Word is, CSX Corporation, owner of many freight rail corridors across Florida, will consider allowing some existing lines to be shared with passenger rail service. The FDOT has agreed to fund a 2017 study to explore whether and how this could work. The two CSX lines with the most potential for sharing run from Tampa to Brooksville and to Clearwater.

One of the greatest challenge to increasing bus ridership, especially when appealing to those who have other travel choices, is to make riding the bus faster than driving a car. Most of the frustration when commuting happens when sitting at a traffic light. If a bus is stuck there with the rest of traffic, then there is no advantage to take transit. But what if the bus could minimize or avoid such delays?

Not until that invitation arrives to come celebrate the holidays at home, can the travel plans begin. Jumping into a car, on a plane, bus, or train without having a destination would be senseless. That's how a bigger and better Hillsborough County transit system would be without having a Westshore Multimodal Center as a destination.

Now, after months of uncertainty, a site may be emerging. If constructed, the center could be used as a hub for an extension of the Tampa International Airport people-mover, a depot for HART local and express buses, and a station for future rail and/or bus rapid transit connecting to Pinellas and Pasco counties. It could also serve as the terminus for a modern streetcar or other premium transit line from downtown Tampa.

In 2012, the MPO worked with FDOT, Tampa Bay Area Regional Transportation Authority (TBARTA), the City of Tampa, and the Westshore Alliance to determine four possible locations for the Center. Further study determined that the site with the most potential to accommodate future transit and connect to the airport and Howard Frankland was the site of Charley's Steakhouse and the Doubletree Hotel on Cypress Street. FDOT began moving forward with purchasing the site but negotiations ended when the landowner doubled the asking price.

But there's good news! There are now new owners who have auctioned the property. FDOT submitted a bid to secure the location for the Westshore Multimodal Center... and renewed hope that future transit will have a place to land in Westshore.

What's more 'green' than riding a bicycle? Riding one on a solar bike trail. Innovator Sten de Wit from the Netherlands asked himself, "Wouldn't it be nice if our roads act like solar panels? And if we could drive our vehicles with the solar power generated?"

The idea became a reality in November 2014 when SolaRoad was piloted on a 300 foot section of trail in Krommenie, Holland. The road surface absorbs sunlight and converts it into electricity. The generated electricity can be used for street lighting, traffic systems, households, and electric vehicles.

For three years the project will be tested to see how the solar cells hold up, how much energy is produced, and what it's like to cycle over. So far, it seems to be working. The bike trail was tested six months after opening and the energy produced exceeded expectations. In that short amount of time, over 3,000 kWh were generated, which can provide a single-person household electricity for a year or power an electric scooter to drive 2.5 times around the world!