PSTA Hosts Central Avenue BRT "Open House" at S Pasadena

The Eye headed to S Pasadena on Wednesday, September 11th, where PSTA hosted an Open House for their proposed $45.6 million Central Avenue Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) project.

We captured a few interviews from St Pete Beach Mayor Al Johnson, a S Pasadena business owner whose business is being impacted by this project and a S Pasadena resident.

Watch the interviews after the break - there is some background noise.

Opposition Grows Against Bus Rapid Transit Project as Its Cost Increases to $44 million

Pinellas County Transit Agency PSTA seeks over $21 million from the Federal Transit Administration and additional funds from the Florida Department of Transportation for a Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) project. 

But opposition is growing against the BRT project. Two (S Pasadena and St Pete Beach) of the three municipalities along the BRT route formally oppose the project as opposition grows in the city of St. Petersburg.

PSTA's BRT On Life Support As Kriseman Sends "Mafia Move" Letter to St Pete Beach

The wheels are going flat on PSTA's proposed Central Avenue BRT (CA BRT) bus service. The CA BRT is a $42 million new bus service PSTA wants to run from St. Petersburg thru S. Pasadena to the Don Cesar on St. Pete Beach.

But PSTA, whether it was intentional or incompetence or a combination of both, did a lousy job of informing the public, the communities impacted and engaging their stakeholders.

So now the wheels going flat are about to come off this unneeded BRT that duplicates existing bus services, removes a lane of vehicle traffic and parking on 1st Ave N and 1st Ave S, and removes a lane of vehicle traffic on Pasadena Avenue, including right before the Corey Causeway draw bridge.