Sound Off — Florida Faces Transportation Challenges

Turn on the radio before the morning rush and you'll hear a list of area traffic delays and lane closures due to multiple car crashes or construction projects. In recent years, Sarasota and Manatee counties have been marked by incidents such as a 50-car pile up, serious injuries and fatalities. With such congestion and safety issues facing the region, the question of how to keep people on the move and solutions to traveling between major cities is steering into public debate.

A high-speed rail system potentially linking Sarasota to Tampa, Orlando and other cities has been considered in the past by Florida voters. However, traction for such projects might have hit the brakes after recent incidents in Canada and Spain. On the other hand, fatalities happen every day on the road due to poor driving habits, road conditions and drivers being under the influence.

Gov. Rick Scott vetoed the most recent proposal for a publicly funded high-speed rail system in 2011, and former Gov. Jeb Bush vetoed the original concept, though Florida voters approved it in 2000.

Issues of congestion and safety still ride front seat in Sarasota, where major roadways U.S. 41 and I-75 slice through residential and commercial areas. A concept for a privately owned rail system, called All Aboard Florida, running from downtown Miami to Orlando with a possible eventual Tampa station has been proposed, but it faces permitting and environmental hurdles. Though, the conversation is currently on the other side of the state, a major success could lay the tracks for a Sarasota stop.

Meanwhile, right now in Sarasota, mass transit projects that could combat safety and congestion issues seem to be headed in reverse. At the start of this year, Sarasota County commissioners discussed the underfunded and ailing area bus system, which, by the end of this fiscal year will have 60% of its buses past or at the end of their useful life span. Replacing that fleet could cost a projected $22.4 million. In lieu of that information, Manatee and Sarasota County commissioners considered a proposal to merge area transit into a single entity earlier this spring.

With the next fiscal budget approaching, county commissioners will have to consider the next step for area transit.

What do you think Sarasota County commissioners should be doing with area transit? Does something need to be done to make Sarasota transportation safer or more efficient, and what would you propose to solve the issue? Do you think a high-speed rail system linking Florida's major cities would benefit our state? Rev your engine in the comment section below.