Looking for Cleaner Transportation Answers

Proposed Florida ferry highlights tradeoffs between transportation upgrades and environmental protection

The roads in Tampa, Florida, have never been synonymous with safe and fast travel. They flood easily during summer rains, are constantly plagued by accidents, and pose numerous dangers for pedestrians.

City and county planners constantly try to find ways to get people and cargo to their destinations faster, and one recent effort got a good deal of positive attention. In February 2014, the Hillsborough County Commission approved a feasibility study for a high-speed passenger ferry that would operate out of south Tampa. In addition to lessening traffic in a county with an estimated population of 1.29 million, planners hoped the ferry would also bolster eco-friendly travel in the area.

 After the Harvest Photo courtesy of Southwest Florida Water Management District Planners are investigating the Fred and Idah Schultz Preserve as a possible site for the ferry terminal, raising concerns about the environmental impact of the project.

“A ferry commuter system will have positive effects on the water quality of Tampa Bay,” according to the ferry project website. “Ferries take cars off the roads, which reduces the nitrogen oxides emitted by auto[s] into our air, thus reducing nitrogen loading in Tampa Bay. Taking cars off the roads also reduces the oils, grease, and other pollutants that motor vehicles discharge onto our roadways, thereby reducing the pollution in storm water runoff that goes into the bay.”

Planners spent months searching for a spot where a terminal could be built to receive the ferry. After reviewing 14 different possible locations, they began investigating The Fred and Idah Schultz Preserve, a nature preserve in nearby Apollo Beach, as a possible terminal site.

In order to accommodate a ferry terminal, the site would require an access road and a parking lot. These site requirements got the attention of local birdwatchers, and Audubon of Florida raised concerns about the numerous bird sanctuaries near the Schultz Preserve that could be negatively affected by the changes a ferry would necessitate.

“We have concerns if this property is sold or transferred for a for-profit activity because that might set a very dangerous precedent for the environmental lands program for the county,” Ann Paul, Tampa Bay regional coordinator at Audubon of Florida, told the press. ““We’re hoping that we can continue to work with the developer to find an acceptable location where this excellent project can go forward but without setting a negative precedent.”

The challenges raised in the Tampa ferry planning process are familiar to those trying to upgrade commercial and day-to-day transportation options around the country. The twin goals of developing cleaner transportation options without damaging the environment force planners to consider numerous questions about alternative transportation systems, including how they will be paid for, who will use them, how frequently they will be used, how reliable they will be, and how they will impact the local environment.

In his study “The Environmental Impacts of Transportation,” Dr. Jean-Paul Rodrigue of Hofstra University notes that the paradoxical nature of transportation and the environment rests in the fact that transportation brings socioeconomic benefits while also having direct, indirect, and cumulative impacts on environmental systems.

“The complexities of the problems have led to much controversy in environmental policy and in the role of transportation,” Rodrigue wrote. “The transportation sector is often subsidized by the public sector, especially through the construction and maintenance of road infrastructure… Sometimes, public stakes in transport modes, terminals, and infrastructure can be at odds with environmental issues. If the owner and the regulator are the same (different branches of the government), then there is a risk that regulations will not be effectively complied to. It can also lead to another extreme where compliance would lead to inefficient transport systems with subsidized costs.”

In a state like Florida, where environmental concerns are frequently interwoven with business, tourism, and lifestyle issues, lawmakers are forced to deal with these challenges on a regular basis. For example, in 2011, Governor Rick Scott backed off a plan to expand campgrounds on Honeymoon Island off the Gulf Coast when opponents pointed out the dangers to the island’s nature preserves.

On the other side of the state, numerous Space Coast residents have spoken out against Port Canaveral’s plan for a new cargo rail line across the Banana River and through part of the Kennedy Space Center. The $75 million project, which port officials have said could create thousands of jobs in the region, calls for the port to take over 17 miles of existing rail and also to extend the track 11 miles to the port, crossing the Banana River and space center wetlands. But opponents have cited environmental concerns with the project, most notably about possible damage to the wetlands that could harm fish and wildlife habitats.

“It’s our last stronghold that we have of untouched and unimpacted waters in Banana River,” Charles Levi Jr., a Port St. John fisherman, told Florida Today. The project is currently undergoing environmental review under the National Environmental Policy Act.

The problem is not unique to the Sunshine State. Recently, communities in California, Oregon, and Michigan, among many other states, have been protesting against the transportation of crude oil by rail, raising questions about the possible dangers the transport cars pose to people and the environment in the event of a derailment. Earlier this year in Minneapolis, Minnesota, the Minneapolis Metropolitan Council approved the Southwest Corridor light-rail line, which will run through twin tunnels in the Kenilworth corridor of Minneapolis. The project will improve public transportation in the region, but local residents raised concerns about the impact on neighborhoods along the corridor, as well as on the environment.

“The region’s quality of life and our economic vitality depend on moving this project forward,” Council Member Jennifer Munt told the Star Tribune. “We have to think regionally.” According to Munt, the tunnel will not adversely affect water in the nearby channel or lakes, and bike trails will remain available in the corridor.

Regional planning is another reason why Hillsborough County, which already operates a bus system, has been working with the communities to find new and better ways to transport residents such as the proposed high-speed ferry. After hearing the concerns about the Apollo Beach preserve terminal site, the commission voted to look at other potential sites in the southern part of the county.

“Once we lock down what we think the site will be, then we’ll move to the project development and design phase,” project manager Michael Williams said.

“You shouldn’t be paving over pristine lands,” Commissioner Sandra Murman said, agreeing with many locals residents.

The county has since extended the search phase for a terminal site by three months, looking for a location that can handle a terminal, parking lot, and access road without compromising the environment that makes the area thrive.

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