Greater Metro Tampa Sprawl
City at a Glance
The Greater Metro Tampa Sprawl includes the areas that used to be St. Petersburg, Clearwater, Brandon, Apollo Beach, Ruskin, Palmetto and Bradenton where the sprawl merges somewhat with Sarasota, which has crept ever northward since the turn of the century. With temperatures that average around 69.9° year round Tampa is a subtropical paradise where the rich and famous rub elbows while soaking up the sun, and sipping something cool! The latest fashions, ultramodern mass transportation, clean beaches and hot night life make Tampa one of the hottest spots in North America!
Facts at a Glance:
Current Population: 5,380,019
- Human: 53%
- Elf: 7%
- Dwarf: 3%
- Ork: 25%
- Troll : 7%
- Other : 5%
Per Capita Income: 97,500 ¥
Below Poverty Level: 41%
On Fortunes Active Traders List: 2%
Corporate Affiliation: 67%
Voting Precincts: 13
Education:
- < 12 Years: 32%
- High School: 35%
- College Degree: 26%
- Graduate Degree: 7%
Geography
Located midway down Florida's west coast, about 25 miles east of the Gulf of Mexico, Tampa is bordered on the south and west by the Hillsborough and Old Tampa bays. Downtown is divided by the winding Hillsborough River, which originates northeast of the city and empties into Hillsborough Bay. The city's year-round semitropical climate is free from many of the extremes found elsewhere. Its most remarkable feature is the summer thunderstorm season. On an average of ninety days from June through September, late afternoon thundershowers sweep across the area, making Tampa one of the stormiest cities in the United States.
Politics
Politics in Tampa can easily be described as convoluted at best. The current Mayor of the sprawl is Ray Simmons, an affable human who used to be a street cop, before Tampa privatized it's Police Department in the late 30's. Most famous for solving the Busch Twin murders Mayor Simmons came to office on a True American party platform, and a strong law enforcement platform, capitalizing on Mayor Breckin's administrations failure to protect several witnesses who were murdered while under the cities protection.
Mayor Simmons has close ties with the Governors office, in part because his wife is a close cousin of the governor and of course their party ties, which has lead to some conflicts with the United Corporate Council of the Greater Tampa Metro Area, which represents the 16 major corporations that operate in the Tampa Sprawl.
Mayor Simmons also has faced severe criticism from the Olivia Ruiz, an elven Federal Judge who presides over the 13th Federal District Court. Judge Ruiz has presided over several high profile cases including the cases which helped unseat Mayor Breckin. Judge Ruiz has faced criticism from Mayor Simmons for her heavy handed tactics, as well as her close corporate ties. Her honor was instrumental in setting up the local Lone Star and federal combined Organized Crime Task Force, as well as Evergate, the offshore underwater maximum security prison.
The United Corporate Council of the Greater Tampa Metro Area consists of sixteen Corporations, of varying degrees of influence. All of the big ten MegaCorporations have representatives on the council, except Aztechnology who has been cordially told to take a long walk off a short pier, as well as several local and national corporations. Membership for these smaller corporations is on a rotating basis and competition is fierce.
Getting In and Out
Road
Three major interstates bring road traffic into and through the City of Tampa Bay. Interstate 4 brings in traffic from the eastern coast of Florida, through Orlando and Kissimmee. This road sees the most traffic of a commercial nature, dealing with moving goods from Tampa’s ports to Orlando and points north in CAS.
Interstate 75 passes through the northern borders of the Tampa City limits at Route 54 just northeast of the suburb of Lutz. This major commuter highway splits off into Interstates 275 and 75 just south of Route 54. Interstate 75 continues southeast through Seffner, Brandon, Riverview, Gibsonton and Apollo Beach. Interstate 75 then traverses the length and width of the state of Florida; eventually passing through Port Charlotte, Bonita Springs, and Naples before reaching Miami in the Caribbean League.
Interstate 275 passes through portions of Downtown Tampa before crossing the Howard Franklin Bridge into St. Petersburg. The highway continues through south through St. Petersburg and moves back across Tampa Bay via the Sunshine Skyway Bridge, a six tiered bridge with 2 lanes of traffic going in each direction.
Rail
Three regional rail lines provide access into and around the city of Tampa Bay. The Northern Red Line runs smaller fuel and electric cell powered trains and trams south from the origin point of North Brooksville. This line passes south through Brooksville, mostly following route 41 through Lutz and points south. It then parallels Interstate 275 until reaching the four way (Clover) exchange in the southwestern corner of Ybor City. Passenger trains move west towards the major transit hub of Union Station in downtown Tampa. Commercial units often continue southeast to the two major shipping and commercial hubs (North Gibsonton and Gibsonton) along the South Tamiami Trail. These hubs provide shipping containers to the extensive Gibsonton docks, as well as other commercial transit methods (road, rail, and air via Tampa International Airport). Additional commercial rail lines continue south and east from these two hubs to Miami (Caribbean League) and Port St. Lucie.
The City Blue Line runs passenger and metro style trains, powered by Gridguide systems. The line runs a loop starting from Union Station in the downtown district. The northern leg of the loop runs along aside the commercial Red Line until it branches off at Busch Blvd. It then moves west, passing through Tarpon, Oldsmar, and eventually south through Clearwater. This northern leg continues southwest from Clearwater, moving through the St. Petersburg District and eventually terminates just across from Tropicana Field at the Tropicana Station.
The Green Line is a high-speed maglev train that moves east from Union Station, utilizing two separate multi-line tracks that run parallel along 7th Avenue. As 7th Avenue and Broadway Ave combine, the two lines begin moving in different directions. One heads southeast towards Port St. Lucie and Miami, while the upper track heads towards Kissimmee and Orlando. Both commercial cargo and passenger trains run on these high-speed lines, though the higher price obviously keeps some customers from utilizing this service.
Air
Numerous airports handle the substantial air traffic found in and around the city, but two major airports handle the larger commercial and passenger vessels. Tampa International Airport (TPA) is the only airport in Tampa currently capable of handling the sub-orbital and semi-ballistic craft used for rapid passenger transport in the 21st century. It holds a place of prestige among the denizens of the city, offering a wide variety of both passenger and cargo airlines.
St. Petersburg/Clearwater International Airport (PIE) also handles all types of air traffic, though it cannot handle sub-orbital craft. This has forced SPCI into a secondary role in the city, something that causes the two districts’ Council representatives to grind their teeth. As of 2063, no current plans exist to expand SPCI to handle sub-orbital craft. This will leave the airport out in the cold for a large percentage of the passenger market, forcing SPCI to remain a second-rate primarily commercial traffic facility.
MacDill Air Force Base handles military grade traffic in the area, and is the center of operations for the 23rd Tactical Fighter Wing, and the 4th Support Flight Wing of the Confederated Air Force. Special Operations Command also operates a training center out of MacDill that serves both civil and military training groups.
Two smaller airports exist to serve additional air traffic, particularly city transit VTOL craft. Peter O Knight Airport on the Davis Islands (Downtown District) and Albert Whitted Airport serve as the major municipal airports for the city.
Boat
It is called Tampa *Bay* after all. The amount of boat and naval access to Tampa is near limitless.Individually owned docks and berths are numerous, however there are several significant commercial, private and military sites worth mentioning .
On the commercial side, two shipyards handle the majority of the larger cargo haulers. The Port of Tampa Bay (Downtown District) can handle all types of commercial and passenger vessels. Gibsonton Central Port (Riverview District) also handles the same class of vessels, but typically sees far more commercial traffic than any other type. Buccaneer Pointe Shipyards (Downtown District) can handle medium size cargo vessels, but typically sees mostly passenger vessels and civilian watercraft.
The MacDill Confederated Naval Station handles the majority of military traffic in the area, as well as the Coast Guard and Privateer Fleets.
Dozens of smaller docks, yacht clubs, and boat yards handle the large volume of civilian watercraft and small passenger transports found on Tampa’s waterways. The most prominent of these is the Isla Del Sol Yacht Club (St. Petersburg District), which handles the large majority of the city’s luxury watercraft and private yachts. This is also the home of the annual Rigatta Del Luna, Tampa’s famous non-powered boat race. Safety Harbor Boatyards (Clearwater District) is the home of the lower income fishermen and tourist lines that trawl the Bay. It also sees a great deal of quasi-legal water racers and smugglers, along with Buccaneer Pointe Shipyards (Downtown District).
