News
Mass Transit Important for Polk County Economic Development
Published: Monday, July 26, 2010
Transit Chief Wants Polk on The Move
WINTER HAVEN - Danny Ours has brought experience and leadership to public transportation on the west side of Polk County and now is hopeful about the possibility of a centralized and countywide public transit service.
The effort to educate voters about the November tax referendum to finance a countywide bus operation has just begun for Ours, the executive director of the Lakeland Area Mass Transit District, which operates the Citrus Connection bus service. Ours also is the interim executive director of the Polk Transit Authority (PTA), which was created by the Florida Legislature in 2007 to secure public support for a countywide transit plan and secure dedicated funding for it.
Ours has served as the interim PTA director since its inception. The PTA thus far is an unfunded agency, with its future and funding now up to Polk County voters.
After the County Commission voted in May to put a half-cent transit sales tax referendum on the November ballot, Ours began making the rounds to educate people and groups about the tax and how the money would be used.
If the referendum passes, Polk County will see Citrus Connection, Polk County Transit Services and the Winter Haven Area Transit (WHAT) combined and operated by the Polk Transit Authority. Ours and supports of a countywide transit plan say benefits will include more buses on the roads and more bus routes throughout Polk County, especially in northeast Polk, to include Haines City, Davenport and Poinciana.
Ours repeatedly has said that a "No" vote on the transit tax referendum will be a major blow to public transportation in Polk County.
According to Ours, WHAT currently operates six routes, but if the referendum doesn't pass, the routes will have to be reduced to two, and WHAT buses will run five days a week rather than the current six days.
"This shows the major impact that will be felt if the residents decide not to vote for the referendum," Ours said.
Paul Simmons, director of Polk County's Transit Services Division, has worked with Ours during his time with Citrus Connection in Lakeland.
"Danny is organized and passionate about the transit services in Polk County," Simmons said. "His experience is an advantage, and he has a different point of view because he hasn't worked in Polk County his entire career."
Ours said Polk County has the opportunity to improve public transportation and stay ahead of county growth. With the Legoland Florida theme park coming to Winter Haven, the University of South Florida Polytechnic building a new campus in Lakeland and the Central Florida high-speed rail system expected to use the Interstate 4 corridor for its route, public transportation will provide an option for residents to get around Polk County.
Ours cited San Francisco, Houston and Atlanta as examples of major cities that didn't pay attention to growth and public transportation.
"If we don't improve our transportation, then we will be miles behind when all of these projects (Legoland, USF Poly and high-speed rail) are done," Ours said. "It will be too late to catch up if we allow that to happen, which is why this referendum is extremely important."
Ours' transit career began in California after he retired from a 29-year career in the U.S. Air Force. Ours said that when he retired as a chief master sergeant in 1989, he didn't have a plan for his next career. But after six months of retirement, he was hired as an operations manager for the San Mateo County Transit District, which is based in San Carlos, Calif.
His responsibilities with the San Mateo district included making sure the buses stayed maintained and on schedule. Ours had no transit experience but was hired for his other talents.
"The gentleman who hired me for my first transit job told me I was hired for my leadership skills," Ours said. "He told me he would teach me everything there is to know about transit as long as I brought my leadership to the position."
Ours moved to Jacksonville in 1998 after accepting a position there as deputy director of mass transit. After four years in Jacksonville, he served for two years as the general manager of transportation in San Francisco. Ours has been in his current position with Citrus Connection since 2005.
Polk County Commissioner Sam Johnson, who serves on the Lakeland Area Mass Transit District board, said Ours' transportation experience was a big reason he was hired in Lakeland. Citrus Connection had expanded and needed a new leader to take it to the next level, Johnson said.
"We had to bring in the expertise that Danny had because the Lakeland Area Mass Transit had grown from its infant stages," Johnson said. "We realized the goal was to continue toward countywide transportation and Danny had the ability to do that."
Ours said he doesn't think much about the possibility of his "interim" tag as PTA director being dropped if the November transit tax referendum passes.
"I take it one job at a time, and right now my focus is the Lakeland area transit," he said. "Until (the Polk Transit Authority) is funded, everything is all hypothetical and a lot of things have to happen before worrying about accepting another position."
charles.gonzalez@newschief.com
Tagged: transportation