Several times people from around the world have tapped into this blog looking for information on the port location and railroad access here in Jacksonville. I thought we'd look at this from both the positives of rapid growth which has earned us the nickname "The Port Of Gold", to the negatives of piecemeal rail services.
First the location of JAXPORT. Consider if you will a major seaport that is located exactly 1/2 way between Miami, Florida and Atlanta, Georgia. This location puts 2/3 Rds of the population of the United States within 24 hours from our docks to your containers destination. One also has to surrender the old thinking of the East Coast as a rather straight line - similar to the west coast of the United States, it's simply not true. In fact the East Coast of the USA reaches so far east that in Maine it is only across a river from the "Atlantic Time Zone". Boston is South of that locale, and New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington are not only South but quite west of Maines Location. There is a slight buldge just sough of Norfolk, Virginia, in the storm prone Carolina Outter Banks, but then as the coast continues South it also continues West. The Western Most Port on the Atlantic Ocean is Jacksonville, Florida's, JAXPORT.
JAXPORT is so far west that if you drew a line on a globe you might be amazed to find the lat.-long. GPS cordinates for Jacksonville to be N 30.33and W 81.65 compaire this with Boston, Massachucetts 42°. 20' N and 71° .06' W, Jacksonville is a full 10 degrees West. The real shock to most citizens is when they note that Jacksonville is almost directly below, CLEVELAND, OHIO at: 41.46' N and 81.65' W. This means as an East coast port and beach city, we're 128 miles west of Pittsburgh, Pensylvannia - and far enough south that cold winters or large mountain ranges need not play a part in your shipping or travel worries. Just how far west is west? Well you could ship and travel from the West Florida Ports of Key West or Naples, but Jacksonville is just as far west as they are. In fact the whole pensulia of Florida is angled back toward the South and EAST so as one travels south, the East coast of Florida moves farther and farther East of the Panama Canal.
Why not just build in Miami, West Palm Beach, Naples or Tampa? Frankly these are all nice cities blessed with beautiful weather, but their port and transportation space is used up on the east coast, and the prices are in the stratosphere. Tampa and Naples on the other hand have room and decent development prices, but they are locked into a single rail carrier and shallow water with a Interstate Highway bridge restricting the height of all traffic in and out of Tampa Bay.
The fact that Jacksonville is the sole railroad gateway to Florida is quite important to shipping lines, industrial concerns, warehousing complexes and travelers. Being located near the Georgia border at the base of Florida's Crown, Jacksonville is 500 miles from Key West. So unless you are shipping all of your cargo within Florida, that's 500 extra miles more or less, of transportation on every container or every passenger. Going West with that shipment or trip? Pensacola is another 400 miles West from Jacksonville. So locating elsewhere in this state could add as much as 900 miles to your transportation costs just to get out of Florida. Most people are amazed that it's much less distance from New York City to Chicago, then from Key West to Pensacola, Florida. In fact Pensacola is closer to St. Louis, Missouri, then the lower coasts of Florida.
So what is the hangup with JAXPORT and rail transportation? Nothing that couldn't be fixed with some creative investments, either private or public.
COME ALONG AND RIDE WHILE CINCINNATI AND JACKSONVILLE DRIVE OVER A BUDGET CUTTING CLIFF !
A face only a mother could love - this will really pack 'em in Ohio... NOT!
For years OHIO has produced the most visitors to Florida. It's a little known fact, and I'm sure the number probably rises, falls behind, and rises again, with the economy of time. Cincinnati, not unlike Jacksonville in many ways, is a river port, industrial, and regional market center. Last time I saw a large collection of Cincinnati residents they were in Jacksonville, getting their faces smashed into our football field. I missed this years revenge.
Cincinnati, like Jacksonville has a bright idea. Let's study and build a REAL streetcar system. Development money follows streetcars more then Commuter Rail, BRT, Buses or any other mass transit. But Cincinnati is thinking, maybe a faux trolley which we Jaxson's call PCT TROLLEYS (for: Potato-Chip-Truck-Trolleys).
Why such an insulting name? Well, the final effort of the historic streetcar systems to fight off General Motors was called a PCC Streetcar (for: Presidents Conference Car - designed by a conference of street railway leaders from around the globe in the late 1930's). Our Jacksonville response to Cincinnati would be, "Have you EVER seen or ridden on one of these things?" So lets take it to the Cincinnati article and see what THEY are saying.
Streetcar opponents propose trolley By Barry M. Horstman • bhorstman@enquirer.com • January 5, 2009
Opponents of Cincinnati’s $185 million proposal to run permanent-track streetcars from downtown to Uptown are urging city leaders to consider a rubber-wheeled trolley system that they contend could provide the same service for a fraction of the cost.
The alternative $9 million trolley plan, to be financed largely with private money, also could begin operating sooner and without the disruption of tearing up streets to lay tracks that would either eliminate parking or traffic lanes along the route, according to former Cincinnati City Councilman Charlie Winburn.
“It’s faster, a lot cheaper, and if it doen’t work out, you can walk away from it without having torn up your streets,” Winburn said. “I don’t see any downside.”
JAX TRANSIT BLOG: People are not fooled by these faux trolleys. They do nothing to promote future streetcar ridership and are seen for what they are, buses with lipstick. We have them in Jacksonville where they serve as downtown shuttles. Frankly we should have saved our money and bought electric buses for this task, at least they wouldn't smell.
However, City Councilman Chris Bortz and other streetcar proponents do.
San Francisco's 100 year old streetcar, Cincinnati? Jacksonville? Please tell me how much you'll save over this same time period with Faux Trolleys.
The proposed four-mile streetcar plan working its way through City Hall could spur hundreds of millions of dollars in economic development along the line and would be more attractive to commuters for whom public transit is a choice, not a necessity, Bortz said.
“You can dress it up however you want, but a bus is still a bus,” Bortz said. “A rubber-wheeled bus is never going to produce the kind of economic activity a streetcar system would.”
JACKSONVILLE TRANSIT BLOG: This is very true, buses of any kind only account for about 7% of all Transit Oriented Development, and a closer examination shows most of that is socialized, state and federal offices.
Winburn’s idea, patterned after a successful downtown trolley in Cleveland – where, in only two years, daily ridership has grown from about 700 to almost 5,500 – comes as the council awaits a report this month from City Manager Milton Dohoney Jr. on potential public and private funds to finance the streetcar proposal.
Even if the city can fully fund the streetcar plan, Winburn argues that the much lower price tag of his trolley proposal makes it a clear preference.
“With the economy as uncertain as it is, this isn’t the time to be investing nearly $200 million in a system that, no matter what the projections say, no one is really certain is going to work,” Winburn said.
A coalition including the NAACP and Citizens Opposed to Additional Spending and Taxes (COAST) has started circulating petitions to place a charter amendment on the November ballot that would prohibit the city from funding the streetcar plan unless voters specifically approved the expense.
JACKSONVILLE TRANSIT BLOG: What about history? How does streetcar stack up against your PCT Bus?
After World War II, the Cincinnati Street Railway modernized its system with new rail cars and infrastructure, as directed by the city. The next City Council reversed the policy by ordering removal of all rail service. The financial losses from the abandonment of nearly new rail facilities forced frequent fare increases on the riders, until it became the first major city to have a 55-cent fare. The ridership decreased 88 percent during 40 yr.
After rail service was eliminated in Oklahoma City and its environs, transit use fell 97 percent on a per capita basis. In St. Louis, with all-bus service, only 13 percent of the riding habit remains. St. Louis has now contracted to restore rail transit on a Metrolink from the airport through downtown to East St. Louis to recover some of the transit market share.
FROM THE APTA Website: Why choose a rail-based system over a rubber-tired system?
A rail-based system provides numerous advantages that help outweigh its higher capital cost: A sense of government commitment and permanence that reassures potential riders, neighbors, and businesses that service will continue. People overwhelmingly prefer riding rail vehicles to buses, so rail solutions attract more passengers (see Transportation Research Record 1221 for a detailed treatment of rail vs. bus ridership). For the above reasons, rail systems typically inspire business development. Heritage trolley systems provide a sense of historical authenticity that blends very well with an urban environment, especially older, redeveloping neighborhoods. Heritage trolleys with proper maintenance last essentially indefinitely (New Orleans operates cars built in the mid-1920s in daily, heavy service) while buses seldom have a life of more than 20 years.
MEANWHILE BACK IN CINCINNATI:
Bortz, though, stressed the importance of weighing the system’s long-term economic impact, not simply its construction cost.
“If spending $150 million produces $1 billion in economic activity, that’s a better investment than spending $10 million and getting nothing out of it,” Bortz said.
The permanence of the streetcar’s tracks, Bortz added, would inspire greater confidence among potential investors along the route than a system of rubber-wheeled trolleys that could easily be abandoned or moved.
JACKSONVILLE TRANSIT BLOG: Economics of streetcar -vs- fake PCT trolley buses? Take a look for yourself:
Winburn bills his plan as a relatively inexpensive, low-risk trial of the overarching concept of developing a streetcar line from downtown through Over-the-Rhine to the Uptown area around the University of Cincinnati and nearby hospitals.
Under his proposal, local business leaders would be asked to raise $13 million in private money to buy and operate 12 trolleys for a two-year trial period.
The trolleys – with a nostalgic design featuring wooden rails, brass bells and a distinctive dark green color – could be running by December, while the best-case scenario for the streetcar plan envisions a starting date in early 2011.
“This would give us some real-world experience on whether there’s truly a market for this,” Winburn said.
“If people are riding the trolleys and we’re starting to see investment along the route, great – we’ve saved almost $200 million and didn’t have to destroy our streets to do it. If it’s not working, at least we haven’t wasted a lot of money, didn’t inconvenience businesses with a long construction project and aren’t stuck with tracks we don’t need.”
City Councilman Chris Monzel occupies a middle ground in the debate.
Strongly against the current streetcar proposal, Monzel is yet to be sold on the trolley plan.
JACKSONVILLE TRANSIT BLOG: Are your PCT Trolleys really a solid plan? The Tampa Electric Company operated 100 rail cars in that city until the Tampa Utility Board refused to allow the transit property in the rate base, forcing it out of business. National City Lines, which also operated 37 buses in Tampa, took over the entire operation after the rail system’s demise. Despite rapid population growth, ridership has fallen 60 percent with an all-bus system. Per capita ridership has fallen 81 percent.
“Even if you’re primarily using private funds, that’s still a lot of money to benefit only a couple of neighborhoods,” Monzel said. “I’d like to bring a lot more neighborhoods into the mix. But once you do that, you might say, wait a minute, don’t we already have that with buses?”
JACKSONVILLE TRANSIT BLOG: So what if you DID have buses doing the same job? What would the difference be? Take a look my friends:
Cincinnati and Jacksonville need to realize that the people are not stupid and won't be fooled into investing in your rubber tire trolleys. Note these words from the American Public Transportation Association website:
Does a trolley have rubber tires? Strictly speaking, No. Trolley cars or streetcars have steel wheels and run on rails, which are often laid directly in street paving.
Today many cities use rubber tired vehicles which are decorated to look somewhat like trolleys, but these vehicles are not real trolleys nor streetcars and are not the subject of this website. Some people may feel they can obtain the benefits of a heritage trolley line by using these inexpensive faux trolleys, but the economic, developmental, and visitor attracting benefits are not generated by these bus trolleys. Authentic rail based systems are required to achieve the benefits.
Could it be that the once respected Pensacola News-Journal editors and writers are now smoking crack? Probably not, but one might think so with the outrageous editorial commentary from Mr. Mark O'Brien.
Actually the commentary itself was pretty entertaining, even funny at times, but Mark completely fumbled the ball with these words:
Train a vain hope
The city should give up the ghost on AmTrak reviving passenger service here and do something with the empty train station on 14Th Avenue.
First off Mark, you did better then most, you didn't call it Amtrack. But the word is not AmTrak either, it's a registered trademark name, Amtrak.
The remarks also demonstrate a typical complete lack of grasp of the transportation and energy problems facing our nation.
The attitude that the Sunset Limited didn't work out, Katrina killed it, it's gone so lets give up has a sort of odd Yankee ring to it. You might recall in history 101, that our one-time Southern Army was out numbered 10 - 1, yet was able to smack the Federal troops around for nearly 5 years. Why? Well it is said, Southrons NEVER consider the odds before a battle, and brother THIS is a battle.
Amtrak has not failed, in fact it has been one of the most successful things the federal government has ever attempted. Did you know it was designed from the start to fail? Did you know about the Penn Central Official whom on "Amtrak Day" back in 1971, went screaming and dancing through the HQ offices shouting "WE'VE DONE IT! WE'VE SHOT THE PASSENGER TRAIN! WE'VE KILLED IT!" Mark, do you really think Richard Nixon, Conservative, Republican, wanted trains full of happy people riding around on a federal dollar?
Not a chance.
What happened is, that in spite of their best efforts, including 35+ years of starvation portions or financial support, scraps from what ever was left of the billions that we spend on airlines and highways, Amtrak is still with us. Today's Amtrak is stronger then ever, posting gains in ridership as high as 25% per year in some markets, and solid gains in all the rest.
So what about Pensacola? Should we turn the depot into a restaurant? a bus station? a new strippers bar? Maybe a newspaper office?
NO!
Pensacola should be thinking about adding a side track with a switch at each end, and a capacity of a locomotive and perhaps 3 - 10 passenger cars. Something that could hold a lay-over of equipment for frequent day trains between Jacksonville and Pensacola.
PENSACOLA
In case the News-Journal missed it, Amtrak has a new lease on life and it's only going to get better:
A new budget, of some 15 Billion dollars and a steady federal investment stream. This is up from 35+ years of $0 - $900 Million dollar budgets. Notice a difference there Mark?
Didn't the News-Journal read the conditional Amtrak re-authorization passed by both house and senate and signed by President Bush? In order to get the $15 Billion, Amtrak MUST return service between New Orleans and Sanford, Florida. Uh, Mark, the only route runs past that Pensacola station.
What the law doesn't say is how the trains will be scheduled or even it must be the Sunset Limited. Frankly I would doubt the wisdom of sending a long-distance cruise train through the Mobile-Pensacola-Tallahassee-Jacksonville stretch in the dead of night. The Panhandle is just too thinly populated, too rural, for decent passenger boardings at 3 AM. What I expect will happen is we will see an all daylight "Gulf Wind" pocket streamliner running from the Big Easy to Florida's First Coast.
More then one train a day?
Fast frequent daylight trains do well even in freeway adjacent rural corridors, look at the little 2 car San Joaquin trains in California, which started with a single daily run from the Bay area to Bakersfield. BAKERSFIELD! Not exactly the Garden of Eden, nor is it a giant metropolis. Those stops have a real panhandle ring to their names too. Big important sounding towns like Hanford, Denair, Wasco, Corcoran and Madera, on the San Joaquin, could just as easily be Crestview, Madison, Lake City, or Chipley on the new "Gulf Wind". In California, where the worlds most auto centric society is abandoning their cars in droves, that one little train has grown to be a 12 daily corridor trains.
I happen to have some information that The State of Florida has actually received a brain from the great and powerful wizard of Transportation, and is considering a similar corridor between Jacksonville-Tallahassee and Pensacola. Frankly, the cost per seat or per train actually falls with more frequent service. The theory is sort of like opening a store with one product on the shelf or one with many products, which one do you think will succeed?
COMING YOUR WAY PENSACOLA!
Mark? Better tell them to build the side track, toss in some extra platforms, and some landscaping, because your train is coming.
In a city growing fast enough to self fund Light Rail, Monorail or BRT, we are suddenly facing the Transit Devil himself. We may need all the commentary and attention we can get on this subject. I'm asking all blogger's to steal this story, edit, copy or otherwise let it be known that our Jacksonville Devil, needs a national butt kicking or we'll be kissing all mass transit goodbye here on Florida's First Coast. We need NATIONAL ATTENTION PLEASE! When the City Council Google's and reads your words of wisdom from the far corners of this nation, they'll understand, they're being played like fools.
Jacksonville citizens are wary that a financial restructuring Mayor Peyton plans to submit to the City Council will set back plans to extend bus service and could cripple Rapid Transit/Light Rail funding in the long run.
In a bill called, The Better Jacksonville Plan or BJP, resides $2.25 billion in projects, approved by voters in a 2000 referendum. The program thrives on sales taxes.
As The Transportation Authority is in charge of mass transit and highways, road projects are split between the city and JTA, with the city handling local thoroughfares.
Peyton said he'd rather see the local projects completed while state and federal dollars are sought for the highways. Apparently the word "Transit" is not in his vocabulary.
"To me, it's not local versus state. It's Jacksonville," JTA Executive Director Michael Blaylock said. "All of these roads are in Jacksonville and they're for the people, the workers, drivers - everyone."
JTA operates independently of city government, but some of its funding is administered by City Hall. And that's becoming a sore spot.
Last week, Blaylock unveiled projections showing the city likely would be taking control of 70 percent of BJP sales tax money under Peyton's plan, although no numbers are official. The original plan was closer to 50% JTA - 50% CITY.
He said the Peyton plan could lose $174 million in funding for JTA, including $94 set aside and ear marked for A Rapid Transit system.
"They're asking the JTA to forgo our money so they can work on their own projects," JTA spokesman Mike Miller said, referencing an agreement that was promised to the tax payers around two decades ago, when a half-cent sales tax replaced the city's toll plazas.
Now it appears that the Mayor want to violate the trust.
When Better Jacksonville passed, that half-penny became part of the funding stream. The city agreed to collect it while paying a amount equal to the tolls, plus annual interest, to JTA. The problem is, Peyton doesn't believe that the City can afford the luxury of quality Mass Transit. Seeing it as the poor mans ride, Peyton had rather build more freeways.
Peyton's plan would extend a 6-cents-a-gallon gasoline tax through 2039 as a financial baseline for JTA. Better Jacksonville projects, which were set to finish in several years, would extend through 2019.
Blaylock said he's wary of counting on gas taxes as an income source as the agency tries to acquire long-term rapid transit project financing. For one, federal transportation estimates show Americans have driven roughly 100 billion fewer miles in the past year because of gasoline prices.
Also, he said, by 2039 he wonders if cars will even be running on gasoline.
As he announced the Better Jacksonville funding shortfall, Peyton also announced a plan to dip into a city capital fund for $50 million. The money wouldn't be part of Better Jacksonville but would be critical to expanding infrastructure near the city's growing deep water cargo ports.
The council is expected to see legislation next month.
--------------------------------------------
So at the start JTA and the Citizens of Jacksonville had secured:
A dollar amount equal to the toll revenue on 4 bridges (including 2 interstate highways) plus interest as a mass transit baseline, as promised by the City.
A 1/2 cent dedicated gas tax for mass transit
A A 100 Million dollar set-aside to build a Light Rail/BRT Transit System.
A 6 cent gas sales tax revenue stream, and the balance of the monies and deals with the City will be canceled.
We'll build a few miles of black top or concrete roads with the former transit money, and won't get a single development or quality investment for our efforts.
Bus service will be cut to the bone with routes appearing and vanishing with the ebb and flow of the tax dollars.
Streetcar: O
Commuter Rail: O
BRT: O
The mayors office will stare stupefied out the window, and wonder why "other" Florida cities are booming with development as they chug toward their own rail systems.
I can hear the pathetic strains of the officials as we're passed by, again and again by the big bucks looking for unique and effective transit:
"Say fellas wait, Jacksonville has roads, good ones, ever seen one?
For all of our cities, let's make this thinking stop before it starts to spread. Show the nation how detrimentally zero transit would effect us all. Post this anyway you want, but understand it's a case of Living Neanderthals in Jacksonville.
Amazing how Sunbelt Cities are catching the railroad bug. Just a couple of weeks ago we were offering congratulations to Albuquerque, and Santa Fe, New Mexico, for their new RAIL RUNNER commuter railway. This week it's the return of the PHOENIX to the Light Rail club.
Once again Florida residents must sit in near 100 degree temperatures, parked on endless pavement and traffic jams and wonder why? Why hasn't Central Florida Commuter Rail taken off yet? Why has Miami Streetcar gone so slowly? Why isn't Sarasota or Ft. Lauderdale putting down tracks? Why is Jacksonville's mayor suddenly lost his mental facilities and decided to try and torpedo all city transit? Why wouldn't anyone notice that this very mayor is wealthy due to owning the largest Oil Company and Concrete Plants in Jacksonville? Why isn't the news doing an investigative report? Why is some female representative from Volusia, not worthy of a name, trying to kill the Duval, Volusia, Clay, St. Johns, Orange, Seminole, and Osceola County's efforts to study or otherwise get funding for rail? According to the faceless lady in Volusia, "We simply can't afford the costs of rail..."
Boy does that sound original. We Transit people have been hearing that claptrap since the last stage coach bit the dusty trail, and Henry Ford rolled out the Tin Lizzy. People that say these things almost all have one thing in common:
1. They have never experienced modern or quality urban rail, if any. 2. They take all their information foundations and "think-tanks", steeped in oil or auto money. 3. They are clueless on the cost of rail -vs- highway. 4. They are clueless on the capacity and economics of rail operations. If Florida continues to elect and support these out dated schemes, we'll find ourselves a century behind the rest of this country within 20 years.
Arizona is to be congratulated! Right under the nose, and in the land of "The Anti-Train" John Mc Cain, PHOENIX GETS IT!
The Republican Mayor of Jacksonville, John Peyton, has recently announced his own stimulus package. The details are horrifying. We have $100 million dollars in a special account for Mass Transit Improvements, plus a dedicated half cent tax that goes directly to the Jacksonville Transit Authority (JTA).
To make matters worse, just as President Elect Obama comes along and asks for "ready to go plans for Transit", our own JTA has just finished stage one and two of Streetcar, Commuter Rail, and BRT studies. They also have a plan to reopen the downtown train station as a transportation center, and city money was already earmarked for that project as well.
Along comes mayor Peyton, the Concrete and Oil magnet, with a plan to raid all mass transit funds for new highways around the port. Further the funds for Transportation Center have vanished into a smoke screen of "3,000 new construction jobs".
Yeah, right Mr. Mayor, and after the roads open? Then what?
There will be no land run on Highway Adjacent Development that the Port Of Gold wouldn't create on it's own. With rail being the weak spot of our port (for the most part locked into one railroad company), and that same mainline has been identified as the backbone of commuter rail. Everyone See's a win-win situation for a sweeping purchase-lease back agreement and upgrade.
Over in City Council, the idea is being floated around to tear down the $200 million dollar monorail and replace it with streetcars! This idea is just short of crazy as the two systems could compliment each other and the City would gain from a multi-modal approach. But there's no funding to do any of those projects, no matter how good or crazy.
If the Council rubber stamps the mayors suicidal transit plan, Jacksonville might just as well roll it's name back to Cowford. It's been a long, long time since Jacksonville had a true multi-modal mass transit system, and it was taken down by National City Lines and their oil, asphalt and rubber tire friends. Today it's concrete and oil that enriches the Peyton family's pockets and he seems content to pull us back to 1932.
'Twas the night before Christmas And all through the town, Not a person was moving No bus could be found.
The transit dreamers, Were snug in their beds, While visions of streetcars Danced through their heads.
Our stations are empty They sleep through the night. No headrests and pillows So restful and white.
The Skyway had been of their very own choosing, So tempting and good There was just no refusing.
The evening they'd spent Seemed wrong for this Season. Since Peyton killed Transit Without purpose or reason.
On Commuter Rail, So spacious and bright, All might have sang, Christmas carols that night.
"'Tis a most happy Christmas, "They’d sing with delight," 'Travel at its best -- What a wonderful night."
And when it came time That Christmas was there, We had nothing to show, And few who would care.
As to Town Center they sped On through the storm, A city without transit, And Freeways the norm.
No thanks for our train, So streamlined and fine, No streetcars, no buses, Just Peyton sublime!
"This is," we had said, "The one way to go -- The Double Track Route For comfort, we know."
Then without heeding the call, As he turned out our lights, "It's a Peyton Christmas... For all a GOOD night."
Governor Bill Richardson Announces Debut of Rail Runner Express in Santa Fe
SANTA FE – Governor Bill Richardson today announced that after nearly a year-and-a-half of construction the New Mexico Rail Runner Express is ready to ride into Santa Fe. On Monday, December 15, 2008 the Governor will be joined by state, local and tribal officials, and several members of the public for the first inaugural train ride from Albuquerque into Santa Fe.
“This is a historic event that will bring long-term economic benefits to New Mexico and change the way we travel along the Middle Rio Grande Corridor,” Governor Richardson said. “During these tough economic times, the Rail Runner Express will provide thousands of commuters a much-needed savings while offering them a safe, viable and efficient transportation alternative.”
“The Rail Runner Express will change the face of transportation in New Mexico,” said State Transportation Secretary Rhonda Faught. “With initial estimates of nearly 4,500 commuters riding the train between Albuquerque and Santa Fe on a daily basis, this will not only take a lot of stress off our roads, but will also enhance safety.”
“Bringing the train to Santa Fe represents the historic culmination of five years of hard work, and a significant investment in the future of New Mexico,” says Lawrence Rael, Executive Director for the Mid-Region Council of Governments. “As a regional organization, the Council of Governments has been proud to work with the Department of Transportation to make this project a reality. This is about our children having an alternative transportation system to work, play and travel in the region for generations to come.”
This amazing project has been done in record time. Traffic between Santa Fe and Albuquerque on I-25 is very heavy. The sight of these trains racing past in the median will be their own best advertising. Congratulations to the forward thinking Governor, Mayors, NMDOT and people of New Mexico.
Isn't it a shame that here in the Southeast we continue to have freeway robber-barons that have never seen a highway they didn't love? Atlanta's recent and completely antiquated editorial calls for more highways and less nostalgia. Meanwhile in Jacksonville, even with gas at $1.60 per gallon, transit ridership is holding firm on JTA buses and monorail at over 1 million a month! These numbers are 25 year records, yet mayor Peyton is trying to sink the entire mass transit system by stealing the funds for pet road projects.
The battle cry is always, "We just don't have the density," (though we're more densely populated then Charlotte). This is hogwash, the Rail-Runner in New Mexico passes through several miles were I defy our mayor or anyone else to find a single living thing. Maybe it's just a ghost from our own past, this time WE are ALL THE SLAVES to our own STUPID ACTS. JT
The anti-transit crowd is at it again, more questionable math, more bent logic and more bowing to the almighty automobile, in a land where you can see what you breathe. City Watch a "Urban Think Tank" could have published this in Jacksonville, Atlanta, Tallahassee or Tampa and been just as suspect for accuracy.
Here in Jacksonville the JTA and Jacksonville Traction, two entity's fighting for a piece of the transit pie, are doing battle with the 99% highway boys. We thought this would be fun to answer "as if" from Jacksonville. You Californians hang on to your hats, it's not revenge I'm after, it's a reckoning... besides I spent my teens and 20's in Los Angeles.
The City of Los Angeles has a chicken-and-the-egg problem when it comes to development. Many neighborhood activists assert that development shouldn't happen in their neighborhoods unless and until Los Angeles has a public transportation system on a par with, say, the San Francisco Bay Area. On the other hand, transportation officials argue that they can’t provide (or obtain funding for) public transportation until a ridership base is in place, that is after the development occurs. With respect to rail transit, funding and construction can be decades away. We seem to be at an impasse.
Gee, the same thing is being said in Jacksonville, only we're bigger then Los Angeles in square miles, and only 9 places behind in population.
For much of Los Angeles, it is a myth that frequent, comprehensive transit service does not exist. Vast swaths of Los Angeles have frequent bus service, especially during commute hours and especially to and from downtown. For example, Metro’s “12 Minute Map” (available here ) shows where buses run at least every 12 minutes during the day. This includes every major east-west street, and most major north-south streets, between downtown and the Westside. And lots of Angelenos travel to work using our public transit system. Newly released data from the US Census Bureau shows that, during the 2005-2007 time period, 11.5% of Los Angeles residents who work commuted by public transportation. This figure is not that much lower than in the Bay Area (excluding San Jose and the Silicon Valley), where 14.9% of workers commuted by public transportation.
Let's look in on Jacksonville, the sprawl capital of the nation. Even so our public transit hovers at the 5%-7% of all commuters. This includes the forever-unfinished monorail system, The Jacksonville Skyway.
Poorly planned development threatens our environment, our health, and our quality of life. In communities across Massachusetts "sprawl" - scattered development that increases traffic, saps local resources and destroys open space - is taking a serious toll. Many of the effects of sprawl can be traced to poorly planned transportation infrastructure, including highway and airport expansion. The Massachusetts Sierra Club is working throughout the state to find solutions to our transportation and sprawl problems. We are working to promote rail - the most environmentally sound form of transportation - over continued highway and airport expansion. (SIERRA CLUB) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The most striking difference between public transportation in Los Angeles and the Bay Area is the balance between bus and rail. In the City of Los Angeles, 95% of public transportation commuters travel by bus, compared to about 50% in the Bay Area. In the Bay Area, 45% of transit commuters travel by rail (including BART, Muni Metro light rail, or Cal-Train), compared to only 5% in Los Angeles. I suspect that many of the people who complain about LA’s transit system simply believe that bus service is per se inadequate and demand rail. Here again, the parallels are striking, we demand rail. Hell, so does Miami, West Palm, Sarasota, Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Tampa, Orlando - Deland to Poinciana. Jacksonville's problems are not unique as this writer so clearly points out.
The problem is that rail is quite expensive and most routes don’t have ridership levels to justify the cost. Even where rail makes sense, the high cost means that rail service is years, if not decades, away.
...And here is where our highway centric story teller goes off into left field. He is but a parrot for Detroit and the old school development companies that haven't discovered the Transit Oriented Development, and don't want to rock the boat by offering inter modal transit. More of the, "What was good enough for Grandpa should be good enough for you, mentality."
No matter what color you paint a bus, it still gets stuck in traffic. Over 15 years ago, the MBTA – after tearing down the elevated Orange Line – promised equal or better service. For 15 years, that service was a dirty diesel bus that contributed to residents' suffering asthma rates six times higher than the state average. Now the MBTA has unveiled its equal or better plans: building an elaborate tunnel system underneath downtown Boston so buses can turn around. Otherwise known as the "Silver Line Phase III," this plan will cost millions more than using existing tunnels and restoring light rail service on Washington Street. Even MBTA studies showed using the existing tunnel for Green Line-type service is only a matter of new lights and tracks, a substantial savings. (SIERRA CLUB)
FACT IS: A mile of first class single track railroad, with welded rail and concrete ties, is cheaper to build then a mile of standard two-lane highway. Moreover, that mile of single track railroad has the PPHPD (Passenger Per Hour - Per Direction) capacity of 3 highway lanes. Railroads don't need a wide right-of-way either, taking perhaps half the space of the two lane highway Development? Only 7% of national Transit Oriented Development is centered around bus systems, the rest are on rail. Even if this nation could figure out a way for automobiles and buses to burn dirty bath water and emit only pure mountain air, we have still paved over the equivalent of 8 northeastern states. Is that enough to change your environment? Let's hope not. So under the banner of "understanding" and "helping" to solve the urban problems of today, one can see this author is already sold out to Detroit.
But there are ways to improve bus service that might get us out of the transit vs. development impasse. First, we need to speed up bus service. Except for the Orange Line and parts of downtown LA, buses are stuck in the same traffic as cars. Because buses also make frequent stops, this puts buses at a severe travel time disadvantage compared to cars or dedicated rail lines. Bus-only lanes are an option. Currently, Metro and the City are exploring whether to make the curb lanes on Wilshire Blvd bus-only lanes during peak hours. This would speed up buses relative to cars, and make bus schedules more predicable. If they are serious about encouraging transit use, Metro and the City of LA should consider implementing peak-hour bus-only lanes on every heavily-used bus route with peak-hour “no parking” curb lanes.
Let's cut through the double speak here and note the facts. "Buses are at a disadvantage compared to dedicated rail lines." Amazing observation, being stuck in traffic is worse then being over, under, or beyond the reach of traffic on the rails. So his solution follows his logic...Let the railroad lay and build more freeway lanes for buses.
Second (and related to the first), due to the poor condition of pavement in curb lanes, riding the bus is uncomfortable. It is hard to read or work; indeed, it is sometimes hard to stay in one’s seat. In an era when Washington is talking about funding infrastructure projects, Los Angeles could seek funding for smooth, concrete bus lanes so that riding in these lanes is as comfortable as riding the Orange Line. On many streets, the condition of the curb lanes is so bad that very few cars use them. Thus, converting them to bus-only lanes wouldn’t significantly affect automobile traffic in the other lanes.
Here the pace picks up to downright excitement. Let's blow out the curb lanes on the roads, nobody likes them anyway. Forget parking, no one needs curbside parking, expensive meters or conversion to bus only lanes will create boulevards where buses can play-like-trains and blow past every mom and pop store, shop or boutique in town. Don't expect this to be welcome by the small retailer - restaurateur's, but who cares, this is about highways, and everyone knows highways are more important then people, livelihood or community.
Third, Metro could speed up service on the Rapid Bus lines by allowing passengers to board at any door. Particularly when wheelchair users are disembarking, forcing all passengers to board through the front door causes significant delays. Rapid bus systems in cities such as Curitiba, Brazil use simple technologies to permit boarding through all doors.
This isn't such a bad idea really, why not go one step further and make transit like City Parks and Libraries? FREE. If we must charge, get the fare collection off the buses and trains and into station vending machines, convenience stores, super markets and Wal-Marts. We should all follow Curitiba's example. Apparently not informed, the writer fails to acknowledge that Curitiba's highly praised Bus Rapid Transit only moves at an average speed of 12 MPH, and has failed to keep up with the crowds. Oh what to do? Curitiba is building rail as fast as they can.
Fourth, it often seems that Los Angeles’ transit system is the designated day care center for our mentally ill and homeless population. We should provide treatment for people who cannot care for themselves, and not just hand them a bus pass.
I seriously doubt that the homeless are given bus passes en-masse in Los Angeles or Jacksonville (though the disabled or jobless should be first in line for a free pass). Fact is, we care for our homeless with beds, roof, room and board, does the City of Angels do the same? This isn't a transit problems per se, rather a social illness that infects most of the larger American Cities. I have no problem riding a bus with someone who isn't in full control of their mind or abilities, I'd rather we reach out and give them a hand up, instead of tossing them out But isn't this the stigma that follows buses everywhere? "They stink," "they are full of crazies", "who rode the short bus in high school?" Labels that give away the true meaning of this article, "Improve Buses for the Poor and don't spend an extra nickle on rail for the same crowd..."
Rail is an essential part of the solution to Los Angeles’ transportation problem. But it is an expensive, long-term solution that makes sense in only a handful of places. We must build more housing so our children have places to live when they become adults. That means we must selectively increase density. To break the logjam, wherein people legitimately object to density without transportation improvements, we should take advantage of relatively low-cost, easy-to-implement projects that could significantly improve the performance and appeal of Metro’s extensive bus network.
Suddenly a severe swerve in the road, I note that on my far right is John Birch, and these boys are once again preaching the, "rail-is-expensive," and, "rail-is-severely-limited," mantra. The illusion changes to one of building rail will mean we won't have houses for our children. Let's take the cheap route and build more highways and buses. In Los Angeles and Jacksonville let's build for the bus and the poor children, keeping our wallets close to our hearts. The quick cheap solution... Well it might fly in some circles but I'm calling you out on this one. You buy into this cheap argument and I've got some mountain top land to sell you in the Okefenokee Swamp. One thing is true in his argument for "CHEAP TRANSIT" - You'll get what you pay for.
(Jeffrey Jacobberger is an attorney, a Public Policy major and a neighborhood council activists. Jacobberger is a CityWatch contributor.)
(Robert Mann, Your blogger, is a Monster of Mobility, Transportation Consultant, Old Hippie and unabashed defender of rail in any form).
More then just another tour bus, the Brunswick system has the potential to build-in the tourism and intermodalism unlike any other new-start bus operation on earth.
These coaches by Silver Eagle go way back with me. While sitting in a sales meeting with a Canadian coach builder the salesman said, "You don't want an Eagle, they are built by sub-standard Mexican workers..." Sub-Standard? Did this guy know my wife who was sitting across the dinner table was from COLOMBIA? All racism aside, if your in the business and haven't looked at an Eagle, let this old Trailways Supervisor introduce you to the most beautiful and comfortable Motor Coach in the World. JTA? Brunswick Transit? For those longer commuter runs - LOOK AT A SILVER EAGLE!
Amtrak comes screaming through Folkston, Georgia, close to the stop listed for "Brunswick and The Golden Isles". Did you think High Speed Rail was only in the North? Watch these trains pass and just try to focus on a single car, I dare you.
You want opinion? Brunswick's Historic Waterfront is a Post Card waiting to happen - All of the time! By the way, so is the rest of the reigon, and yes, they have hotels.
First came Valdosta TRANSIT'S Announcement, with a state university and Moody Air Force Base, a mere 75 miles on the arrow straight Norfolk Southern Railway from Jacksonville.
Now comes word that little cousin to our North, the one time Airship capital of the Southeast, Brunswick, Georgia, is also about to get on the bus.
This is fantastic news, as both are within the window of Jacksonville's direct economic impact zone, trade zones, and potential SMA.
For those that missed Brunswick, it is off of I-95 some miles to the East along the Coastal Georgia Islands and resorts. As a child I marveled at the great Naval airships which were stationed at NLTA Glynco. The hangers were so big, they had their own weather forecast INSIDE! Today the former base is a national law enforcement training center and center for the FBI. Brunswick, though it is off the beaten path, is nestled among some of the most beautiful resort islands in the world, as much a step back in time as Seville, Spain; St. Augustine, Florida; or Cartagena, Colombia.
Brunswick is also a booming deep water port directly served by two major railroads and one terminal line.
Brunswick also has commuter air service, and regular scheduled Greyhound Bus service and several charter lines on the "GOLDEN ISLES ROUTES".
Between Brunswick and Jacksonville is St. Marys and the old WWII army port of Kings Bay. Though that base was completed as the major load point for transports with a deep harbour, it opened too late to be of any use in the war effort. So for many, many years, it simply slept, no one really knowing what to do with this giant unused base and port facility. Then along came the Trident Nuclear Submarine fleet and a need for an East Coast home port with deep water. Suddenly Kings Bay Naval Station was born, at the time the 7Th Naval base in the Jacksonville district.
Though the bases have been cut back to 5, they still play a huge role in the local economics.
One would hope with the plans for Jacksonville Transportation Authority to go regional, someone would include Valdosta and Brunswick as well as Waycross, Georgia in these plans.
Here is the Newspaper story out of Georgia:
Brunswick Public Transit System Possible Jess Davis The Brunswick News (Georgia)
GEORGIA - A public bus system could be begin operating in Brunswick and the Golden Isles late next year.
The Brunswick Area Transportation Study Policy Committee, which includes representatives from the city, county and business community, adopted findings of a recently completed transit study Monday and voted to move forward with a plan that could create public transportation here by the end of 2009.
Federal grant money would pay for buses and bus stop shelters.
Brunswick and Glynn County have already set aside $200,000 each for the system.
Instead of setting up a cost-sharing agreement to fund administration of the system, the committee voted to request bids from outside management companies. The company would use from profits from operations to pay administrative costs of running the system while the city and county would provide the buses and bus stops.
The transit plan, written by consultant URS, calls for initial creation of two routes, with options for adding two additional routes.
The first route would run weekdays at 30-minute intervals along a 6-mile route between Mary Ross Waterfront Park, downtown, and the Glynn Place Mall area. Service would be from 6:15 a.m. to 6:15 p.m.
The second route would run weekdays along a 10-mile route between Mary Ross Park and Interstate 95 interchanges at U.S. 341 and Spur 25/Golden Isles Parkway. Service would initially operate from 6:15 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. and 4 p.m. to 6:15 p.m. on a 60-minute frequency.
The third route would run from the city to the southern end of St. Simons Island. It is being considered optional because fewer people would expected to use it than the initial two routes to get to and from work.
The fourth would be weekend service on the weekday route of Mary Ross Park to Glynn Place Mall.
Planners anticipate that the total plan would require 10 years to phase in all routes.
A few possible hurdles could delay the bus system, but the county has taken steps to expedite getting grant money from the federal government, said Dave Hainley, community development director.
"This has been a long-range desire for the county," Hainley said. "We are one of a few counties our size that don't have public transportation."
The Transit Blogger has a couple of suggestions for this study.
1. Brunswick has always had a dedicated railroad (AMTRAK) stop over on the mainland. As more schedules or trains are added, why not schedule one of these smaller coaches to meet not only the Amtrak Trains but also the aircraft with direct connections to the hotels, history, port and the Golden Isles resorts. In other words get public transit into the game of serving all level of patron.
2. Work with the US Navy at Kings bay, the historic towns of St. Marys, Georgia - Fernandina Beach, Florida, to create sweet lollipop shaped routes that circulate the respective metro, then fly to tie it all together. JTA buses would circulate the main hotels, airport and transit centers in Jacksonville, then make a freeway dash North to Fernandina Beach, St. Marys-Kingsland, and Brunswick. Meanwhile the BRUNSWICK TRANSIT buses would make the circuit of port, airport, law academy, tourists islands, then break for a similar freeway dash south ending in Jacksonville. As commuter rail, Southeast High Speed Rail, and expanded Amtrak come into play the schedules could be altered to serve all modes.
3. Don't forget, AMTRAK and the AIRLINES often carry advertising in their schedule cards, folders or national timetables. The best way for a transit agency to assure it can stand up to Hertz or Avis, is to have a few words in these publications and websites to let the passengers know that you offer a service - fast - clean - comfortable - kind and far cheaper then another car rental or taxi.
4. It should be remembered that Greyhound and perhaps some of the Trailways partners are operating along these routes. If they could be made interested, what a fantastic opportunity to create a true cooperative network from the Golden Isles to the Port of Gold on Florida's First Coast. What a micro-mega system this would be with Amtrak-JTA-Greyhound-Trailways-Brunswick Transit all on board as players.
Holy Tug Boats Batman, at this rate 10 years down the road, we will be LOS ANGELES EAST!
Let's hope we can get the City moving with the Mass Transit plans before the crowds start to hit town. $6 Billion dollars to spend is a bunch of bucks to scatter over our explosive growth city.
For those at a distance, perhaps you think I am stressing this too much. I CAN'T! The Northside of the City is looking more and more like old Tombstone - the wild west silver mining camp in Arizona... It should be remembered by historians though, that along with the wild growth came rail passenger service.
Sorry for the crass-commercial advertisment, but here is a video of the announcements. Enjoy.
Sunrise over the St. Johns River - Just beyond this scene, around the bend is The Port Of Gold.
How Long Until The All Aboard?
Finally, some great news from a City that isn't falling apart. Another Billion in economic impact, hundreds of millions in new spending, and at least 5,500 more jobs.
Now the Transit and infrastructure race is on.
As Jacksonville scrambles to improve the parkways around the St. Johns River, the sea port is gobbling up land faster then a starving badger in a meat shop. Even in this time of credit crunches and cut-backs we're on a roll.
A trip along Zoo Parkway or Hecksher Drive is like driving through Disney World when it was nothing but endless dirt and dozier's. Miles and miles of dirt and dozier's.
Every bridge along the waterway, which Floridians know crosses countless estuary rivers and creeks, are having to be rebuilt for container traffic.
Up in the CSX Railroad tower downtown, plans call for a new freight rail line which will go North from JaxPort along the old Seaboard mainline, then cross over to the current CSX Jacksonville-Folkston mainline on the old Gross Cut-Off.
The Jacksonville Transportation Authority is wrestling with conceptual ideas on Commuter Rail to the foot of Zoo Parkway, Dunn Avenue and I-295E. From those stations buses, either regular transit buses or BRT could take the hordes of new employees to and from their jobs.
Some may recall with humor the funny advertisements Jacksonville Economic Development ran back in the 1970's. "Why are thousands of New Yorkers leaving town for the BIG CITY? - JACKSONVILLE!" But my hands down favorite was, "Ask any Atlantian the way to THE PORT - JACKSONVILLE!" Atlantians, got up in arms over those full page spreads, but it's all water under the keel now. Since that time we have long since trumped Atlanta's population within our corporate boundary's. Time will tell if there is a another transportation office tower rising on the banks of our majestic river.
The South Korean company, which has its U.S. corporate headquarters in Atlanta, will open a $300 million container terminal in Jacksonville and have it operating in late 2011. The move will create more than 5,600 jobs and have a nearly $1 billion annual impact, according to JaxPort officials.
Construction of the 88-acre terminal facility is expected to take about two years once the permitting process is complete. It will be adjacent to the TraPac Container Terminal, which will be open in January 2008 to handle Mitsui OSK Lines.
“This is the one-two punch we have been working toward,” said Jaxport Executive Director Rick Ferrin in a news release. “TraPac put us on the map. Hanjin makes JaxPort a major player in Asian and European trade and together the new terminals help fulfill our mission of bringing jobs and opportunity to the region.”
The Hanjin terminal will be the company’s first dedicated operation on the East Coast and will capitalize on the increased traffic spurred the expansion of the Panama Canal.
The South Korean company’s $300 million container terminal at Dames Point, which is expected to be operating in late 2011, will create more than 5,600 jobs and have a nearly $1 billion annual impact, according to Jaxport officials.
Jaxport Executive Director Rick Ferrin said the deal is part of Jaxport’s goal of being a global gateway and having different types of cargo flowing through the port.
“Hanjin is a key development to that success and vision,” Ferrin said.
Hanjin Senior Vice President C.S. Choi said the company’s Jacksonville terminal will be the most efficient automated terminal Florida has ever seen.
Construction on the terminal is expected to take about two years once the permitting process is completed. It will be adjacent to the TraPac Container Terminal, which will open next month to handle MitsuiOSK Lines. The addition of Hanjin, which operates 200 ships, will triple the cargo-handling capacity at the port.
When finished, the terminal will be able to handle up to a million containers annually.
*************************************************
So there you have it, another DONE DEAL in Jacksonville's Port Of Gold. Watch the lift off of Commuter Rail and BRT in the very near future, as this sleeping giant rockets toward a new position as America's 9TH or 10TH largest city. Boisterous? You bet, I call it home town pride - just watch us grow.
The $100 Million dollar question is how long until we get off our collective wallets and build the promised Rapid Transit lines?
The arguments rage to this date, "Should have never been built," "waste of taxpayer money," "Doesn't go anywhere," "Nobody rides it..." etc. Bottom line is we have it, and it is finally showing signs of life. Simple extensions to the Stadium, San Marco, and the area of Blue Cross in North Riverside would turn this little train around. Addition of Park and Ride garages and multimodal transit terminals at the end points would bring on the crowds.
The video must have been shot on a Sunday Morning, as downtown is certainly as packed with life as any other major City on weekdays. Jacksonville is a city of Bikes, joggers, walkers, buses and cars, one almost wonders how the photographer managed to find this quiet moment.
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This blog was created as a window on Jacksonville and Florida Transportation news along with my reviews on everything rail. Critical views and issues of controversy are an important part of building a great transit system. Your comments are welcome.
Not those slow old streetcars in traffic again... How about FLYING TROLLEYS?
I guess I should expect a generation raised on Rice-a-Roni or old Trolley movies to think these poor vehicles could only move at Charlie Chaplin speed. Hardly, Witness the RED DEVIL, A deluxe lounge car "trolley" running out from under an airplane at 99.7 MPH. The aircraft wasn't on a city street but then neither was the Red Devil when it left the plane in it's dust. So PLEASE adjust your image of what might be possible along private rights-of-ways throughout the City, with a mix of antiques and ultra-modern streetcars sharing the spotlight on the SAME tracks.
Thoughts on My Life, the lighter side:
Revolutions Started Cheap -
Barns burned-bridges torched -
Opinions R Us -
Don't pee on my leg and tell me it's raining -
Skin and Flint Financial Services -
Incurable Romantic -
Dewey Cheatham and Howe Legal Advice -
Whatever you do, DON'T!
"Life is like a Toothpick, just as you work out all of the details, you lose the point" (RM)
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