About the Study
In April 2025, Forward Pinellas kicked off the Advantage US 19 Investment Corridor Study to advance previous planning efforts by investigating transit-oriented development (TOD) opportunities within the 15 station areas identified in the TBARTA US 19 RRT Study and developing implementation plans for express bus service along the nearly 35-mile-long corridor. The study is coordinated with local and regional partners, including Pinellas County, Pasco County, Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT), Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority (PSTA), Pasco County Public Transportation (GoPasco), Pasco County MPO, and the cities of St. Petersburg, Largo, Clearwater, and New Port Richey.
Background
Through Advantage Pinellas, Forward Pinellas created the Investment Corridor Strategy, where a set of roadway corridors within Pinellas County are prioritized for redevelopment and reinvestment based on their potential to link housing, jobs, and job training opportunities both locally and regionally through a network of multimodal transportation options. Investment corridors connect areas that have the most opportunity for attracting additional housing and employment options. Therefore, they are the logical place to invest in enhanced transportation options for people and goods to move safely and efficiently throughout our county and the Tampa Bay region. The US 19 Corridor is identified as one of the priority investment corridors.
In 2022, the Tampa Bay Area Regional Transit Authority (TBARTA), in collaboration with Forward Pinellas, Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority (PSTA), Pasco County Public Transportation (GoPasco), Pasco County MPO, and Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT), conducted a feasibility study to evaluate the opportunity for premium regional rapid transit along the US 19 corridor, from State Road 52 in Pasco County to the Gateway area in Pinellas County. The study identified 15 preferred station areas, a preliminary transit service operations concept, and a phased approach to implementation. The phased approach would begin with an express bus service and transition to a bus rapid transit (BRT), or other premium express transit service, as redevelopment occurs, ridership grows, and funding becomes available.
Study Phases
The Advantage US 19 Investment Corridor Study is being conducted in two phases.
Phase 1: Station Area Refinement and Redevelopment Vision
Phase 1 of the Advantage US 19 study was conducted over 12 months from April 2025 to April 2026. The focus of Phase 1 was to establish a TOD design framework for the US 19 corridor and select 7 to 12 stations from the original set of 15 stations to optimize transit efficiency and ensure appropriate spacing to support both redevelopment and service performance. After conducting a market analysis and an existing conditions assessment, eleven (11) stations were short-listed for further analysis and visioning based on their potential to support a future express bus service through transit-supportive redevelopment.
The remainder of the Phase 1 report establishes a land use and mobility vision for each of the selected stations and categorizes them into three station typologies to support a context-sensitive and market-responsive approach to redevelopment along the corridor. Each station typology provides a set of high-level regulatory recommendations and a redevelopment concept—accompanied by renderings—for select sites to visualize how the station areas could integrate into the surrounding communities and support future enhanced transit service.
Phase 1 Documents
Phase 2: Preliminary Operating and Implementation Plan
Phase 2 of the Advantage US 19 Study is expected to commence in summer 2026. Phase 2 will develop a preliminary operating plan for regional express bus service along US 19, update capital and operating cost estimates (initially defined in the 2022 TBARTA study), and provide an implementation plan for project phasing and funding. Phase 2 will involve extensive coordination with PSTA and GoPasco, Pinellas and Pasco’s respective transit agencies, to ensure the proposed premium service is integrated with local bus routes and feasible from both an operating and financial perspective.
Phase 2 Documents
Outcomes
The Advantage US 19 Investment Corridor Study is an early but important step in implementing a regional express bus service along US 19 to improve regional connectivity between major population and employment centers. The outcomes of Phase 1 will include a set of high-level regulatory recommendations and TOD Best Practices that each local government along the corridor can leverage to facilitate transit-supportive, context-sensitive redevelopment and reinvestment in the selected station areas. Phase 2 will provide a preliminary operating and implementation plan for future regional express service along the US 19 corridor from State Road 52 in Pasco County to the Gateway area in Pinellas County, which will lay the foundation for initiating future planning efforts with FDOT and the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) to receive funding for the design and construction of the proposed regional express transit service.
