Community Corner
Your I-275 Carpool Could Win $10,000
The contest is open exclusively to commuters who travel I-275 at any point between the Howard Frankland Bridge and the Hillsborough River at least 12 days a month.
The Florida Department of Transportation and the Tampa Bay Area Regional Transportation Authority have joined together to launch Startup 275, a campaign to minimize traffic along the I-275 improvement zone.
Startup 275 is a new spin on carpooling in which carpool teams compete to win $10,000 to fund an idea voted on by the public.
Tampa-based Cox Media radio station 97X is the presenting sponsor and will give away the $10,000 prize.
The contest is open exclusively to commuters who travel I-275 at any point between the Howard Frankland Bridge and the Hillsborough River at least 12 days a month.
The first 500 active carpoolers also will be eligible to earn a $25 Visa Gift Card each month.
The contest is open to existing carpool teams of two or more as well as newly formed teams. Voting begins Aug. 15 and ends Nov. 30. During that time, carpool teams are encouraged to promote their idea and win votes by posting Facebook posts, tweets, photos and videos through radio 97X.
Ideas can run the gamut but must fit into one of these categories:
- Animals: animal welfare, training, etc.
- Arts & Entertainment: movies, videos, albums, books, games, apps, etc.
- Athletics & Recreation: youth leagues, active seniors, etc.
- Community: playgrounds, hunger relief, homeless shelters, etc.
- Education: special needs tutoring, life skills, drug and alcohol prevention, etc.
- Environment: recycling, sustainable energy, conservation, etc.
- Fashion & Design: clothing and accessories, product design, graphic design, etc.
- Food & Beverage: health food, juices, farm-to-table cafés, etc.
- Health & Wellness: obesity prevention, smoking cessation, stress reduction, etc.
- Science & Technology: software development, nanotech, robotics, etc.
- Transportation: concept vehicles, aerospace, pedestrian safety, etc.
I-275 is currently being widened from east of State Road 60 to the Hillsborough River in downtown Tampa. The 4.2-mile $215.4 million project got under way July 31, 2012 and is estimated to be completed in the fall of 2016.
When completed, there will be four through-lanes in each direction, a flatter roadway (no more steep humps at bridges over crossroads) to improve sight distance and decrease the chances of accidents, improved interchanges to help move traffic on and off I-275, and a wide median to decrease cost and public impact when future improvements are built.
For more information about Startup 275, visit Startup275.com.
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