SEFTC - WHAT A REGIONAL TRANSPORTATION AUTHORITY MEANS FOR BROWARD COUNTY
By creating the South Florida Transportation Council (SEFTC), legally constituted in January 2005, a regional corridors network was also built to serve as the foundation for improving regional connectivity.
SEFTC consists of the three South Florida MPO's represented by their chairs: Miami-Dade MPO, Broward MPO, and Palm Beach MPO. Through the creation of SEFTC special funding opportunities can be pursued with the same intention: to improve regional connectivity.
SEFTC will allow us to continue to expand regional transit projects such as express bus, bus rapid transit, and light rail applications in coordination with our transportation partners: The Florida Department of Transportation, South Florida Regional Transit Authority, the South Florida Regional Planning Council, Broward County Urban Planning and Redevelopment Department, Broward County local transportation agencies, and their respective counterparts in Miami-Dade County and Palm Beach County.
One of the most critical issues facing residents of Broward, Miami-Dade and Palm Beach counties is the need for an efficient, reliable, and affordable regional public transit system. The lack of meaningful mass transit alternatives impacts every facet of our lives: where we work, where we live, where we play, our economic stability and even our physical and mental well-being.
Although we are continually working to keep up and improve mass transit in Broward County, each year we are confronted with funding shortfalls. The current Long Range Transportation Plan has an estimated $400 million in unfunded transit needs, which could go up to $1.06 billion, if the county does not receive its expected $660 million in discretionary Federal Transit Agency New Start funding.
With these kinds of financial deficiencies the tri-counties can no longer work in isolation, but must explore new ways to not only build a seamless, easy-to-use transit system throughout the South Florida region, but also take advantage of special funding opportunities available when legislative power is pooled so that federal and state funding can be sought on a unified regional basis.
