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holy crap. have you ever even been downtown Tampa? what in the world are you talking about?
It my not be an exciting downtown, but dilapidated would be the LAST word I used to describe it.
Agreed. Downtown Tampa is far from dilapidated. Florida and Nebraska aren't really a measuring stick, sorry. Those roads are pretty much crap for the duration of their length, not just downtown. Besides office buildings and a handful or restaurants, it's not a place to flock to - there's nothing TO flock to unless you are going to the Tampa Theater, or the Library/Museums/PAC. But dilapidated? No.
The point is that people WORK there - those are the people who would be going to the area via a rail/bus/whatever. If you are going out for a leisurely stroll, you wouldn't go there anyway unless your idea of a sightseeing is craning your neck at the BofA building. You'd instead go to Channelside a little further down or Hyde Park.
We would flock to downtown in a heart beat if it wasn't as dilapidated as it is! and if there were any good schools, clean new shops etc...DIVERSITY.
St Pete is better, but it still backs to crack towns!
First off, Downtown is not dilapidated. There has been a lot done there over the years to make it more pedestrian, tourist, and resident friendly. USF is building a training center there, the Tampa housing authority is building Encore, there are plenty of clean shops there too. I take it you haven't been Downtown in a couple of years.
I don't think Florida is pedestrian friendly because:
1. There are barely any sidewalks, they END abruptly I see 1 or 2 people walking in the BIKE lane...no bike tho...(bikers learned their lessons) and then I see the Crosses/Flower/Teddy Bear Memorials with the "Drive Safely" signs.......
2. I drive around all day with errands, work etc and in most days I don't see 1 person walking.
Not just in Tampa, we lived in Orlando and Fort Lauderdale/Miami too and there was never anyone out walking on the streets.
When you have nothing to do one day, attempt a walk from 41 to 275...and see how much of that walk you will be playing Russian roulette with the traffic.
People would be FINE eventually with pedestrians around Florida, problem is that the people who live here LIKE to be in their expensive cars, convertibles, blowing the crap out of their trunk speakers and put tires as high as my doors on their cars! Good Luck getting these people out of the comfort of their cars and into a bus! There are buses now too in certain areas, have you seen/counted how many people use them?
IF Anything, the thing that would make all people happy here would be electric remote controlled cars, where they can continue to shave, talk, text, eat, brush hair and put make up on undisturbed! The car would drive itself. Plug in the route and off you go. THAT's what would make people happy here.
Most people here moved from Up north...they all want SPACE! not to but elbows....they've been there done that.......they're not dumb, they just want SPACE.
How can you complain about how dangerous our roadways are for pedestrians, and still be against public transit. You do realize that public transit takes more cars and pedestrians off the road making them safer don't you?
This is not about a "ha ha moment" at all....this is about why should ALL of us be taxed for something we may not be able to use AT ALL?! or won't because it doesn't go where WE need to go or it's to expensive?
Therein lies the root of exactly the point I was trying to make. It would be logistically impossible for ANY transit system to serve the needs of EVERY SINGLE citizen. Would I personally ride the rail? Eh, maybe. I own a business and don't have a need to travel outside my immediate neighborhood to go to work. But that doesn't mean that I won't vote for it (And I did) because it would help to serve the GREATER good. When the city you live in loses, we ALL lose.
Unfortunately, the "ME ME ME...what's it going to do for ME?" argument is really just ridiculous, sorry. The community does not just revolve around just you. What you might not realize is that you get taxed EVERY DAY for PLENTY that you don't personally use, but someone or many someones in your community does. I do believe it's called...paying your share.
First off, Downtown is not dilapidated. There has been a lot done there over the years to make it more pedestrian, tourist, and resident friendly. USF is building a training center there, the Tampa housing authority is building Encore, there are plenty of clean shops there too. I take it you haven't been Downtown in a couple of years.
Agreed. Downtown looks better than it has in YEARS. Love the new museums, and the work done on the River Walk. The new Encore project is going to take it all up several notches by kind of connecting everything. And at least there is the streetcar and trolley to get you around to the different sections.
My husband works downtown and he said even a few more new eating places have opened up. There is nothing dilapidated except a few vacant lots/parking lots.
Agreed. Downtown looks better than it has in YEARS. Love the new museums, and the work done on the River Walk. The new Encore project is going to take it all up several notches by kind of connecting everything. And at least there is the streetcar and trolley to get you around to the different sections.
My husband works downtown and he said even a few more new eating places have opened up. There is nothing dilapidated except a few vacant lots/parking lots.
These places are quickly becomming hot spots for people all around Tampa. I am a regular at Fly, they bring in some incredible music acts and cater to a late 20s-mid 30s crowd. I have met people from south tampa, downtown, westshore, north tampa there. Their Tapas is incredible.
Taps is a great bar with an INCREDIBLE beer menu, with over 160 I believe. Again, John Mayer was there a few months back. These are all in northern downtown, off off ashley or franklin. There is also the Hub and Club Skye, but the three establishments I posted links for are on a whole different level. Skye is ghetto and the Hub is a dump.
Downtown will pick up. Element and skypoint are already changing the style of downtown Tampa is by brining residents into downtown proper. Encore will make a huge difference. I am already planning on buying a condo there. The trump tower and the other sky scraper, which were both cancelled would have REALLY turned downtown into a hot nightlife spot.
Again, you seem to think I oppose this......the only reason I am saying this will not work in Tampa or Florida, is because of the way this area is laid out, and then this will just be ONE more thing taxpayers paid for that will not be used.
.....and I hate to break this to you, but where i come from, a small European country by comparison, WE did have public transportation in 6 forms:
light rail
bus
trolleys
maxi taxi
taxi
&
METRO (Subway)
it covers the entire city end to end. Not to mention 3 types of trains, slow (stops in every village), fast (stops in major cities) and faster (travels through countries with few stops).
I do find it SHAMEFUL at best that a country such as the US is still behind small European countries or Japan when it comes to train transport and is forcing people to deal with this instead:
Opt Out of a Body Scan? Then Brace Yourself - Yahoo! Finance (http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Opt-Out-of-a-Body-Scan-Then-nytimes-3016411705.html?x=0 - broken link)
When I will see people WALKING in larger numbers around here, I will believe that this will benefit the area. In the mean time, if they want to PREP this area for such expenditure, they need to start by making it pedestrian friendly, where pedestrians feel like it is OK to walk the side walk and cross a street without having to fear they'll be thrown 50 feet up in the air by someone busy texting!!!!! or putting make up, your choice.
Quote:
Originally Posted by tamparesident26
Therein lies the root of exactly the point I was trying to make. It would be logistically impossible for ANY transit system to serve the needs of EVERY SINGLE citizen. Would I personally ride the rail? Eh, maybe. I own a business and don't have a need to travel outside my immediate neighborhood to go to work. But that doesn't mean that I won't vote for it (And I did) because it would help to serve the GREATER good. When the city you live in loses, we ALL lose.
Unfortunately, the "ME ME ME...what's it going to do for ME?" argument is really just ridiculous, sorry. The community does not just revolve around just you. What you might not realize is that you get taxed EVERY DAY for PLENTY that you don't personally use, but someone or many someones in your community does. I do believe it's called...paying your share.
In Florida I highly doubt people would just drop their convertibles and embedded mp3 players and trunk speakers, Own AC/Space to ride the bus. I can't picture that. Sorry. Lived here almost 10 years and can count the pedestrians I saw on 1 1/2 hands!
If that was the case and the people who live in Tampa wanted public transit do darn bad, then they should have added MORE buses. There are areas that DO have buses IN Tampa. Didn't see many demographics riding them! Today I saw 2 people on Dale Mabry walking that stretch between those apartments and van Dyke, no sidewalk, walking in the bike lane!
The other thing I saw and had to laugh a bit, was that also on Dale Mabry close to Fletcher, they were building a sidewalk, 2 1/2 feet wide...that was going to disappear like the rest around into a busy street and that lead nowhere!
These poor people at the city planning office are probably having an aneurysm now that they realize just how a**-backwards this entire piece of land called FL was built!
Quote:
Originally Posted by TB Fla
How can you complain about how dangerous our roadways are for pedestrians, and still be against public transit. You do realize that public transit takes more cars and pedestrians off the road making them safer don't you?
It has nothing to do with the way the area is "laid out".
The big problem is Americans are spoiled and attached to their cars. This has to stop. We all know that. Its going to become a cost thing like it did a couple of years ago when we were pumping $4 a gallon gas.
I feel that your thinking is narrow minded in the way you think that there would be no support networks and necessary infrastructure to have a working system. There are a lot of pieces to the puzzle.
Learn your American history. Prior to WWII and for a time thereafter
RAIL was the main mode of transportation in the U.S. both for passenger and freiht. Before airliners,before interstate highways, rail ruled the U.S.
The automobile became king later.
Quote:
Originally Posted by algia
Again, you seem to think I oppose this......the only
reason I am saying this will not work in Tampa or Florida, is because of the way this area is laid out, and then this will just be ONE more thing taxpayers paid for that will not be used.
.....and I hate to break this to you, but where i come from, a small European country by comparison, WE did have public transportation in 6 forms:
light rail
bus
trolleys
maxi taxi
taxi
&
METRO (Subway)
it covers the entire city end to end. Not to mention 3 types of trains, slow (stops in every village), fast (stops in major cities) and faster (travels through countries with few stops).
I do find it SHAMEFUL at best that a country such as the US is still behind small European countries or Japan when it comes to train transport and is forcing people to deal with this instead:
Opt Out of a Body Scan? Then Brace Yourself - Yahoo! Finance (http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Opt-Out-of-a-Body-Scan-Then-nytimes-3016411705.html?x=0 - broken link)
When I will see people WALKING in larger numbers around here, I will believe that this will benefit the area. In the mean time, if they want to PREP this area for such expenditure, they need to start by making it pedestrian friendly, where pedestrians feel like it is OK to walk the side walk and cross a street without having to fear they'll be thrown 50 feet up in the air by someone busy texting!!!!! or putting make up, your choice.
It never ceases to amaze me how some transplants don't understand the State of Florida. It used to be a nice place with small cities and many small towns all living in a wonderful existence until the transplants and told us how backward we are.
You should become a city planner.
Quote:
Originally Posted by algia
In Europe it does and NYC, Japan maybe...
In Florida I highly doubt people would just drop their convertibles and embedded mp3 players and trunk speakers, Own AC/Space to ride the bus. I can't picture that. Sorry. Lived here almost 10 years and can count the pedestrians I saw on 1 1/2 hands!
If that was the case and the people who live in Tampa wanted public transit do darn bad, then they should have added MORE buses. There are areas that DO have buses IN Tampa. Didn't see many demographics riding them! Today I saw 2 people on Dale Mabry walking that stretch between those apartments and van Dyke, no sidewalk, walking in the bike lane!
The other thing I saw and had to laugh a bit, was that also on Dale Mabry close to Fletcher, they were building a sidewalk, 2 1/2 feet wide...that was going to disappear like the rest around into a busy street and that lead nowhere!
These poor people at the city planning office are probably having an aneurysm now that they realize just how a**-backwards this entire piece of land called FL was built!
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