Column: The people of Tampa Bay deserve regional connectivity

THEA Executive Director/CEO Greg Slater explains why regional connectivity is critical for creating thriving communities in a recent opinion piece in the Tampa Bay Business Journal. As Tampa Bay’s population swells, cross-county commutes are rising, reinforcing the need for an interconnected infrastructure. In the article, Slater emphasizes that merging the Hillsborough, Pinellas, and Pasco transportation planning organizations into a single regional Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) will offer collective benefits, including an equitable voice for each area and more significant overall gains. 

He draws on his 25 years of transportation experience to highlight the advantages of regional collaboration, stating that “a regional MPO would facilitate seamless travel, support economic growth, and improve quality of life by prioritizing collective transportation solutions that benefit all counties.”

For the full article, visit this link HERE.