Evacuating on Florida’s Turnpike
The Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) hosted a meeting of the three Multiuse Corridors of Regional Economic Significance (M-CORES) Task Force on Tuesday at the Tampa Convention Center, marking the start of the program’s study phase.
To translate, the M-CORES Task Forces’ job is to study the potential for transportation and other infrastructure projects in these three Florida corridors:
- Suncoast Connector, extending from Citrus County to Jefferson County;
- Northern Turnpike Connector, from the northern terminus of Florida’s Turnpike northwest to the Suncoast Parkway;
- Southwest-Central Florida Connector, from Collier County to Polk County.
The study areas do not identify specific routes.
FDOT Secretary Kevin J. ThibaultFDOT Secretary Kevin J. Thibault, P.E., welcomed attendees, Task Force members and dignitaries, including Senate President Bill Galvano, in a morning plenary session followed by individual task force meetings in the afternoon. Members of the public had multiple opportunities to provide input at the meeting. Comments were submitted in writing and verbally to on-site court reporters, digitally on laptops during a scheduled public comment period.
“The magnitude of the development of these corridors will require public involvement, an enormous partnership with the industry and an ‘all-hands-on-deck’ approach,” Secretary Thibault said in an FDOT press statement. “I would call today a great success.”
The M-CORES program is intended to revitalize rural communities, encourage job creation and provide regional connectivity while leveraging technology and enhancing quality of life and public safety. It is also intended to protect the environment and natural resources.
Task Force members include representatives from state agencies, local water management districts, local governments, metropolitan planning organizations,
regional planning councils, environmental groups and the community at large. Each Task Force is required to issue its evaluations in a final report by Oct. 1, 2020.
Additional opportunities for input and comment will be provided at all future Task Force meetings and at community open house meetings throughout the three-study areas, according to FDOT. Comments may also be sent by mail to Ann Howard, 605 Suwannee Street, Tallahassee, FL 32399; by email to FDOT.Listens@dot.state.fl.us; or
via the comment form on the M-CORES website.
For more information on M-CORES, click here.
