The City of Tampa and its community members have expressed interest in providing welcoming conditions for walking, bicycling, and transit. Meanwhile, changes to Florida Statute require the City of Tampa to implement proportionate a “fair share” ordinance, clearly demonstrating the financial feasibility of it’s Capital Improvement Element (CIE) and update its Transportation Concurrency Exception Areas (TCEAs) to plan for future mobility.
As the City of Tampa reviews its level of service (LOS) standards to update its Comprehensive Plan, it is recommended that adopted standards support the City’s vision. Current transportation LOS standards are based on roadway capacity. However, with the escalating cost of roadway construction in urbanized areas, is it realistic to assume that transportation needs can be met by widening roads alone? More importantly, does this standard place value on the characteristics that the City’s members have identified for their community?
If the City of Tampa were to reshape its LOS standards, what guidance exists for measuring an adequate multimodal level-of-service for transit, walking, and bicycling infrastructure?