[1:54] area and.

[1:54] >> joshua wostal: good morning,

[1:55] everyone.

[2:03] If we could quiet down.

[2:05] Good morning, everyone and

[2:06] welcome to this morning's

[2:10] SEPTEMBER the 9th tpo board

[2:10] meeting.

[2:11] I will call this meeting to

[2:12] order ad start with the pledge

[2:13] of allegiance.

[2:17] If you could please join me.

[2:34] [Pledge of allegiance]

[2:35] Thank you very much.

[2:39] We will begin with a roll call.

[2:41] >> ross is excused.

[2:42] Wostal.

[2:43] >> joshua wostal: here.

[2:44] >> miller.

[2:44] >> christine miller: here.

[2:46] >> myers.

[2:46] >> gwen myers: here.

[2:48] >> cohen.

[2:49] >> harry cohen: here.

[2:50] >> boles.

[2:51] >> chris boles: here.

[2:52] >> clendenin.

[2:58] >> here.

[2:58] >> hurtak.

[2:59] >> joshua wostal: yeah, she's

[3:00] here.

[3:02] She'll be back in a second.

[3:02] >> young.

[3:07] Mayor kilton is excused.

[3:08] `gray.

[3:09] Klug.

[3:09] >> here.

[3:11] >> stevens.

[3:13] >> here.

[3:15] >> slater.

[3:15] King.

[3:16] Joseph.

[3:17] >> here.

[3:19] >> you have a quorum, sir.

[3:20] >> joshua wostal: great.

[3:20] Thank you.

[3:21] We mean move onto approval of

[3:21] the minutes.

[3:23] -- we will move onto approval of

[3:24] the minutes, trusting everyone's

[3:25] had an opportunity to review

[3:25] them.

[3:26] If there are changes, MAY I have

[3:29] a motion for approval of

[3:29] meetings.

[3:30] I have a motion by member

[3:32] stevens and a second by

[3:33] commissioner myers.

[3:35] All of those in favor, say aye.

[3:38] Like sign.

[3:40] That motion is approved.

[3:42] We are moving onto public

[3:43] comment.

[3:44] We still have no signups.

[3:44] Is that correct?

[3:46] Seems to be correct.

[3:48] We will move onto committee

[3:50] reports, and advanced comments.

[3:54] From rick fernandez.

[3:54] And.

[3:55] >> good morning.

[3:55] Good morning, board.

[4:00] Can y'all hear me all right?

[4:00] >> joshua wostal: yes.

[4:01] >> okay.

[4:02] Thank you.

[4:03] For the record, rick fernandez,

[4:06] chair of your cac.

[4:08] Have a short report for you

[4:08] today.

[4:09] I'm sure you'll be happy to

[4:10] hear.

[4:13] We met on SEPTEMBER 2nd for

[4:16] our regular monthly meeting.

[4:18] Had no problem with quorum.

[4:21] There was one action item on our

[4:23] agenda which I believe mirrors

[4:25] an action item on your agenda

[4:28] this morning that is the 2026

[4:31] roll forward tip amendments.

[4:33] Committee members asked

[4:35] questions about the federal

[4:37] transit administration funding

[4:39] and the port tampa bay projects

[4:42] in particular, including about

[4:44] dredging plans.

[4:45] There was a discussion on human

[4:47] trafficking and the funding hart

[4:49] received previously.

[4:51] The cac recommended that the tpo

[4:54] board approve the roll forward

[4:57] amendments to the fy '27-31 tip.

[5:01] And before I close, I wanted to

[5:04] give a shout-out to staff in

[5:06] particular sarah caper who I

[5:10] hope is in the room today.

[5:13] We are a rather demanding group

[5:16] I suppose, certainly curious.

[5:19] And at the end of each meeting,

[5:22] we are encouraged, asked,

[5:24] prompted to offer topics that we

[5:26] would like presentations on at

[5:27] future meetings.

[5:30] And we're pretty good about

[5:31] that.

[5:33] As a result, we've had dozens of

[5:35] items on a list that have

[5:37] been -- has been curated over a

[5:38] period of months, maybe even

[5:41] years at this point.

[5:43] And it became a bit overwhelming

[5:44] as far as how we might actually

[5:47] be able to get to them.

[5:49] Sarah has made an effort to

[5:52] triage those, and has presented

[5:55] them to us, has sought our

[5:57] input, has surveyed us in terms

[5:59] of topics that are actually

[6:02] still topical for us, and we are

[6:03] coming to a point I think where

[6:10] we have them under some type of

[6:10] organization.

[6:11] The idea being to present the

[6:15] most important topics in serial

[6:16] fashion over the course of the

[6:17] coming year.

[6:18] In any evnt, it was a project

[6:19] she took on herself.

[6:24] We didn't ask her to do this.

[6:25] And I'm sure it took a good bit

[6:26] of time and at least two

[6:27] presentations to our committee

[6:28] over the last two months, so I

[6:30] appreciate that very much and

[6:32] wanted sarah to have that

[6:35] recognition publicly.

[6:36] From me as chair and from the

[6:38] committee as a whole.

[6:39] That said, good morning to you

[6:41] all.

[6:42] respectfully submitted.

[6:43] >> joshua wostal: thank you,

[6:44] MR. Fernandez, and if the clerk

[6:46] could please reflect that member

[6:49] hurtak is present in the

[6:50] boardroom and ms.Mic knee

[6:52] MS. Mcgee you're

[6:53] welcome for your advanced

[6:54] comments.

[6:55] >> good morning, harmoni mcgee,

[6:56] tpo staff.

[6:57] Regarding today's action item,

[6:59] the technical advisory committee

[7:01] recommended that the tpo board

[7:04] approve the 2026 roll forward

[7:06] tip amendments.

[7:08] Prior to the recommendation,

[7:10] members discuss several

[7:11] clarifying points.

[7:12] A question was raised about the

[7:13] current composition of hart's

[7:15] fleet, specifically the

[7:16] percentage of vehicles operating

[7:21] on compressed natural gas versus

[7:23] diesel.

[7:24] Staff noted that approximately

[7:26] 75% of the fleet is currently

[7:28] compressed natural gas with a

[7:31] full transition aticipated by

[7:31] 2028.

[7:32] Member also asked how the

[7:35] proposed gibsonton drive and

[7:37] I-75 diverging diamond

[7:38] interchange design would account

[7:40] for the existing signal at fern

[7:42] hill drive located immediately

[7:47] east of the interchange.

[7:48] Public comments were received

[7:50] via email and social media.

[7:52] Maritza estorkeyesa the chair of

[7:54] the drew park community advisory

[7:55] committee emailed requests

[7:56] regarding the development of the

[8:00] rays stadium.

[8:03] His comments focus on attention

[8:07] of drew park tax dollars, safety

[8:09] of communities and residents,

[8:10] establishing a permanent

[8:11] community voice in the stadium's

[8:13] dreamt process, measuring

[8:14] impacts before commitments are

[8:15] made, and putting protections

[8:22] for drew park in writing.

[8:23] This committee has not taken

[8:25] formal support or opposition

[8:26] position in this project because

[8:27] the matter has not been

[8:29] presented to cac for a formal

[8:30] vote.

[8:30] Their full comments and

[8:32] recommendations are included in

[8:34] your packet.

[8:35] On x we received comments in

[8:37] support of building light rail.

[8:41] This concludes my report.

[8:41] >> joshua wostal: thank you so

[8:43] much, MS. Mcgee.

[8:44] We will move onto the consent

[8:45] agenda.

[8:46] If there is no questions on the

[8:49] consent, MAY I have a motion.

[8:52] >> harry cohen: so moved.

[8:52] >> joshua wostal: motion,

[8:55] commissioner cohen, second

[8:59] commissioner, board member gray.

[9:00] ,

[9:02] there those in favor say aye?

[9:02] Like sign.

[9:03] That motion is approved.

[9:04] We'll move onto

[9:06] onto our first action

[9:08] item which is the roll forward

[9:09] tip amendments being presented

[9:16] by MR. Walsh.

[9:19] >> harry walsh, tpo staff.

[9:20] I'm here today to present the

[9:23] 2026 tip roll forward amendment.

[9:25] So an introduction or refresher

[9:26] for those of you who have been

[9:27] through this annual process with

[9:29] us before, the tip roll forward

[9:30] amendment is an annual

[9:31] administrative process that we

[9:36] do and this graphic hopefully

[9:37] elucidates why we do.

[9:39] So in MARCH of every year we

[9:41] start with a tend tfn work

[9:43] program both fdot and tpo and

[9:44] we're operating on the same list

[9:44] of projects.

[9:45] going forward through the year

[9:47] we have that same list, this

[9:50] board adopts the tip in early

[9:51] JUNE of every year.

[9:53] This year I believe it was

[9:54] JUNE 6th meeting this board

[9:55] adopted the tip.

[9:57] And then on JUNE 30th of every

[10:00] year, fdot adopts its work

[10:02] program and any projects that

[10:03] aren't authorized by JUNE 30th

[10:04] automatically roll forward in

[10:07] their process to the next fiscal

[10:10] year's work program.

[10:11] So unfortunately -- or not

[10:14] unfortunately, but separately we

[10:17] have the tpo federally is

[10:19] required to have its tip be

[10:19] static.

[10:21] It stays exactly how we adopted

[10:22] it unless this board votes to

[10:23] amend.

[10:25] So in order to link up the

[10:27] projects and have the both our

[10:29] tip and the fdot work program

[10:31] saying the same thing, we have

[10:32] to have this meeting in

[10:34] SEPTEMBER where we vote to amend

[10:36] the tip and include all of those

[10:37] roll forward projects.

[10:39] So that's starting

[10:40] OCTOBER 1st.

[10:41] We have -- we're operating on

[10:43] the same list of projects for

[10:45] the next fiscal year.

[10:47] So the key points for this

[10:49] process are, it is an annual

[10:50] administrative amendment

[10:50] schedule.

[10:52] It ensures consistency between

[10:54] the two, the work program and

[10:56] the tip, and there are no new

[10:58] funds that's a key point here.

[10:59] There are no new projects that

[11:00] are being introduced at this

[11:00] point.

[11:02] All of these projects vk

[11:02] previously -- have been

[11:05] previously scoped and awarded.

[11:07] This year there were 22 total

[11:08] projects that are rolling

[11:10] forward, 12 of them are transit

[11:11] projects, essentially hart

[11:12] projects.

[11:14] Three safety projects, two

[11:16] resurfacing, two seaport, one

[11:20] capacity, one its, and one

[11:20] planning.

[11:23] Then a summary of the funds

[11:25] breakdown, the largest category

[11:27] is transit with $157 million

[11:28] rolling forward.

[11:31] That's 62% of the total going

[11:35] forward, the seaport has

[11:36] $77 million which is 30% of the

[11:37] total funds rolling forward.

[11:38] $9.5 million for resurfacing

[11:40] project, that's 4%, and then the

[11:42] remaining 4% are the capacity,

[11:43] planning, and safety projects.

[11:46] So total of $254 million rolling

[11:48] forward.

[11:50] In this tip amendment.

[11:51] Now, I'll have a full list of

[11:52] all the projects at the end of

[11:53] this presentation, but I wanted

[11:57] to pull out a few of the larger,

[11:58] larger fund items or more

[11:59] notable items that I thought

[12:00] themotor

[12:02] theboard might be interested in.

[12:04] The first is heavy maintenance

[12:05] facilities update for hart so

[12:07] the top picture is the temporary

[12:10] unleaded full facility or tuff

[12:12] recently completed as part of

[12:13] phase 1 of the facility upgrades

[12:15] expen the the bottom is the

[12:16] rendering of the hart heavy

[12:16] maintenance facility.

[12:18] This fleet services building

[12:19] will add services for the buses

[12:23] so cng and diesel fueling, bus

[12:25] wash, fare box cash retrieval as

[12:26] well as facilities specific

[12:28] upgrades, security fence, site

[12:29] light, and stormwater

[12:30] improvements.

[12:31] Then additionally in the transit

[12:33] space, last year hart was

[12:35] awarded by an fta no low

[12:37] emissions grant to transition

[12:39] its fleet from diesel to natural

[12:39] gas.

[12:42] That's a $32 million project,

[12:43] and the most recent update we

[12:45] received from hart is that only

[12:46] 25% of their fleet remains

[12:48] diesel and then by 2028 they

[12:50] expect to have a full cng fleet,

[12:52] fully natural gas.

[12:53] And just a note and a nod to our

[12:55] agency partners, the largest

[12:56] grant of its kind, this is the

[12:58] largest grant of its kind in

[12:59] florida, one of the largest

[13:02] nationally that was awarded and

[13:03] it's hart's larmist federal

[13:05] award so just a nod to them.

[13:09] Moving on from transit to the

[13:15] seaport, and I defer to the port

[13:16] representative.

[13:17] There are two main projects

[13:18] here.

[13:19] The omniport for $22 million a

[13:21] new facility, so this is their

[13:23] current facility you see in this

[13:24] picture.

[13:27] It'll be across the water and be

[13:31] a deepwater berth to accept a

[13:32] diverse range of ships.

[13:33] And then the existing facility,

[13:37] which is this hooker's point

[13:38] infragrant, $55 million plus

[13:39] local match.

[13:41] It expands the existing

[13:44] container yard and another

[13:45] deepwater berth.

[13:47] It's part of port tampa bay's

[13:49] vision plan to add 50% total

[13:51] capacity by 2030 so that's what

[13:52] both of those

[13:53] these projects are

[13:55] trying to achieve.

[13:57] And then going to capacity,

[13:59] there is an I-75 at gibsonton

[14:01] drive a planned diverging

[14:02] diamond.

[14:03] On the left you can see the

[14:04] footprint of the project from

[14:06] fdot's web site, and then on the

[14:09] right is a tentative rendering

[14:09] that the project manager

[14:12] provided to our team, so that

[14:13] still can change and in that

[14:14] pick consider you see north is

[14:15] to the -- picture you can see

[14:17] north is to the right so we're

[14:18] from the east of where the

[14:19] diverging diamond will be.

[14:21] And you see $3.3 million, that's

[14:23] not a significant amount for

[14:23] `construction project.

[14:26] All that is for environmental

[14:27] permitting have to do with its

[14:28] proximity to the river to keep

[14:30] the project viable once, further

[14:35] funds are available for

[14:35] construction.

[14:36] And then here's a list of

[14:37] projects.

[14:38] This first one is all of the

[14:39] transit projects.

[14:40] As I mentioned transit is one of

[14:41] the largest category here, both

[14:42] in terms of funding and number

[14:44] of projects.

[14:46] Mostly the things that I

[14:48] mentioned already, so some

[14:51] capital for fixed route, the

[14:52] purchasing of the buses, the

[14:55] transition over to cng, a few

[14:56] smaller projects they have going

[14:57] forward administratively, bus

[14:59] shelter upgrades, and several

[15:01] things for building repair and

[15:02] the heavy maintenance facility

[15:05] that we already mentioned.

[15:07] And then all the other projects

[15:10] put together here are

[15:11] essentially all of the things I

[15:13] mentioned previously.

[15:14] There's also for the its

[15:15] project, hillsborough county has

[15:17] a smart traffic network.

[15:19] Study that they're going to be

[15:21] doing, and there's also a bridge

[15:22] planning study that does not

[15:24] involve construction but there's

[15:26] 11 bridges around hillsborough

[15:28] county that are being analyzed

[15:29] to see what state are they in

[15:30] and what repairs might need to

[15:32] be done going forward so it's a

[15:35] planning level study.

[15:36] So with that I'm happy to go

[15:38] back and show you any of the

[15:39] slides we went through quickly,

[15:40] but the ask for you is to

[15:41] approve by roll call vote the

[15:42] roll forward amendments to the

[15:43] fiscal

[15:45] fiscal year '27-thirty

[15:46] 31 tip.

[15:47] With that I will take any

[15:51] questions.

[15:53] >> joshua wostal: I'm seeing no

[15:55] questions, so if that's correct,

[15:57] I will have the clerk call the

[15:59] vote.

[16:00] >> wostal.

[16:04] >> joshua wostal: oh, yes.

[16:05] Motion by commissioner

[16:09] clendenin, second by cohen and

[16:12] myers and somebody else.

[16:13] Okay, thank you, and clerk if

[16:17] you could call the vote.

[16:17] >>> wostal.

[16:18] >> joshua wostal: yes.

[16:19] >> miller.

[16:20] >> christine miller: yes.

[16:21] >> myers.

[16:22] >> gwen myers: yes.

[16:23] >> cohen.

[16:23] >> harry cohen: yes.

[16:24] >> boles.

[16:25] >> chris boles: yes.

[16:26] >> clendenin.

[16:26] >> yes.

[16:29] >> hurtak.

[16:31] >> yes.

[16:32] >> young.

[16:33] Gray.

[16:34] >> yes.

[16:34] >> klug.

[16:35] Stevens.

[16:36] >> yes.

[16:37] >> slater.

[16:38] >> yes.

[16:39] >> king.

[16:40] >> yes.

[16:45] >> joseph.

[16:46] >> yes.

[16:47] >> motion carried 15-0.

[16:48] >> joshua wostal: thank you,

[16:49] MR. Walsh, very much.

[16:50] >> thank you.

[16:50] >> joshua wostal: we will move

[16:54] onto action item b, which is the

[16:56] election of a livable roadways

[16:57] committee chair for the

[16:59] remainder of 2026, the current

[17:02] chair has stepped down.

[17:04] Cameron clark is going to

[17:05] introduce that item and the

[17:09] requirements to fill it.

[17:10] Yes?

[17:11] Yes, MS. Hurtak.

[17:12] >> thank you so much.

[17:14] And I have really enjoyed being

[17:15] the chair of the livable

[17:17] roadways committee, but due to

[17:18] health issues, I've decided to

[17:21] step down, and also, because I

[17:23] will be transitioning out

[17:25] obviously at the end of next

[17:27] year orat the mial of next year,

[17:29] so -- or at the middle of next

[17:30] year, so I wanted to give

[17:31] somebody the chance to hop in

[17:33] and develop a group or you know

[17:34] a whole strategy there.

[17:35] It's been a really wonderful

[17:36] thing.

[17:38] I will be there next wednesday

[17:40] just to say good-bye.

[17:42] But it's been a lot of fun, and

[17:43] I, I highly recommend it.

[17:46] It's a wonderful board.

[17:46] >> joshua wostal: wonderful, and

[17:48] we wish you well in your

[17:48] recovery.

[17:49] Go ahead.

[17:50] >> board members, so this is one

[17:52] of the committees where we

[17:53] typically see seek a volunteer

[17:54] to see if anyone wants to fill

[17:58] the position.

[18:00] Understanding full well we're

[18:01] talking about filling it out for

[18:02] the next couple of months.

[18:04] We do new officer elections and

[18:05] new committee appointments at

[18:06] the end of the year anyway, an

[18:07] in speaking with DR. Wong, it's

[18:09] understood that the committee

[18:11] has regularly has a quorum to be

[18:12] able to function in case a new

[18:14] member is not able to attend.

[18:15] But typically with something

[18:19] like this, we don't do the

[18:20] committeey by nomination and

[18:22] vote typically as we do with

[18:23] chair and vice chair.

[18:24] We ask to see if anybody first

[18:26] wishes to fill this roll for

[18:27] role for the

[18:29] next couple of months and that's

[18:31] how I would start, to see if

[18:32] anybody would volunteer for

[18:33] that.

[18:34] >> joshua wostal: yeah, so

[18:35] obviously the schedule is

[18:37] already set, and we're all very

[18:39] well aware that most of the

[18:40] members on this board are

[18:42] already volunteering their time

[18:46] and sacrificing more would be

[18:46] even more difficult and the rest

[18:48] of us always have well

[18:52] established schedules, so if no

[18:55] one is able to volunteer, what

[18:57] is, what is kind of the

[18:59] recourse, MR. Clark?

[19:02] >> typically if there is no

[19:03] volunteer for a committee role,

[19:06] the chair appoints someone.

[19:07] >> joshua wostal: okay.

[19:08] And the chair might need to take

[19:12] time before he makes such a big

[19:15] decision, so I don't see anybody

[19:17] jumping on it right now.

[19:21] If, do they have a vice chair?

[19:23] >> yes, chair.

[19:24] The livable roadways committee

[19:25] is chaired by member of the

[19:28] planning commission who attends

[19:28] regularly.

[19:30] He has filled in on rare

[19:31] occasion when the chair was

[19:33] unavailable to attend.

[19:35] I think he's perfectly well

[19:37] capable of managing that

[19:40] committee over the remainder of

[19:40] 2026.

[19:42] =also say earlier in the -- I

[19:43] will also say earlier in the

[19:45] week we sent an emailto everyone

[19:49] to ask them which teak which --

[19:51] them to check their calendars

[19:52] for the dates.

[19:53] For a remindther SEPTEMBER

[19:55] meeting will be held next

[19:56] wednesday the 16th.

[19:58] In OCTOBER it'll be the 21st.

[19:59] NOVEMBER, 18th.

[20:01] DECEMBER 16th.

[20:03] So it's the thursday wednesday

[20:05] of each month beginning at

[20:05] 9:00 A.M.

[20:06] >> joshua wostal: so that would,

[20:10] every, every regular bocc member

[20:11] is automatically opted out of

[20:13] being able to meet that because

[20:16] of our wednesday 9:00 A.M. Board

[20:19] meetings every other wednesday

[20:20] ourselves.

[20:20] So.

[20:21] >> harry cohen: would it be

[20:22] appropriate to make a motion to

[20:26] appoint the vice chair to be the

[20:28] acting chair for the remainder

[20:31] of the year 2026?

[20:32] >> commissioner, I don't think

[20:33] that that would be allowable

[20:35] under the bylaws, which specify

[20:37] it has to be a member of the tpo

[20:39] board, so unfortunately, he

[20:40] couldn't be appointed to serve

[20:41] as the chair.

[20:43] What I would maybe suggest for

[20:44] this board is recognizing that

[20:46] your schedules are already

[20:47] filled through the remainder of

[20:50] the year, if someone wants to

[20:51] essentially fall on the sword

[20:53] and we would all recognize that

[20:55] there is not really a

[20:56] requirement for them to attend,

[20:58] that they would be doing the tpo

[20:59] board a favor.

[21:01] >> joshua wostal: I can do that

[21:04] or as, if you like humor, mayor

[21:07] ross is not here to defend

[21:10] himself.

[21:10] So.

[21:10] [Laughter]

[21:12] So yeah.

[21:16] >> I nominate mayor ross.

[21:16] [Laughter]

[21:17] >> harry cohen: I'll second.

[21:18] He'll think twice before he

[21:19] misses a meeting.

[21:20] >> joshua wostal: I'm actually

[21:22] very entertained by that

[21:24] nomination, so if there is no

[21:26] conflicts with that, I'll enjoy

[21:28] his comments at the next board

[21:29] meeting.

[21:29] I'm seeing none.

[21:31] Do we have to have a motion to

[21:33] approve that?

[21:34] >> this has been a motion so I

[21:35] would just say all in favor of

[21:37] the motion, say aye.

[21:38] >> joshua wostal: all in favor

[21:39] of the motion, say aye.

[21:40] Any nays?

[21:42] That motion is approved to

[21:43] appoint mayor ross as the chair

[21:47] of the livable roadways

[21:47] committee.

[21:48] I thank you very much for your

[21:49] attention to that item.

[21:52] All right, we'll move onto

[21:54] MR. Brian hunter from fdot for

[21:56] the status report on the safety

[22:02] outreach in motion.

[22:03] >> good morning, everybody.

[22:04] Brian hunter with the florida

[22:06] department of transportation.

[22:09] And so if you've heard recently

[22:10] secretary hall and myself really

[22:12] anybody at fdot talk, we always

[22:14] mention how safety is our number

[22:15] 1 priority.

[22:16] And we approach that with kind

[22:19] of four pillars.

[22:21] To achieve a safe transportation

[22:21] network.

[22:23] the first one is engineering,

[22:23] which are the things that you

[22:25] would typically associate with

[22:26] the florida department of

[22:27] transportation.

[22:29] So this is planning, designing,

[22:32] building, maintaining, an

[22:33] integrated multimodal

[22:34] transportation system.

[22:36] It is safe for all users.

[22:37] The second, so there are four --

[22:38] those four pillars.

[22:39] They all start with e, and so we

[22:41] call them the four Es of

[22:41] safety.

[22:43] So the first one is engineering.

[22:44] The second one is enforcement.

[22:46] So we look at data.

[22:47] We see where there's some

[22:48] particular challenges, and we

[22:50] work with our state and local

[22:53] law enforcement agencies to try

[22:54] and rectify that challenge.

[22:56] So a couple weeks ago, you MAY

[22:57] have seen on social media that

[23:01] we did a speeding campaign on

[23:03] the bridges crossing the bay.

[23:03] We noticed that there was a

[23:04] challenge.

[23:05] A lot of people were exceeding

[23:06] the speed limit on the bay, so

[23:08] we went out there and worked

[23:09] with our law enforcement

[23:11] partners to do an enforcement

[23:12] campaign to get people to slow

[23:14] down and make safer, better

[23:15] choices.

[23:17] The third e is emergency

[23:17] response.

[23:19] And so that's when a crash does

[23:20] happen, we have emergency

[23:21] responders, first responders

[23:23] that go out there and assist the

[23:25] victims of that crash so that's

[23:28] our fire, police, emergency

[23:30] medical services, and even our

[23:31] road rangers who create a safe

[23:33] environment for them to work in.

[23:35] And then the fourth e is

[23:36] education.

[23:37] and so that's the one that I'm

[23:40] going to talk about today.

[23:42] So florida D.O.T. Has the

[23:44] florida strategic highway safety

[23:44] plan.

[23:47] And so it's got five elements to

[23:50] it, and you can use the qr code

[23:50] or visit the web site if you

[23:52] want to read about any of these,

[23:54] but the main takeaway is that

[23:57] death or serious injury is just

[23:59] unacceptable on our -- in our

[24:00] transportation system.

[24:01] And so that's why the department

[24:03] has adopted target zero, which

[24:06] is our goal to have zero serious

[24:08] fatal -- serious injuries or

[24:10] fatalities on our roadway.

[24:12] And we have three different

[24:13] points that we use to try and

[24:14] achieve that.

[24:16] The first one is we identify

[24:18] what behaviors led to those

[24:20] serious or fatal crashes.

[24:21] Then we understand -- try and

[24:23] understand why the choices were

[24:24] made that were made.

[24:26] And then we try to use our

[24:29] influence in order to have

[24:30] people make better choices, and

[24:31] safer choices.

[24:33] And so that's where our outreach

[24:35] comes in.

[24:36] The numbers on the screen right

[24:38] here are from 2025.

[24:41] So this is the cumulative

[24:42] district-wide activity that we

[24:42] did.

[24:46] So we had 7500 conversations,

[24:47] almost 30 trainings.

[24:49] We went to almost 60 community

[24:50] events.

[24:51] Our social media, which is

[24:54] focused on safety and project

[24:56] information reached over 200,000

[24:57] people.

[24:58] And traditional media we were

[25:00] able to reach 350,000 people.

[25:02] And is then you know, it's very

[25:05] important to get people

[25:06] indoctrinated to making safe

[25:08] choices early on, and so at as

[25:11] they were, as people were, kids

[25:12] are learning how to drive, we

[25:13] went to high schools.

[25:15] We went to 11 -- or 18 high

[25:16] schools.

[25:20] We talked to over 110 classes,

[25:21] 2,300 students.

[25:23] These are teen drivers trying to

[25:24] get them to understand that

[25:26] their actions behind the wheel

[25:28] have consequences, and how to

[25:30] make better choices while

[25:33] they're driving.

[25:35] And that's just one example of

[25:37] the outreach that we do.

[25:38] Another one is our community

[25:39] traffic safety team.

[25:43] So this is where we bring in law

[25:44] enforcement, municipalities,

[25:46] counties, cities, residents,

[25:48] local organizations, and we talk

[25:50] about what are some of the

[25:52] challenges that you're having

[25:53] traffic safety-wise in your

[25:53] community.

[25:56] And how we can use the four Es

[25:58] to improve that situation for

[25:59] the people who live in your

[26:01] community and are most affected

[26:03] by any dangers on the roadway.

[26:05] So these are regular meetings

[26:06] that occur.

[26:08] We invite a ton of people to

[26:08] them.

[26:10] They're actually very highly

[26:12] attended, and they seem to be

[26:13] very effective at taking some of

[26:15] those lessons that we've learned

[26:17] at like a national level and

[26:20] boiling them down to state and

[26:21] local level where we can

[26:24] actually have some actionable

[26:26] items and make an influence on

[26:28] traffic safety.

[26:31] Another aspect to our outreach

[26:33] is where we try to make sure

[26:36] that the most vulnerable

[26:37] populations receive information

[26:39] to help them be less vulnerable.

[26:41] And so that includes children

[26:43] out on our roadways, so we film

[26:46] segments for local media,

[26:47] teaching parents and caregivers

[26:50] how to install a carseat

[26:52] properly in a car, and then we

[26:53] go and talk to kids as well.

[26:56] Woo eteach them how to be -- we

[26:57] teach them how to be a

[26:58] pedestrian, a bicyclist, how too

[27:00] cross a road, when to use, that

[27:02] you should use a cause

[27:04] crosswalk, what that little

[27:05] button does.

[27:06] For us it's things that are just

[27:07] intuitive, but a lot of kids

[27:09] don't know when to utilize those

[27:13] facilities.

[27:14] And then good

[27:16] when you're riding a

[27:17] bike how to make sure a bicycle

[27:19] helmet fits, it's buckled, it's

[27:20] tight, it's in the appropriate

[27:21] portion of your head, and we

[27:23] give out bicycle helmets to kids

[27:24] as well so everybody riding a

[27:26] bike can be out there and do it

[27:28] as safe as possible.

[27:29] And then on the flip side of

[27:31] that spectrum, we do what we

[27:33] call car fit, and this is where

[27:35] we have trained technicians that

[27:37] go out and they teach people how

[27:39] to adjust their car to them.

[27:40] So how you should be comfortable

[27:42] driving a car, where your

[27:44] mirrors should be pointed, and

[27:45] so that when you're driving a

[27:46] car, you don't have the

[27:48] distraction of you know reaching

[27:50] for something or being out of

[27:50] place.

[27:52] You have a better awareness of

[27:53] what's going on around you on

[27:55] the road while you can still

[27:56] focus on what's going on in

[27:57] front of you.

[27:58] So we do this at community

[27:59] events.

[28:01] we also if organization invites

[28:03] us out, we will go out there and

[28:05] teach anybody that is willing to

[28:07] listen to any of these safety

[28:08] topics, we're always willing to

[28:11] go out there and so these are

[28:12] trained folks who know how to do

[28:12] it.

[28:15] They set up examples for people,

[28:19] teach them how to do it

[28:19] themselves.

[28:21] And then one of the final things

[28:23] I'll talk about today is our

[28:24] round-tables.

[28:25] This is where once again we

[28:27] bring in partners in a

[28:28] community.

[28:30] This one is recently done a

[28:31] couple weeks ago.

[28:33] It was focused on hillsborough

[28:33] county.

[28:35] We had people from all three

[28:37] cities as well as the county,

[28:38] tpo staff is in the back part of

[28:39] the picture, you probably can't

[28:40] see them, but there are a couple

[28:42] of them back there.

[28:45] Nd what we do ask we

[28:46] is we talk about

[28:47] some of the things that we're

[28:48] seeing as far as traffic safety

[28:50] and challenges that we're

[28:50] having.

[28:54] They talk about the same things.

[28:55] We determine what we can do to

[28:58] move forward and make those

[28:59] changes that need to be made.

[29:01] Then we talk about what our

[29:03] message is going to be.

[29:05] If you ever took a marketing

[29:06] class, you know that sometimes

[29:08] you need to beat people over the

[29:11] head with the message, so we are

[29:13] all at the state, local, you

[29:15] know, law enforcement, community

[29:16] organizations, we're all putting

[29:17] that same message out there so

[29:19] that people can hear it

[29:21] repeatedly so maybe they

[29:22] remember and make safer choices.

[29:24] and one of the most valinable

[29:25] things of these round --

[29:26] valuable things of these

[29:27] round-tables is we -- it's a

[29:28] feedback loop for us.

[29:31] We hold these pretty regularly.

[29:33] We see what changes were

[29:33] implemented.

[29:35] We hear what the impacts of

[29:36] those changes were.

[29:39] And we can reevaluate and make

[29:40] some adjustments to what we're

[29:42] doing, and that includes, you

[29:44] know, the way that we design

[29:45] roads,

[29:45] .

[29:46] We incorporate that.

[29:47] How we are responding to

[29:50] incidents on the roadways, and

[29:51] our outreach.

[29:52] So it's really an important

[29:54] feedback loop for all of us, so

[29:57] that we can make sure that we're

[29:59] being effective in what we're

[29:59] doing.

[30:01] And we have an entire team of

[30:03] folks that is dedicated to going

[30:04] out there and doing this

[30:06] outreach and talking to folks

[30:08] that

[30:10] .That program is led by tina

[30:10] russo.

[30:12] She is our bicycle and

[30:14] pedestrian program manager and

[30:16] if you ever seen her talk in the

[30:17] public about roadway safety, she

[30:18] is passionate and she loves what

[30:21] she does so if you ever get an

[30:22] opportunity you know have an

[30:23] opportunity for someone to come

[30:25] out, she would be a great person

[30:25] to have.

[30:28] She really connects with the

[30:28] kids.

[30:31] And like I said, if you're ever

[30:33] heard anybody from fdot talk, we

[30:34] emphasize that safety is our

[30:36] number one priority and we

[30:37] always end on a safety message.

[30:40] So the one on the left is a

[30:42] reminder to drive safe, and that

[30:45] is with coda the fluff who I

[30:47] understand is a rather popular

[30:49] social media star, and so we've

[30:51] been able to partner with coda

[30:53] on a number of social media

[30:55] posts to get the message of

[30:57] driving safety, safely out

[30:57] there.

[30:58] And then on the right is a video

[31:00] that we did with coda the fluff,

[31:03] the rays, so we have raymond and

[31:04] dj kitty.

[31:08] It's a reminder on how to, what

[31:09] to do now that school is back in

[31:11] session, so it's very timely.

[31:12] Its

[31:15] it's about 2 1/2 minutes long so

[31:16] I won't play for

[31:18] for it for you, but

[31:19] if you get an opportunity it's a

[31:20] good thing to watch.

[31:21] Show your kids.

[31:22] It teaches everybody, drivers

[31:26] and kids how to interact safely

[31:29] with each other.

[31:31] So that is the end if anybody

[31:34] has any questions, I'll be more

[31:36] than happy to take them.

[31:37] >> joshua wostal: thank

[31:38] okay.

[31:40] Thank you for not playing the

[31:41] video I'm trying to have a

[31:42] record fast meeting today.

[31:43] Commissioner hurtak.

[31:44] >> thank you.

[31:44] I want to say thank you forlet

[31:46] work you do, but I wanted to

[31:47] brick up something that I talked

[31:49] to you about before that I

[31:52] noticed again yesterday.

[31:55] The northbound 275 exit at

[31:57] hillsborough, during hush

[31:58] -- rush

[31:59] hour, people just believe that

[32:00] that striped off spot is another

[32:02] lane for them, and we witnessed

[32:03] an almost crash.

[32:05] Someone was coming while someone

[32:07] was trying to get off the west,

[32:09] nd it was, it was just

[32:10] millimeters away.

[32:12] So I'm asking for more

[32:13] enforcement there, but not even

[32:14] more enforcement.

[32:16] Maybe some barricades because

[32:18] people are simply not -- they

[32:20] just really believe that's a

[32:21] lane, and I only really see it

[32:23] during rush hour.

[32:25] So I know we've -- you've done

[32:26] some enforcement and I'm just

[32:28] going to ask for more

[32:29] enforcement, maybe some

[32:30] barricades, anything to prevent

[32:32] what could be a simply

[32:33] preventable tragedy.

[32:35] >> absolutely, yeah, so you

[32:36] brought that to our attention.

[32:37] We were out there I think over

[32:39] three days they had 50 incidents

[32:41] where they were able to educate

[32:43] folks that that was not a travel

[32:43] lane.

[32:44] We did on the first couple of

[32:47] hash marks, we put a block

[32:50] stripe which would follow the

[32:51] design guidelines.

[32:53] We are evaluating whether we can

[32:55] continue those so that it's a

[32:58] little more visually, hits hard

[32:59] to see sometimes the white

[33:00] striping on the concrete,

[33:01] especially when it's fresh

[33:02] concrete, so we're looking to

[33:04] see if we can go with more of

[33:04] those.

[33:05] But yeah.

[33:06] We'll take a look at that and

[33:07] I'll follow up with you.

[33:09] See what we can do.

[33:11] >> joshua wostal: okay, member

[33:11] gray?

[33:13] >> thank you.

[33:14] And thank you, MR. Hunter.

[33:16] You know, we just passed a

[33:19] policy regarding e-bikes not on

[33:21] campus during the school times

[33:23] and my question is, with this,

[33:25] and you've done a marvelous job,

[33:27] your organization, with target

[33:31] zero and tina russo, have you

[33:33] reached that situation where

[33:34] e-bikes and I'm sure there's

[33:36] other names, but they're all

[33:40] over the city of tampa downtown,

[33:44] and on roads, there's a big

[33:45] safety hazard.

[33:47] Many of our children still swear

[33:49] that they're going to be safe

[33:51] riding up and down boyette road

[33:56] or other main fareways.

[33:57] What's your thoughts on tht.

[33:58] >> so right now those

[33:59] regulations are determined at

[34:00] the local level.

[34:02] But we do, when woo

[34:03] we do our

[34:04] outreach we educate folks on the

[34:05] challenges with those.

[34:07] We have seen an increase in

[34:09] crashes related to e-bikes, and

[34:11] so it is part of our education

[34:15] and outreach topics that we, we

[34:19] broach with children and kids at

[34:20] school.

[34:21] >> it's an important, relevant

[34:22] subject right now.

[34:23] >> very much so is.

[34:24] >> yeah.

[34:24] All right.

[34:27] Well thank you so much.

[34:28] >> joshua wostal: director wong.

[34:29] >> brian, I just want to say

[34:30] thank you for attending today

[34:31] and sharing this information

[34:33] with the board.

[34:35] I have been particularly

[34:38] impressed with the speed and

[34:40] responsiveness of fdot,

[34:43] pertaining to safety issues that

[34:45] you've identified.

[34:46] We've worked with you as

[34:48] partners on initiatives big and

[34:49] small.

[34:50] One particular case that stands

[34:51] out in my mind was months ago we

[34:54] had a member of the public who

[34:56] lived near 275 come to this

[34:58] board and say that we need to

[35:00] implement this sound walls

[35:04] because a car had run off of the

[35:06] interstate and ended up his

[35:06] backyard.

[35:07] About 45 minutes after this

[35:09] meeting ended, I gave him a

[35:10] call, and I spoke to him.

[35:11] He said oh, D.O.T. Already

[35:12] called me.

[35:15] And that just speaks to how

[35:17] quickly you move and how

[35:18] concerned you are with the

[35:20] impacts of your facility on the

[35:20] community.

[35:21] So I appreciate that.

[35:23] >> thank you.

[35:24] >> joshua wostal: excellent.

[35:24] All right.

[35:25] I see no more questions.

[35:27] Thank you very much, MR. Hunter,

[35:28] for the presentation.

[35:30] All right, we will move onto

[35:32] director wong's report.

[35:33] >> I'm going to help you set

[35:38] this record, commissioner.

[35:40] The tpo board meeting will be

[35:41] held OCTOBER 14th.

[35:43] We have a tma meeting

[35:44] OCTOBER 2nd at psta.

[35:46] We will be discussing the

[35:48] merger, draft deliverables.

[35:50] There is one legislative update,

[35:52] I'll be really quick.

[35:55] On 2nd of SEPTEMBER, the

[35:56] federal transportation

[35:57] authorization was extended again

[35:58] through 11th of DECEMBER.

[36:00] That gives congress

[36:01] approximately three more months

[36:05] to negotiate a reauthorization.

[36:08] As I mentioned, last week, I

[36:10] would like for you to consider

[36:11] canceling the tpo regular

[36:13] meeting on NOVEMBER 4th.

[36:14] That's the day after the

[36:16] election, and I know many

[36:17] members around the table will be

[36:19] attending watch parties.

[36:20] I've worked with fdot to ensure

[36:21] that we won't have any urgent

[36:24] action items coming in that

[36:24] month.

[36:25] We don't.

[36:26] We do have an action item that

[36:27] we'd like to cover, but there is

[36:29] no harm in pushing that off

[36:30] until DECEMBER.

[36:31] I think that with the routine

[36:34] action items, we'll be taking up

[36:35] in DECEMBER, we can fit it all

[36:36] into the meeting without

[36:40] extending it.

[36:42] >> so moved.

[36:43] >> that is the ekd

[36:44] end of my

[36:45] director's report.

[36:46] >> joshua wostal: can the chair

[36:48] just do it or can we take a

[36:49] motion now?

[36:50] Okay, we got a motion.

[36:55] Hurtak and second from broalz to -- boles to cancel the five

[36:57] 4th, 2026 meeting.

[36:58] So what happens when mayor ross

[37:00] isn't here?

[37:01] We're just canceling.

[37:02] Okay.

[37:03] But all those in favor, say aye

[37:06] to cancel the meeting.

[37:07] Like sign.

[37:10] That was a good choice.

[37:11] All right, that motion is

[37:12] approved NOVEMBER 4th, 2026,

[37:14] board meeting has been canceled.

[37:15] That concludes director wong's

[37:15] report.

[37:18] Is there any old business?

[37:22] Any new business?

[37:24] >> harry cohen: commissioner

[37:24] wostal.

[37:25] >> joshua wostal: yes.

[37:25] >> harry cohen: I don't mean to

[37:26] reign

[37:33] ruin your record here but I have

[37:34] new -- esther's comment and the

[37:36] email received by COUNCILMAN

[37:36] Carlson.

[37:41] The issue of the tpo being

[37:44] really spearheading a planning

[37:46] exercise related to the stadium

[37:47] district.

[37:50] and I wanted to ask DR. Wong

[37:51] what you thought was the best

[37:54] way to proceed on that type of a

[37:55] project because I do think we

[37:57] need it.

[37:59] >> given that a lot of the

[38:01] concerns are related to

[38:02] transportation but also land use

[38:05] and parking and you

[38:07] , and you know, other

[38:10] topics thatt fall outside of the

[38:11] mpo's wheelhouse, I think it

[38:13] would make sense us for to be a

[38:14] partner as part of larger study.

[38:15] The planning commission seems to

[38:16] be particularly well positioned

[38:19] to take that on with some

[38:20] support.

[38:22] One of the reasons why I want to

[38:23] be cautious about how we proceed

[38:26] is we didn't envision that we

[38:27] would conduct this study when we

[38:30] drafted the upwp months ago.

[38:33] We have been mindful of not

[38:34] spending all of the planning

[38:36] funds that we have recognizing

[38:38] that there MAY be a need for a

[38:41] stadium district planning

[38:41] effort.

[38:42] But what I would like to do is

[38:46] engage the community and better

[38:46] understand how they would like

[38:49] for us to scale and scope the

[38:50] transportation impacts around

[38:52] the stadium district itself.

[38:54] That's very easy, but given that

[38:55] a lot of the game day attendees

[38:57] will be coming from pinellas and

[38:58] pasco, there's always a concern

[39:00] that we might need to do a

[39:01] regional transportation study,

[39:04] which could escalate the costs

[39:04] considerably.

[39:06] So until I'm able to speak with

[39:08] members of tampa city council,

[39:09] hillsborough bocc, and the

[39:12] community, I think that we

[39:13] should perhaps make ourselves

[39:16] available to participate but I'd

[39:19] have to take a look at what the

[39:20] funding commitment would be.

[39:21] >> harry cohen: okay, so I think

[39:23] what I would ask of you then is

[39:25] to please go ahead and set those

[39:27] meetings up with relevant

[39:29] commissioners and

[39:29] councilmembers, any ones of us

[39:31] that wish to meet with you to

[39:34] discuss that, and in terms of

[39:36] funding, you know, once you,

[39:38] you've determined the scope of

[39:41] what you might need, the county

[39:42] commission might be in a

[39:44] position to help you, the city

[39:45] council might be in a position

[39:47] to help, but we can't, we can't

[39:49] help unless we know what is

[39:51] being asked of us.

[39:52] But I think it behooves us to

[39:54] get on this, and start working

[39:55] on it.

[39:58] And I think the best thing to do

[40:00] would be to start initiating

[40:01] individual discussions with each

[40:06] of us to get us an idea of what

[40:08] our priorities are in terms of

[40:09] what ought to be studied.

[40:10] >> agree and understand.

[40:12] I'll work on scheduling those

[40:13] meetings.

[40:14] >> harry cohen: okay, thank you.

[40:15] >> joshua wostal: okay.

[40:16] Seeing no one else, this meeting

[40:16] `is adjourned.

[40:34] Thank you.

20260909 TPO

Agenda

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