The myregion.org philosophy of “building regional partnerships” was perfectly suited as the theme for the “Regional Transportation Summit” hosted by the Lake-Sumter Metropolitan Planning Organization on October 25, 2005.

More than 100 transportation planners and policymakers from throughout Central Florida turned out to gain a better understanding of the transportation issues facing Lake and Sumter Counties and how these issues relate to those being faced by other counties in Central Florida.

“We must have regional connectivity and regional cooperation,” said T.J. Fish, who earlier this year became the first-ever full-time Executive Director of the Lake-Sumter MPO, which was created following the 2000 census. “The Lake-Sumter MPO was created to get all municipalities together at one table to prioritize and work together.”

The program included overviews from many agencies with which the Lake-Sumter MPO coordinates, including the Central Florida MPO Alliance, the Florida Turnpike Enterprise, the Orlando-Orange County Expressway Authority and LYNX.

George Gilhooley, the District 5 Secretary for the Florida Department of Transportation recognized TRIP (Transportation Regional Incentive Program), which was created as part of the State Bill 360 Growth Management Legislation in the 2005 state legislature, as an important tool for regions throughout Florida. He also said that transportation needs are greater than current allocated revenues.

“We have lots of transportation needs and we must figure out ways to get them done,” Gilhooley said. “In District 5, we have $2.2 billion in un-funded highway needs through 2010, with $300 million in Lake-Sumter alone. We must prioritize projects to meet funding limitations.”

The keynote speaker for the event was Bob Romig, Director of the Office of Policy Planning for the Florida Department of Transportation. Romig spoke on the importance of thinking regionally when making transportation plans. He emphasized that in Central Florida 22.91% of all citizens work and live in different counties. That figure is significantly higher in Osceola (50.66%), Seminole (48.67%) and Lake (36.36%) Counties.

To emphasize the regional collaboration theme, one highlight of the event was the announcement of the Tri-County Transit Initiative between Lake, Marion and Sumter Counties. This three-county initiative is designed to expand transit services in all three counties.

“Regional transportation planning isn’t just about highways – it’s also about transit service, bikeways and trails,” said Harry Barley, Executive Director of Metroplan Orlando.  “We got transit service started a few years ago between Orlando and Volusia County and we plan to start service between Orlando and Lake County on two routes next year.  The new transit service initiative involving Lake, Sumter and Marion Counties is another step in the right direction for connecting our communities.  My congratulations to the Lake-Sumter MPO and the Ocala/Marion County TPO on this agreement.”

For more information on the presentations given during the summit, please visit the Lake-Sumter MPO web site at http://www.lakesumtermpo.com.