ST. PETE BEACH — Defiant commissioners rejected a proposed bus project through their city during an emergency meeting Thursday morning, with one official complaining of a “mafia move” by St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Kriseman.
The five-person St. Pete Beach City Commission approved a resolution saying that a bus rapid transit line from downtown St. Petersburg to the beaches could come into their city, but just barely. They wanted the line to extend no farther than the intersection of 75th Avenue and Gulf Boulevard.
The action came one day after Kriseman sent a letter to St. Pete Beach Mayor Alan Johnson asking that the neighboring beach town “not take any action that could potentially jeopardize the whole project.”
The project, a first for the Tampa Bay area, was floated more than a decade ago and gained traction in 2015. County officials have called it one of the most important transportation initiatives in the region.
It has also gone through various modifications as planners have sought to address some major concerns by officials and residents in St. Pete Beach. Most recently, the Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority said it would use standard 40-foot buses instead of 60-foot buses, and would end the route at 45th Avenue and Gulf Boulevard instead of extending it to The Don Cesar hotel.
But Kriseman ended his two-page letter by saying the St. Petersburg City Council would discuss bringing back the extra-long buses and running the route to The Don Cesar “should St. Pete Beach take action indicating its unwillingness to be a partner in this endeavor.”
Those words angered at least one St. Pete Beach commissioner and drew strong responses from others during Thursday’s meeting.
“This kind of letter represents arrogance posing as virtue,” commissioner Terri Finnerty said. “Mayor Kriseman, please take care of your own city and we’ll take care of our own.”
Commissioner Melinda Pletcher also criticized members of the transit agency board for how they have characterized St. Pete Beach commissioners.
“You throw out words like ‘bigotry’ and you throw out words like ‘unconscionable,’ and then you get into what I would consider mafia move threats just to elicit fear in our city over what?” Pletcher said. “They’re messing with our community, and it’s not right.”
PREVIOUS COVERAGE
Lost lanes, ‘monster buses’ and more: fact-checking St. Pete’s rapid bus project
Whether St. Pete Beach likes it or not, rapid buses are likely heading its way
St. Pete’s new bus line forces a choice: bike lanes or parking?
Residents had repeatedly filled commission chambers asking the elected officials to say no to the project. About two dozen people showed up at City Hall Thursday morning to applaud the commission for its decision.
“I am so proud of every single one of you here,” Gulf Boulevard resident Jill LaFond told commissioners. “Thank you for listening to us.”
The debate is not over. The St. Petersburg City Council is scheduled to discuss its proposed $4 million investment in the project during a 3 p.m. meeting today.
The $44 million project proposes to give buses their own lane along First avenues N and S in St. Petersburg and on part of a 2-mile stretch of Pasadena Avenue S. Cars could use these lanes only to make a turn into a business, driveway or side street. That would leave two regular traffic lanes in each direction.
Once the buses leave South Pasadena near the Corey Causeway, they would run in mixed traffic.
Project organizers had previously wanted the buses to run down Gulf Boulevard to The Don Cesar. But now commissioners say they don’t want the route extending anywhere south of 75th Avenue. This means the bus route would jut into St. Pete Beach for about a third of a mile instead of close to 4 miles.
St. Pete Beach isn’t saying no to the project, commissioner Ward Friszolowski said. “But we want it to where its acceptable to us.”
RELATED: St. Pete Beach: PSTA mislead feds about bus rapid transit project
The bus authority also removed any mention of St. Pete Beach providing money for the project from state and federal documents. Commissioners and residents were outraged when they learned the authority had listed a $1.5 million contribution from the city as a possible local funding source, despite the fact that St. Pete Beach has expressed issues with the project since at least 2016.
“I think we’ve made it clear about the funding, we’ve made it clear about the size of the buses,” Friszolowski said. “It’s more about where the terminus is and how we connect to that.”
Contact Caitlin Johnston at [email protected] or (727) 893-8779. Follow @cljohnst.