TAMPA -- The city of Tampa is getting $18 million from the U.S. Department of Transportation under the RAISE grant program, to pay for some infrastructure improvements along busy Florida Avenue and other nearby streets.
Florida Avenue will get an exclusive transit lane, as well as two-way bicycle traffic and wider pedestrian sidewalks.
Congresswoman Kathy Castor (D-Tampa) says the infrastructure bill is bridging the gap for local communities that haven't been able to afford things like sidewalk improvements and bus lanes. Castor says the city needs to connect neighborhoods, which she says will encourage small business and allow people to walk to destinations without getting run down on major streets in Tampa Hieghts and Seminole Heights. Eventually the plan will connect areas from Ybor City to West Tampa with "complete streets."
Hillsborough County commission chair Kimberly Overman says local authorities have been working on plans to make use of the grant money.
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