High Speed Rail: Tampa Bay Business Experts Available

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Jan 27, 2010, 02:25 ET

TAMPA BAY, Fla., Jan. 27 /PRNewswire/ --

Tampa Bay business experts available to comment on anticipated high speed rail funding announcement for Florida and what it means for business, economy and jobs in Tampa Bay and across the Central Florida region. We have a number of Tampa Bay's top business leaders who are available for comments from a number of perspectives (business, growth and development, transportation, environmental, jobs, economy, etc.)

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Understanding that having a world-class transportation system is a critical economic development issue, the business leaders of the Tampa Bay Partnership have led efforts on a local, regional, statewide and national level over the last 10 years to secure infrastructure investment to help the Tampa Bay region remain competitive. Working closely across Central Florida and the state, these leaders helped build a grassroots effort in support of Florida's High Speed Rail bid and were instrumental in securing successful legislation during a special session last December which laid the groundwork for securing Federal Stimulus dollars to build one of the first true high speed rail projects in America.

Economically, Florida is a great location for one of the first true High Speed Rail projects in America. The combined Tampa Bay-Orlando Corridor encompasses 23 counties, 8 million residents, 4.4 million workers, 338,000 business establishments with $40 billion in sales as well as attracting millions of visitors from around the world each year, all in need of a more efficient means to travel across this corridor.

About Tampa Bay Partnership:

The Tampa Bay Partnership is the regional organization that works with its partners to market the region nationally and internationally, to conduct regional research and to coordinate efforts to influence business and government issues that impact economic growth and development. Over 160 of Tampa Bay's leading companies have taken responsibility for addressing the critical issues of a vision for regional prosperity, a blueprint for economic development, a transportation strategy to support regional transit, and a broader advocacy and leadership model. Founded in 1994, the Tampa Bay Partnership provides regional economic development for the metro areas of Tampa/St. Petersburg/Clearwater, Lakeland, and Bradenton/Sarasota/Venice and the counties of Hernando, Hillsborough, Manatee, Pasco, Pinellas, Polk, and Sarasota.