State Grant Gives Tampa Streetcar a Big Cash Infusion

"Transportation officials announced that Tampa has received the largest single transit award in the city's history to expand the streetcar system," reports D'Ann Lawrence White.

The Florida Department of Transportation awarded the city a $67.3 million grant from the Florida New Starts transit program to fund Tampa's Streetcar Extension and Modernization Project. FDOT Secretary David Gwynn is quoted in the article saying it’s the largest grant ever awarded to the city from the state of Florida.

The Streetcar Extension and Modernization Project will transition to faster, modern vehicles and install level boarding. The modernization fo the system would include the replacement of the system's historic streetcars with sleep, modern streetcars, according to the article. Mayor Jane Castor is also quoted in the article saying that the Streetcar will have 100,000 people living in proximity to the system by 2040.

"A $2.7 million grant from the FDOT in 2018 allowed the city to implement the first phase of the InVision: Tampa Streetcar plan," writes White for more background on the state's support of the city's streetcar extension plans.