City of Tampa ATCMTD Initiative: Transportation Connectivity and Accessibility for All - Volume 1: Technical Application

Message From The Mayor

Welcome to Tampa! Tampa is the third-largest city in the state of Florida and the metropolitan heartbeat of Tampa Bay, a region of more than 3 million people. Tampa is a city of resilience – a city built by the determination of immigrants from Cuba, Italy, Spain, South and Central America, Scotland, and others. Thousands came to Tampa in search of prosperity, safety, and equal opportunity, but what the early architects of this great city brought to Tampa was just as valuable as what they sought. They brought a vision and a motivation that laid the groundwork for a better tomorrow, a vision we are still building on today.

Our journey from a small port town to the 55th largest city in the United States has been one of perseverance and vision. It's that vision that led us out of the Great Recession. While there was no blueprint for our recovery, we emerged stronger. Today, we stand united as a vibrant city rich in diversity and culture. Diversity is a prerequisite for creativity and innovation, and by extension, economic competitiveness. We have never been more competitive for business, for intellectual capital, or for trade as we are today. We are home to championship-winning sports teams, a collection of museums and cultural assets, and world-class educational institutions.

We are building neighborhoods that provide true live-work-play environments, and a city that fosters public safety, healthy living, and the highest quality of life. In downtown Tampa, we completed the Riverwalk, a project championed by six mayors and pushed through 40 years until its completion in 2015. This waterside walkway features Tampa's most valuable natural asset, the Hillsborough River, and connects our downtown in an innovative way. In the Channel District, our port is exporting more goods than ever before and connects us with international markets. In West Tampa, we are re-imagining neighborhoods that are safer, provide travel choices, and give residents more opportunities to raise their families. In 2016, Tampa became the first city in the world to introduce a WELL Certified district – an area with a modern focus on health and wellness, walkability, clean air, and sustainable development.

We need mobility options offered through a safe, efficient and modern transportation system to fully realize a return on the significant investments we've made in our city. Therefore, we are pleased to respond to the Advanced Transportation and Congestion Management Technologies Deployment Initiative Notice of Funding Opportunity. We are a city on fire, a city with swagger, a city re-imagined. We are excited to offer our city as a laboratory to test new transportation technologies and foster reproducibility of successful application and knowledge transfer to other regions experiencing similar mobility challenges. Now it's time to leverage our existing transportation investments and strengthen them with new, innovative technologies to realize a smarter transportation system.

Thank you for your consideration.