The Curtis Project in Florida was a partnership between five ULI District Councils that advocated for better integration of land use and transportation planning through outreach at both the state and metropolitan levels. This included producing reports, briefings, and programs to educate over 1,000 individuals. As a result of these efforts, several major transit projects moved forward including Sunrail in Central Florida and plans for expanded transit in Tampa Bay, Jacksonville, and Southeast Florida. The partnership also aimed to continue advocacy at both the state and regional levels.

1. The Curtis Project in Florida
Connecting Florida
 Partnership led by ULI SE FL/Caribbean that
included all five District Councils in Florida.
 Committed to the integration of land use and
transportation, including increased transit
connectivity.
 Advocacy and outreach effort.
 State and metropolitan levels.
 Outreach tools: major report, briefing paper,
legislative mailings, web presence, programs co-
sponsored with transportation agencies, and informal
speaker’s bureau.

2. The Curtis Project in Florida
Partnerships
 District Councils: ULI Southeast
FL/Caribbean, ULI Central FL, ULI Tampa
Bay, ULI Southwest FL, and ULI North FL.
 State-level outreach: legislature and key
agencies.
 Metro-level outreach: metropolitan planning
organizations, regional planning
commissions, regional transportation
authorities, local transit providers, and local
governments.

3. The Curtis Project in Florida
Outcomes and Results
 State Level: educational outreach to legislators and officials timed for maximum impact.
 Special session of the state legislature on commuter rail (December 2009).
 New session of state legislature after contentious elections, including on transit
(March 2011).
 Metropolitan Level
 Programs in each metropolitan region touching 1000+ individuals.
 Go-to Resource on Transportation, Land Use, and Economic Development
 Speakers, briefings and materials available at the request of state and metropolitan
officials and interest groups.
 New Partnerships
 Regional transportation and economic development organizations representing
both the public and private sectors.

4. The Curtis Project in Florida
Sunrail – Central Florida
 61 miles
 Phase I – DeBary to Sand Lake Rd.
 Construction 2011
 Operational 2013
 Phase II – Sand Lake Rd. to Poinciana (south) and DeBary to
Deland (north)
 Construction 2012
 Operational 2014

5. The Curtis Project in Florida
TBARTA – Tampa Bay Area
–Regional Plans call for new rail and
bus transit, express bus, and special
lanes for buses and carpools.
–Systems designed to link key employment
and population centers throughout the
Region - downtowns, suburban centers, and
key educational and cultural destinations.

6. The Curtis Project in Florida
Jacksonville
• Feasibility Study – July 2009
• Examined 7 service corridors
• Identified 3 preferred service
corridors identified
• Long Range Plans

7. The Curtis Project in Florida
Southeast Florida - Miami Dade, Broward
and Palm Beach Counties
 Operates on shared track with freight trains
 Four services integrated with Tri-Rail
 Mix of express and local service
 15 minute headway (peak), 30 minute headway (off-peak)
 Running time 2:05 hrs
 Up to 52 potential stations
Ridership
 59,000 daily by 2030
- FEC only – 38,500
- TriRail only – 11,000
- FEC/TriRail integrated – 9,700Ridership:

8. The Curtis Project in Florida
Next Steps
 Each District Council working with own
transportation and land use decision makers
 Continued advocacy for public transportation
choices at state level
 Working closely at regional level for better
planning and ties to land use decisions
 Planning a statewide conference for June 2012
focusing on importance of regional actions