Light rail ranks as top choice in Tampa Bay premium transit study

Since the demise of the Go Hillsborough initiative last year, transit officials and Tampa Bay-area lawmakers have pinned their hopes on a transportation study overseen by the Hillsborough Area Regional Transit Authority (HART). On Friday, organizers behind the study — which was paid for by the Florida Department of Transportation — released their top five recommended projects. The number one ranked option is a light-rail system from Wesley Chapel to the University of South Florida Tampa campus and on to St. Petersburg.