From March 18, 2023 post.
Today we celebrated a big win for Tampa--a $5.3M federal grant to improve the Ashley Drive interstate exit to downtown. This will correct harmful transportation decisions of our past, reconnect neighborhoods that were historically marginalized, and unlock more of downtown for affordable housing and reinvestment.
The existing Ashley Drive on-ramp cuts off the historic street grid, not only making it more difficult for cyclists and pedestrians to navigate the area, but also isolating historic neighborhoods from downtown. The project will lower the Ashley Drive interstate exit ramp to street level and reconnect the North Downtown street grid with a new street-level Ashley Drive. This will make it safer and easier to walk and bike around downtown Tampa.
Additionally, this grant will support affordable housing opportunities. In total, the City of Tampa is targeting four acres of underutilized land valued at $5.6M adjacent to the redesign project area with plans to invite proposals generating several hundred units of mixed-income and mixed-use development.
Tampa is proud to be one of the first cities to receive grant funding through the federal Reconnecting Communities program. Thank you U.S. Department of Transportation Under Secretary, Carlos Monje, for helping us celebrate this important step forward in #TransformingTampa.
Original source can be found here.
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