Clearwater to update monorail projections

City officials will spend $90,000 on a new study of ridership figures and financing options for a beach-to-downtown rail system.

By JENNIFER FARRELL, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times
published April 19, 2003

CLEARWATER -- Eighteen months ago, city commissioners suffered sticker shock when a consultant stamped a $39-million price tag on the proposed monorail between downtown and the beach.

On Thursday, they approved spending $90,000 on another consultant to again study the monorail. This time, the focus will be on updating ridership numbers and fleshing out financing options.

City officials said the results will help determine whether the idea is feasible or just a pipe dream.

"I don't want to waste a lot of money," said City Manager Bill Horne. "Especially if, at the end of the day, this thing may not happen."

The first study, funded by a $150,000 state grant, found $1 per-trip fares could generate enough revenues to pay for the project by 2016. That report, by Wade-Trim of Tampa and Jakes Associates of San Jose, Calif., estimated the system could draw as many as 3.6-million riders annually.

Horne said the new study, by Tampa consultant Grimail Crawford Inc., will put Clearwater in line for federal transportation funds, which are doled out every six years.

"If we don't keep our feasibility study information current, then we may not be able to take advantage," he said. "I don't want us to lose that opportunity."

At the moment, Pinellas County is studying whether to pursue a light rail system, and the Metropolitan Planning Organization has designated the Clearwater route from downtown to the beach as one of three areas that could model technology that would ultimately be used countywide.

City officials say they want to be prepared in case the county decides to move forward.

The first study projected ridership, but those numbers need to be current, officials say.

As time passes, ridership numbers get stale, said Mahshid Arasteh, city public works administrator. The new study, she said, will refine the projections and outline cost estimates for design, construction and location alternatives. It will also target ways to attract private investors, she said.

"We will have some tangible results," she said. "This is a make-it or break-it step."

City Commissioner Whitney Gray, who initially blanched at the $39-million cost estimate, said she remains optimistic that a monorail could eventually ease traffic and parking headaches on the beach.

According to the first study, a monorail spanning Clearwater Harbor could eliminate as many as 1.8-million vehicular trips to and from the beach each year. Each monorail train might carry up to 108 passengers and a typical ride could last just more than five minutes.

"You have to start thinking creatively to do something to address this," said Gray. "If we can keep marching forward with our plan, that just puts us in so much a better position for the opportunities when they arrive."

In other business Thursday, commissioners voted unanimously to appoint Hoyt Hamilton to a one-year term as vice mayor. Hamilton will replace Whitney Gray, who served for the past year.

-- Jennifer Farrell can be reached at (727) 445-4160 or mailto:<a%20href= ">farrell@sptimes.com .

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