Draft Locally Preferred Alternative (LPA) includes light rail from St. Petersburg to Greater Gateway and Clearwater, as well as significant countywide enhancements to the existing PSTA bus system that will connect outlying neighborhoods, including those in northern Pinellas County, to the proposed light rail service.

This is the fourth eTownHall that the Pinellas Alternative Analysis Team will conduct with Pinellas County. The format earned the 2011 Achievement Award from the National Association of Counties, and the Outstanding Public Information and Education award from both the Florida Governor’s and National Hurricane Conferences.

Pinellas County complies with the Americans with Disabilities Act. If you are a person with a disability who needs any accommodation in order to participate in this event, you are entitled, at no cost to you, to the provision of certain assistance. At least seven days prior to the event, contact the Office of Human Rights, 400 S. Fort Harrison Ave., Suite 500, Clearwater, FL 33756 (727) 464-4062(V/TDD).