The Hillsborough County Transportation Planning Organization on Dec. 10 accepted a Brightline station‑area study that lays out connectivity improvements and multimodal access priorities should a Brightline station come to Tampa. The board’s voice vote recorded no nays.

The study, presented by TPO staff Sarah Capers and HDR consultant Stephanie McQueen, analyzed travel patterns, stakeholder input and a May survey that drew nearly 12,000 self‑selecting responses. It focused on station‑area access at three scales — the immediate site, a quarter‑mile and a one‑mile radius — and a 45‑minute regional drive shed to identify how people would reach a station and what infrastructure would be needed to connect it with downtown, the airport and regional transit hubs.

TPO staff emphasized the study was an early, nonbinding planning document designed to help partners prepare for station access, not to set a station location or fund construction. McQueen noted the study did not develop cost estimates; staff said cost analysis could be a follow‑up step if the board wants to advance recommendations. Board members asked for more detail on the geographic distribution of survey respondents and for follow‑up analyses on site feasibility and funding implications.

Board members and committees that reviewed the study highlighted priorities including improved wayfinding and transfers between Brightline, local buses and the streetcar; curbside management and safe pedestrian crossings; and bicycle connections to an existing green‑spine cycle track. Members also discussed ensuring a plan to move people from a future station to West Shore, the airport and other job centers to avoid a terminal that lacks onward connections.

Questions at the meeting addressed the survey’s representativeness (staff said many responses came from the Tampa Bay region but also from outside the county), whether Ybor City is an appropriate site for a major multimodal center, and how to integrate HEART bus service and other regional connections. The motion to accept the report was made by Mr. Klug and seconded by Commissioner Wostel; staff clarified that accepting the report does not approve a station location nor commit funding.