With three different public transit funding plans up for consideration, officials in Tampa, Florida, are trying to decide which is the best and when is the best time to start the work on the city's long-sought transit system.
"The county's transportation task force will issue a major report on mass transit early next year, including funding strategies. After that, it will come down to working out the plan's details and launching an education campaign."
"Tampa Mayor Pam Iorio wants to wait until the regional authority, backed by the state Department of Transportation, can develop a master transportation plan by July 2009."
"After that, it will take a year to educate the public. She wants to model the effort after successful referendums in Dallas, Denver and Charlotte, N.C."
"'The advantage of being the last major metropolitan area without a transit system is that we can look around and learn from others,' she said. 'In every referendum that succeeded, there was a thorough, detailed plan. In every jurisdiction where it failed, there wasn't a detailed plan. Voters aren't stupid. They want answers to specific questions.'"
FULL STORY: Mass Transit Debate Hinges On Funding And Timing

Florida Considers Legalizing ADUs
Current state law allows — but doesn’t require — cities to permit accessory dwelling units in single-family residential neighborhoods.

Manufactured Crisis: Losing the Nation’s Largest Source of Unsubsidized Affordable Housing
Manufactured housing communities have long been an affordable housing option for millions of people living in the U.S., but that affordability is disappearing rapidly. How did we get here?

HUD Announces Plan to Build Housing on Public Lands
The agency will identify federally owned parcels appropriate for housing development and streamline the regulatory process to lease or transfer land to housing authorities and nonprofit developers.

EPA Terminates $116 Million in Grants for Reducing Emissions from Construction Materials
C-MORE grants were earmarked for industry trade groups and universities.

BART Closes $35 Million Deficit
Cost control and revenue generation measures prevented service cuts.

The New Parisian Hearse is a Bicycle
Sleek, silent, and sustainable, a green trip to the graveyard has hit the streets of the French capital.
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