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Pasco MPO adopts Advantage 19 Phase One plan, authorizes Phase Two service work
Summary
The Pasco MPO board approved the Advantage 19 Phase One corridor study, endorsing station-area land‑use recommendations and authorizing Phase Two to develop a service plan, costs and implementation steps for an express transit route along US 19.
The Pasco Metropolitan Planning Organization on a voice vote approved Advantage 19 Phase One, a corridor study that identifies potential express-transit stations and a transit‑oriented development framework for US 19.
Forward Penelis planners Kyle Simpson and Nicole Galasso told the board Phase One narrows an earlier list of candidate station sites to roughly seven to 12 locations and focuses on land use and market conditions around station areas. The study recommends roughly 3–5 miles between express stations to keep travel times competitive with driving and identifies about 11 stations along the 35‑mile corridor; Pasco County locations include the State Road 52 intersection, Fox Hollow, Main Street/New Port Richey and Moog Road, the presenters said. “Phase One is about setting up a high‑level framework so local governments can implement transit‑supportive zoning and design,” Galasso said.
The report pairs station typologies with development tools — zoning updates, development agreements and incentive strategies — and includes a market analysis showing demand concentrated in multifamily and office uses. Planners estimated the study’s envisioned redevelopment could generate millions in added local tax revenue over time; the presentation described a roughly $4 million potential bump to local tax receipts under an illustrative redevelopment test fit.
Board members asked detailed questions about station siting and first‑/last‑mile connections, including whether a stop should be added at the Port Richey waterfront as new housing and a $150 million mixed‑use project proceed. Kyle Simpson and county staff said local bus realignments and transfer stations are expected to serve waterfront development, while the express service would stop less frequently to preserve fast travel times. The board also discussed pedestrian crossings and potential underpass/overpass options to improve safe access across US 19.
With the vote, the MPO authorized staff to take the plan to advisory committees and to start Phase Two, which planners said would develop a service plan, operating and capital cost estimates and implementation steps in coordination with Go Pasco and PSTA. Planners expect to begin Phase Two in July if authorized and to return to the MPO with more detailed recommendations about station designs, service patterns and funding pathways.
