planhillsborough.org                                                                               issue 10 | may 18
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Planning Commission  
Hillsborough MPO
Hillsborough River Board 
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working together with you
 
Plan Hillsborough digs into a Hillsborough 100 project

On May 4, Plan Hillsborough staff spent the morning volunteering with Tampa Bay Watch building oyster shell bars. Part of Tampa Bay Watch's Community Oyster Reef Enhancement (CORE) program, the Oyster Shell Bar program creates oyster reefs similar to natural oyster communities found along shoreline areas throughout Tampa Bay. Restoring and increasing oyster growth provides multiple ecological benefits to several trust resources as well as threatened and endangered species.

Staff's volunteer efforts were a part of the Hillsborough 100 Conservation Challenge, a showcase of conservation projects throughout Hillsborough County. The Challenge, initiated by the Hillsborough Soil & Water Conservation District, ran from April 21 - May 6, 2018, encompassing Earth Day and National Stewardship Week. We are looking forward to taking next year's Challenge! 

More photos from our day working on the bay
It_s TIME Tampa Bay
It's TIME to talk Transportation, Innovation, Mobility for Everyone

The Hillsborough, Pinellas, and Pasco Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs) are in the process of updating the Long Range Transportation Plans. The 2045 Plans will establish a strategy for accommodating population and employment growth across our region and a plan to fund the transportation network to connect it all. The MPOs are listening and need your input! Here's how you (and your organization) can help create a vision for the plan: 

Participate in an important stakeholder meeting. Please join us Thursday, May 17 from 10:00 am - noon at the Tampa Bay Regional Planning Council, 4000 Gateway Centre Blvd #100, Pinellas Park, FL 33782, to begin the transportation conversation. Space is limited, so please RSVP to Johnny Wong by May 11. 

Take an online survey this summer. From mid-July through September 30, we want you to take five minutes to  tell us how you would design the future if you were Mayor of our region! More information's coming soon to itstimetampabay.com

Help us spread the word. Share the survey with your friends, neighbors, and associates! We'd be delighted to come to your organization, group, board, team, club, or association to make a presentation. Simply fill out   this brief form with the best contact information, so we can get you on our calendar. Thank you!
#VisionZERO813 hits 56th and 15th Streets

Our 56th St Vision Zero Corridor event in April was a huge success! Dozens of King High School students, elected officials, and other community members came out to raise awareness along the corridor. As part of the event, volunteers wearing (FREE!) green shirts waved signs along the corridor to raise awareness with messages like "Don't Be Next!" and "Phones Down!" It was a fun and eye-opening experience for all who were involved. A huge thank you to King High School and the Hillsborough County School District, the City of Temple Terrace, FDOT, CUTR at USF, and the Council on American-Islamic Relations for their support of the 56th St event!

Up next: Sunday, May 20 from 1 - 4pm, 15th St between 122nd Ave & 127th Ave | The Hillsborough MPO, Vision Zero Coalition, and University Area CDC invite you to participate in an interactive, safety awareness-raising event. Activities include: pop-up chalk crosswalks, pop-up sidewalks, creating an intersection mural, a FREE bike light installation station, and arts and crafts for kids. Plus, there are more FREE bright green Vision Zero shirts for the first 100 volunteers!  
 
More info and sign up to volunteer 
 
land use &
comprehensive planning 
tpc
 
Join us for our May 11 Info BBQ!

Please join the Planning Commission for our next Info BBQ in the Plan Hillsborough Room on the 18th floor of County Center on Friday, May 11 at noon. Community engagement is a vital component of any planning project. This interactive session focuses on key principles that lead to successful online community engagement. Topics include: Global trends in online engagement; the role of social media for planning in today's world; target setting and measurement; how to choose the right tool for different stages in the planning process; dealing with outrage and trolling; and creating a holistic engagement strategy for your project that merges online engagement with traditional in-person approaches.

No need to bring your bag lunch to this FREE event. Thank you to Bang the Table for graciously providing lunch for all participants! A demonstration of Bang the Table's online community engagement tools will follow the presentation for those interested.

Click here to RSVP by noon on May 10!
Open House on May 23 for the Alexander St Extension Study

Completed in 2014, the Alexander Street "extension" located within the northeastern quadrant of Plant City connects the existing roadway terminus at Interstate-4 and traverses north to Paul Buchman Highway. Properties along this two-mile new roadway are being studied in relation to the Northeast Plant City Area Master Plan and the Imagine 2040: Plant City Comprehensive Plan. This study is looking to ascertain if the assumptions in these plans are still valid and the best use of the adjacent land in relation to this new roadway facility and the population projections for Plant City.

Staff is excited to bring this work to the residents and business owners of Plant City the afternoon of May 23 with a public open house at Plant City City Hall from 3:00 to 7:00 pm. To learn more about the study, the upcoming open house or review the completed marketing analysis please visit the project website.


 
transportation connections 
& planning
mpo
 
MPO Board to focus on 2045 Plan in 2018/19

On May 1, t he Hillsborough MPO Board approved the Unified Planning Work Program (UPWP)  for the next two fiscal years FY19 and FY20 . During this time,  the MPO will be conducting an update of the Long Range Transportation Plan through the year 2045 and continuing to develop the five year Transportation Improvement Program (TIP).  Along with these required  activit i es, the MPO also has included several  major projects request ed  by our local  juris d ictions  and communities.

Read more
Weigh in on our Public Participation Plan

We're updating our Public Participation Plan (PPP) and would love to hear your ideas on how to get even more people involved in transportation planning for our community! Send comments and questions to Johnny Wong no later than noon on June 12 before the MPO Board meeting that evening.

Learn more and view the proposed PPP
Improving community health one
#GardenStep at a time

Hot off the very successful Garden Steps Grow Community Gardens - Tampa Bay event, the Hillsborough MPO, City of Tampa, and Coalition of Community Gardens continue to team up with our other partners to promote our Garden Steps project in the Healthiest Cities and Counties Challenge. We're working together to make it easier for all people in our community to make better choices and improve access to healthy foods.

On April 19, Garden Steps presented From our Garden... To your Plate - a veggie cooking and tasting session - to the Senior Connection Center's Living Healthy in your Community program at the Williams Park Community Center. The seniors loved the cooking demonstration, raffle prizes, and the new perspective they gained on healthy and delicious food preparation.

On April 22, Garden Steps celebrated Earth Day with a wonderful family crowd at an Open Garden event at the Tampa Heights Community Garden that included free transit on HART all day long!

Our next Garden Steps From our Garden... To your Plate cooking demonstration is coming up on May 31 at 12:30 pm at the Lee Davis Neighborhood Service Center at 3402 N 22nd Street in Tampa. You are welcome to join the Senior Connection Center's Living Healthy in your Community program for some healthy lunchtime fun and learning!
Planning for a big region

Join leaders from around the Tampa Bay region at a workshop to discuss how transportation planning is conducted in West Central Florida.
Hear what a national researcher has learned about other regions around the country, and how they approach regional transportation planning and priority-setting. Weigh in on what you think are the best ideas, in a collaborative group discussion at the:

Regional Transportation Leadership Workshop #2
Friday, June 1, 10:00 am - 4:00 pm at the
EpiCenter at St. Petersburg College | 13805 58th Street North, Clearwater
Register by May 18! Lunch will be available for a fee of $10 cash on-site. 

More info on our region's study of regional transportation planning


 
hillsborough river planning
hrb
 
Flume to divert spring water to the base of the dam
Minimum flow gets reevaluated

As the City of Tampa grew ,  and more and more water  was  withdrawn from the middle river above the City of Tampa Dam, the lower river ' s fresh water flow was reduced. This choked the lower river, robbing it of its necessary freshwater estuarine nature to the detriment of fish and wildlife.  River advocates, including the River Board and Friends of the River, began a campaign to revive the health of the lower river  by bringing back its freshwater flows.

Read more 


 
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in the news


 
 


what is plan hillsborough?

Plan Hillsborough provides value-added planning services through a diverse team of professionals working towards a thriving future for Tampa, Temple Terrace, Plant City, and Hillsborough County, and provides staff to the:

Promotes, coordinates, collaborates with, and facilitates the involvement of all people in comprehensive planning and visioning to improve economic development opportunities and quality of life in our community
A long-range transportation policy-making board made up of local government and transportation agency representatives planning for more than $1.5 billion
in state and federally funded multi-modal transportation investments in the first 5 years of each 20+ year plan
Responsible for promoting collaborative planning, regulation, and development along the river corridor while ensuring the environmental health of the river running through Hillsborough County and the cities of Tampa and Temple Terrace



In accordance with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and other
nondiscrimination laws, public participation is solicited without regard
to race, color, national origin, age, sex, religion, disability or family status. 
Read more about our commitment to non-discrimination and other requirements.

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