Friday, April 22, 2005

TROLLEY TASTE OF SOHO WAS FUN, BUT ONLY A TASTE

The approximately 500 participants in the fundraising event for the Moffit Center had a great time. The restaurants provided a great sampling of some of SOHO's unique locations, BUT it was the taste of Hartline's Trolley Car system than really was the talk of the neighborhood.

Will it ever come to SOHO ? What will it take to happen ? Will it get used if it does ?

It is sad to see the existing route to Old Hyde Park Village operate with virtually no riders on most trips. If it went further, just a few blocks, to Howard Avenue, would it get used ? Would if be profitable or even come close ? Would you use it ? Thinking about walking a short distance and being taken to Channelside or Ybor is pretty attractive, but would it be used ?

What do you think ? We would welcome your comments - click below to add yours.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Bill,

Thanks for a great Taste of the Trolley review on your website. By the way - the Hyde Park trolley is doing very well. It started Dec 6 and has doubled each month since then. March ridership was 5,403 and I expect it to grow.

Anonymous said...

The trolley must connect to Howard Ave. People downtown need a way to get to SoHo and vice versa. Going to Hyde Park Village is great, but Howard is where the restaurants and nightlife are. Would be great if it ran late night too.

Anonymous said...

I am writing my thesis on the urban environment in Tampa. I have envisioned a trolley on rails going up and down Howard avenue. It would be fantastic!
Perhaps we should change SoHo to SoTa (South of Tampa) or more preciesely EoTa (East of Tampa) We all know that SoHo is a New York phenomena...perhaps Tampa should aquire their own name to reflect the character better?
Its good for business if downtown workers could enjoy culinary experiences catching the trolley after work to Howard.Presently, the trolley serves tourists and business people in Downtown if even that.
Trolley must be related to non cosumer destinations as well like Ballast Point (originally a trolley destination)....

Best