Local Leaders Launch “GO Hillsborough”

Local Leaders Launch “GO Hillsborough”

Hillsborough County, Fla. – Beginning today, residents, businesses and organizations throughout Hillsborough County have multiple opportunities to actively participate in creating transportation plans in their neighborhoods and the broader community. Known as GO Hillsborough, this countywide public engagement effort is intended to understand citizens’ transportation issues, explore ideas and approaches that may bring value to them, and find consensus among the widely varied needs of the entire community. GO Hillsborough includes more than 36 workshops, with displays and stations arranged to facilitate meaningful discussions between members of the community and local government leaders and staff. In addition, engagement channels include Facebook, Twitter, an I-Neighborhood Project App and a dedicated telephone number to receive comments from the public.

“GO Hillsborough is about truly understanding our transportation needs and desires at a grassroots level, exploring what makes sense in our residents’ daily lives and then helping them make what we all know will be some important and likely tough choices,” said Sandra Murman, chair of the Hillsborough County Board of County Commissioners. “In the end, I feel confident that we will have a meaningful, supportable transportation strategy that will serve our families, our businesses and organizations, and our broad community well.”

The interactive public meetings will be split into two main phases. The first phase, Voices,includes 12 workshops, four larger meetings to provide geographic context and two telephonic town hall sessions. The Voices phase will culminate in an “Issues and Opportunities” report garnered from the discussions and input. Modeling after the initial workshops, the Choicesphase is the second round of 18 workshops and meetings that will delve further into potential transportation options. The Choices phase will strive to identify areas of consensus and commonality among communities on their preferences. Importantly, only after community needs and desires are clearly understood will strategy and funding options be recommended for the Community Transportation Plan.

The public engagement begins Feb. 17 and will run through May. The public may RSVP at GOHillsborough.org. See the full workshop schedule here. All of the workshops are from 6 – 8 p.m.

“At GO Hillsborough workshops, the focus is on listening to people, hearing their experiences and understanding their needs. I encourage everyone – no matter where they live or work – to attend,” commented Temple Terrace Mayor Frank Chillura.

Contact Liana Lopez, lopezlia@hillsboroughcounty.org or 813-272-1141. For more information on how to get involved with GO Hillsborough, visit GOHillsborough.org.

About GO Hillsborough

GO Hillsborough’s community engagement has been carefully designed to be thoughtful, collaborative and inclusive, and to achieve an overarching critical goal: to understand, explore and choose transportation options that make sense in the daily lives of Hillsborough County residents, businesses and organizations.

Over the course of the next several weeks, GO Hillsborough will present multiple opportunities to participate in creating our Community Transportation Plan. Whether through online or telephonic town hall meetings and social channels, or through more than 36 interactive workshops, including discussions with elected officials and local government and transportation agency staff, everyone can have their voices and choices heard. To learn more, visit GOHillsborough.org.

About the Policy Leadership Group

The Transportation for Economic Development Policy Leadership Group (PLG) includes all seven Hillsborough County Commissioners, the mayors of Plant City, Tampa and Temple Terrace as well as the chair of the HART board. These elected leaders have come together to study, develop, and create consensus around a comprehensive community mobility plan that ensures continued quality of life and economic well-being now and into the future. Parsons Brinckerhoff, the international engineering firm with expertise in transportation, is analyzing and validating existing data and information and conducting broad public outreach, culminating in recommended options for a Community Transportation Plan. For more information on the PLG, visitwww.hillsboroughcounty.org/TED.

About the Author
John Milsaps, a Senior Advisor at SVN Commercial Advisory Group, specializes in landlord and seller representation in Tampa's professional office and healthcare real estate sectors. His expertise in commercial office space makes him a trusted advocate for clients seeking strategic real estate solutions.

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