New SunRunner Stop Coming To 1st Ave. N. In St. Pete: Officials

ST. PETERSBURG, FL — Expansion plans for the SunRunner, a 10.3-mile bus rapid transit system that travels between downtown St. Petersburg and St. Pete Beach, are underway, Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority officials and city leaders announced during a Friday morning news conference.

The service celebrates its six-month anniversary Friday.

A new SunRunner stop will be built in the 100 block of 1st Avenue N., in front of the SunDial Garage. Two new buses will also be added to the fleet.

Since the service launched in October, ridership has grown each month. More than 115,000 people used the SunRunner service in March alone, according to PSTA data.

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This year's Localtopia event, which took place Feb. 18, broke the single-day ridership record for the service with more than 5,000 passengers, Mayor Ken Welch said during the news conference. During the Firestone Grand Prix St. Petersburg, held March 2-5, the transit service set a record for most riders in one weekend with nearly 14,000.

Because the service, which launched Oct. 21, was completed under budget, the PSTA is left with $5.3 million in federal funds for the project's expansion.

The new stop brings riders closer to the St. Pete Pier, Beach Drive and the Cross Bay Ferry, while keeping the SunRunner along its current route, Brad Miller, PSTA CEO said. The station should be completed in about a year.

The mayor praised the SunRunner for having a "powerful, positive impact" on the city's growth.
A number of vacant lots along the route are starting to be developed because of the access to transit, he said. "Transit-oriented development is not just a concept. It's working here in St. Petersburg."

New residential projects that are starting to pop up along 1st Avenue N. are a direct result of the proximity to the SunRunner and recent zoning changes increasing density on eligible residential lots, Chris Steinocher, St. Petersburg Area Chamber of Commerce president and CEO, told Patch.

"If you start to go up 1st Ave N you'll start to see a lot more development," he said. "In fact, there's one I saw just put in this week that's taken two lots and is putting 19 townhomes on it and that's what we're hopeful about; people asking for those overlays."

Steinocher added, "I would say in the next few months you're going to see a lot of owners request this opportunity."

He'd also like to see the SunRunner expand over the bridge into Tampa, he said during the news conference.

"We want to get across the water and across the bridge so that we can expand how ... people live here, where they work and where they play," Steinocher said.