What goes around … .
Shortly after taking office in 2011, the Tea Party-backed Gov. Rick Scott turned down $2.4 billion in federal funding for high-speed rail connecting Orlando and Tampa. Too risky, he said. The Sunshine State would still be on the “hook.” More to the point, no way was he accepting anything, however progressively beneficial and necessary, from the “socialist” administration of Barack Obama.
Fast forward to now. The state will be considering private bids to build a high-speed rail link between Orlando and Tampa. Brightline, the railroad line that connects Miami and West Palm Beach, has already put in a high-profile bid to build track along I-4 to connect Orlando and Tampa.
What’s changed–besides Scott needing to broaden his appeal for his Senate run?
The biggest change is that instead of the Orlando-Tampa megalopolis being already connected–with plans likely in place to push high-speed rail to Atlanta–this area fell farther behind the competition and quality-of-life improvements that meaningful mass transit promised. And modern mass transit, as we all know and most of us acknowledge, has long been the missing link in Tampa’s efforts to realize its smart-growth potential.
But now, eight years later, Scott would have us believe that he held out for better timing and a private-sector savior.
Here’s the reality, lest we forget, courtesy of the Florida DOT. Late in Scott’s first Tea Partying year, the DOT sent a post-facto report to the Federal Railroad Administration with revealing projections on Tampa-to-Orlando ridership and operational costs. The numbers, which were based on findings of two consulting firms–hired by the state of Florida–projected an annual ridership of 5 million and a surplus of $30-million to $45 million within a decade of start-up. The DOT also estimated 3 million passengers and a $4.3 million surplus in the initial year (2016) of operation.
And while we’re trafficking in railroading reminders, let’s not forget that the bidding consortiums back then–all the major global players–were never even given the opportunity to present their building plans. Instead, the “on the hook” mantra and a specious comparison with California trumped everything–including bottom-line input from those who would actually build the line along a shovel-ready corridor.
And speaking of input, the bid winner would have realized a major global marketing coup: It would have been heralded as the one that built America’s first dedicated high-speed rail line. Any chance that winner would have agreed to make up any deficits and overruns to get the contract?
Some things you don’t–and shouldn’t–forget.
Scott will soon be gone from Tallahassee. But the incalculable damage done–from short-term jobs to the long-term development and redevelopment of the Tampa-Orlando axis of synergy has lingered on as part of his con-jobs legacy.