ANOTHER BILLION FOR THE PORT OF GOLD

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.

FROM THE ATLANTA BUSINESS CHRONICLE:

After months of negotiations, Hanjin Shipping Co. Ltd.’s board of directors has approved a 30-year lease with the Jacksonville Port Authority.

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.

****************************************************

FROM THE JACKSONVILLE BUSINESS JOURNAL:

Jaxport, Hanjin complete terminal deal
Officials with the Jacksonville Port Authority and Hanjin Shipping Co. Ltd. put the finishing touches on a 30-year lease for 90 acres Wednesday.

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 Mitsui OSK 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?

Port of Gold
JaxPort
international shipping
hanjin

Aircraft Carrier Battle Rages on the East Coast of Florida

A Norfolk Nightmare?

Zeros, Kates? Foxbats? Bears? Converted Cropdusters?

REMEMBER, IT'S ALWAYS

DECEMBER 6, 1941

- 0700

DECEMBER 7

COULD BE JUST HOURS AWAY

Disperse the Fleet, a move to Mayport, Kings Bay, Charleston, Key West, Pensacola, is a move toward national security.

Norfolk could always remain the fleet service station for all major overhaul and repair.

Imagine if you will, a country dumb enough to place all of it's major capital ships all in one port. What if, for example, one was to place nearly the whole Pacific Fleet in Pearl harbour? Certainly times have changed, nobody is expecting any B-5-N-2Kate Torpedo Bombers to suddenly appear in the Sky's over Hawaii.

What if Admiral Kimble was right, and the threat would have been from Japanese Terrorists? Could a well placed bomb in the USS Utah or Arizona produced the same results? Certainly they could. Hit the ships magazine and thousands of bombs will either detonate, or fly through the air while detonating to rain down on everything for miles around. Horror of horrors.

Here in Jacksonville's Port of Gold, we have so many things happening on the maritime side, it's hard to keep up with the daily announcements. New channels, turning basins, container yards, warehousing, wharfs, roads, railroads, in what resembles one of the worlds largest construction sites.

Mayport,founded in 1563, is a tiny suburban fishing village, that guards the mouth of the majestic St. Johns River, lighthouse and jetty's. Today, Mayport is wholly within the corporate bounds of The City of Jacksonville. It is also home to a large US Coast Guard station, a historic shrimp fleet and sundry seafood shops and restaurants, as well as the future home of JaxPort's new cruise ship terminal. But the thing Mayport is most known for is the US Naval Station Mayport.

NS Mayport, guards JaxPort, and is the 4TH fleet (South Atlantic and Caribbean)headquarters.

When the John F. Kennedy left Mayport last year, it left the huge carrier basin without a carrier.

Meanwhile in Norfolk, Virginia, the entire East Coast compliment of capital surface ships (4 carriers) is in one place. Norfolk Naval Base is at the end of a long narrow channel leading from the sea, a dozen or so miles from the shipping channels.

"Not to worry," says Virginia, "They'll never bomb this place..."

Sort of reminds me of the Yankee General during the War of Yankee Aggression, who rose in his saddle to rally his men and yelled, "Come on boys, they couldn't hit an elephant at this dis--." DEAD!

So Virginia has changed her tune, "Carriers will kill whales and destroy the whale migrations off the Florida Coast." Really? We're not exactly the whale headquarters of the Atlantic. In fact in 54 years - including in the Navy here, I've never seen a single whale off Jacksonville. Besides wouldn't a whale swimming off Florida follow the gulf stream up to Norfolk where that Chesapeake Bay dumps millions of gallons of fresh water and new sea life into the ocean?

Wouldn't the whales be 5 times (another carrier is about to be commissioned at Norfolk) more likely to be confused into sonar suicide by the constant movement of carriers in and out of Norfolk.

"WHAT VIRGINIA SAID..."

Carrier battle is really all about the money
Tamara Dietrich
December 10, 2008

Nobody can accuse Virginia's federal delegation of not pulling every rabbit out of the hat to try to thwart U.S. Navy plans to take one of our nuclear aircraft carriers and give it to Florida.

It's flawed military strategy, they argue. It's fiscally irresponsible. It will needlessly uproot thousands of Navy families.

And, as of Monday, it could harm whales and manatees.

Sens. Jim Webb and John Warner just released a statement of their "serious concerns" over the lack of sufficient review of the risks to sea life off the Florida coast if 5.2 million cubic tons are dredged at Naval Station Mayport near Jacksonville, Fla., to accommodate a nuclear-powered carrier.

It's an environmentally sensitive argument, but could it stick?

Doubtful.

When creatures of the earth run afoul of national security concerns, the boogeyman nearly always wins.

Sorry, whales and manatees.

Still, we can throw environmental concern in the mix and see if the totality of Virginia's argument persuades the Navy to change its recommendation and leave the carrier here.

Norfolk has four nuclear carriers, with a fifth set to be commissioned next month. We're the only nuclear port on the East Coast, which concerns the Navy enough to want to spend between half a billion and a billion dollars to retrofit Mayport as a secondary port and disperse the carriers.

They don't want another Pearl Harbor-style disaster inflicted by God nor man.

Still, the last few years have taught us that the unthinkable really isn't. Could God or man ever inflict enough damage on the Norfolk station itself to seriously hinder the comings and goings of our nuclear carriers? Might a secondary port — the West Coast already has them — be a wise idea?

These political prognosticators haven't a clue how tragic this scene could become. Have you ever stood on the fantail of an aircraft carrier and looked into the broken hearted eyes of a sex starved bull whale that just tried to mate with spinning propellers? Tragic indeed.

All of this environmental concern for Florida, from our neighbors in Virginia, is deeply appreciated. But it's appreciated in the abstract - like a bad case of hemorrhoids.

Could it be that someday in the future, we will stare in disbelief at our TV screens broadcasting the wreckage of our entire Atlantic Carrier force? We owe the Imperial Japanese Navy one debit of gratitude, they proved we are not untouchable by a lesser power. To ignore history is to be cursed to repeat it.

Frankly, even if we don't want to face it, 911 taught us, it that it's always December 6, 1941, and the clock is ticking...

Jacksonville
International Port
JaxPort
Port of Gold
international shipping
National Transportation Policy

HIGHWAY HIJINK'S AND MUSHY MAYORAL MATH

Just another Jacksonville rush hour

At a meeting of US Mayors, some very interesting items came up for consideration by the Public Transportation World. Stimulus is the catch word of the hour and everyone is looking for a piece of this golden fleece as the nation try's to spend itself rich.

Here in Jacksonville, our Mayor, John Peyton, just shocked the City last week with a call for a new $100 Million dollars of local spending to jump start the economy. Where pray-tell will the Mayor find $100 Million dollars laying around - useless? Why the funding for the Transit arm of our Transportation Authority of course. Currently the JTA enjoys a 1/2 cent on the dollar appropriation from the City. The Mayor wants to take that money away, money that was promised to the Transit Needy and Transit Savvy citizens of Jacksonville when we agreed to remove the tolls from our many bridges. So now Transit will have no toll money and no City money except that Peyton's big idea is to link the Transit funding with monthly sales tax revenue. In other words, 35+ years of Amtrak disasters look like success to this guy, after all, he now wants the same funding program for JTA.

I wonder if his daddy hadn't made a fortune in Gate Concrete and Gate Petroleum and bought him a mayoral ticket, how he would feel? He claims his $100 Million in new highways will create thousands of jobs and cause JaxPort (also know as The Port of Gold) to blossom even faster. Fat chance, (non transit type's should know that a single interchange can cost $150 Million). So where are these jobs going to come from? Not one mayor in any of the cities at the meeting had a clue. Tuscon, Arizona calculates that a $30 Million dollar road program in that City will cause 1,050 jobs. Certainly some sort of new version of the tired old "Trickle Down Economics" of Tricky Dicky and The Late Great Ronald Reagan.

If Jacksonville uses Tuscon's numbers as an example, the Mayors great rescue will amount to 3,500 new jobs in a metro of 1.4 Million people. BIG DEAL. One has to wonder how many of these jobs will be screeding concrete at Gate Products? Even if 500 of those jobs were professional trades and construction related, what happens when the money runs out? Of course we could just sell another bus. So are the other 3,000 jobs going to be burger flippers at the corner Gate Gas Station? You bet they will.

Oh but Mr. Mayor, you forgot that those folks won't make enough money to buy an automobile to get to work in this, the most sprawled, and largest City in land area in the Western Hemisphere. So they'll just take the bus right? OOP'S tossed those out for another guard rail on I-10, just another of our soon to be 4 interstate highways built with Gate Concrete.

Let's look at the mayors conference, from the Arizona Star:

$110 million for a new streetcar system that is scheduled to receive $87 million from the Regional Transportation Authority and requires only $75 million in new funding to complete.
Tucson Mayor Bob Walkup said the projects were included on the list submitted to the Conference of Mayors because that's what they wanted.

"They said 'Give us your list of things that are ready to go,'" he said.

Some of those on Tucson's list, however, are not on its five-year construction plan.

And Walkup said that if the feds picked up the tab for something like the streetcar project, "we'd probably have to pay them back."

Monday's report is in response to statements last month by President-elect Barack Obama saying he wants to create or save 2.5 million jobs by 2011.

Miami Mayor Manny Diaz, who chairs the conference, said that dovetails with the needs of cities that have infrastructure projects facing them.

"We need to invest where we can get the biggest return," Diaz said at a press conference in Washington. "We are not here for a bailout."

But if Tucson's job-creation figures are any indicator, the claim that projects from the 427 cities surveyed would create 850,000 jobs may be questionable.

Consider the item seeking $30 million for pavement rehabilitation and preservation, which Tucson says will mean 1,050 jobs.

Walkup said that does not mean 1,050 people filling potholes.

So where does the number come from?

"Nobody could explain it to me adequately," the mayor said. The best answer he got, Walkup said, was the idea that money spent on the projects would "trickle through our community."
"This is going to improve dry cleaners and people that are in the service industry by virtue of the fact that capital money is spreading," he said.

So Mayor Diaz of Miami says we need to invest where we'll get the most return. Great idea. Let's look at The Port Of Gold - JaxPort. Certainly nobody would suggest a Port that will triple in size in as many years should go wanting. But to rob the city of an already sketchy Bus System, and kill hopes for Rapid Transit in the process? That is just rabidly short-sighted. For all of these new Port highways, has one moments thought been given to a neutral railroad access or terminal company? Shhhh! We wouldn't want to tick off the resident brass hats in the CSX tower downtown.

But aren't Tuscon, Miami, Fort Lauderdale and Sarasota all planning streetcars. Yes they are but the Florida Cities won't let the cat out of the bag. Why? Maybe it's because Jacksonville has already raided the Ports from Seattle to Key West to Bangor, and positioned itself to become the second or third largest port in the nation in a few years. God knows we wouldn't want any of that success to spill over to Mass Transit.

What success you say? Well, Tuscon is planning a complete modern streetcar system for a mere $110 Million Dollars - COMPLETE. I'm sitting here with two studies on my desk that say Jacksonville could self fund and have Commuter Rail with rebuilt RDC cars up and running next year for about $50 Million or half of the Mayors highway hijinks's.

Would the Streetcars make money? Of course they will, they'll make as much as City Library System, The City Parks and all those roads the mayor is so fond of. But it's the fallout from streetcars that is so attractive to everyone but Jacksonville's leaders. Tampa, for example built a historic tourist type streetcar only a mile or so in length and has seen $1.5 Billion in economic development follow along it's route. Isolated case? I think not. St. Louis Metro-Link Light Rail, $4.5 Billion in new development, Portland, Oregon, has reaped a cool $6.5 Billion.

This isn't hamburgers Mr. Mayor, this is real development, condos, retail, light industrial and corporate headquarters that follow the rails wherever they lead.

Oh, I almost forgot, we have THE PORT. Who needs a $6.5 Billion dollar legacy project when our children's children look at those big chain link fences and say, "Teacher told me to thank Mayor Peyton for dat daddy." Of course the kids will have to have a way to get to the port and Peyton won't be getting any credit for that little oversight.

So here we sit on a pile of cash, able to self fund rail if we so desire. Keeping our brain trust in our neither region's has crippled the council, defamed the mayor, and sent the press off on wild tales about losing money on rail. They say a photo is worth 1,000 words so let me insert one for our consideration:

Meanwhile having blown the whistle on this self serving foolishness, I find myself deep in an old and familiar drama:

--Do not arouse the wrath....

-- Toto at my feet --

--CAMERA PANS right with him as he runs to a veil that hangs near the throne steps

-- PEYTON'S VOICE ...of the Great and Powerful PEYTON! I said -- come back tomorrow!

-- Bob speaks as he looks to the right

-- CAMERA PULLS back to Toto - starts to pull back Peyton's veil

--Bob, "If you were really great and powerful, you'd keep your promises, talk to you constituents and educate yourself!"

--PEYTON'S VOICE Do you presume to criticize the....

-- Toto pulls back the veil to reveal the Mayor at the controls of the throne apparatus

-- his back to the camera PEYTON'S VOICE ...Great PEYTON?

--You ungrateful 800 Pound Monster of Mobility!

-- The press folds and reacts with fear

-- PEYTON'S VOICE Think yourselves lucky that I'm...giving you audience tomorrow, instead of....

-- The Mayor at the controls -- his back to camera -- he speaks into the microphone

-- he turns, looks and sees that the veil is gone

-- reacts and turns back to the controls

-- PEYTON'S VOICE ...twenty years from now.

--Oh -- oh oh! The Great PEYTON has spoken! Oh -- Oh PEYTON'S VOICE Oh - I - Pay no.......attention to that man behind the curtain. Go - before I lose my temper! The Great and Powerful ---Peyton has... uh....yes....spoken.

This scene is repeated over and over all across America, as the grass roots Mass Transit Advocates try and educate the public. As for Jacksonville and the Oil and Concrete Mayor?

No disrespect intended Mr. Mayor, but you won't piss on my leg and tell me it's raining!

monorail
highway
jacksonville transportation authority

A Website To Cause The Anti-Rail Crowd Bed Wetting And Nightmares

Hello General Motors, remember us? You last saw us on that rainy December day back in 1936, then you warmed your hands as our streetcars burned. Well guess what America? We're Back!

see the site at: http://www.freewebs.com/lightrailjacksonville/

We have created a WEBSITE as a bi-product of the JACKSONVILLE TRANSIT BLOG that ought to keep the BRT "Just Like Rail Only Cheaper", crowd up with some high voltage bad dreams. In fact we think the articles we have created, borrowed, stolen, begged and otherwise obtained for publication will make the Anti-Rail crowd sit down and cry.

Good. This was designed to get the attention of a brain dead City leadership and shake the grates on the hard core fossil fuel hogs. It might even be a one stop shop for many of the facts and figures you can use in your own local battles.

The site contains: Streetcar Facts, Light Rail Facts, BRT Facts, Jacksonville Streetcar History, Monorail Facts (positive), Video, Charts, and tons of photos, many created with the help of cyber-savvy photoshop boys at the Metro-Jacksonville site. So come on over and warm up by the fire. The warm glow of burning highway tires can be felt around the world. Comments and contributions are welcome, just drop me a note.
Bob at : lightrailjax@gmail.com

Commuter Rail
Bus Rapid Transit
Light Rail
transit

Lake and Sumpter County Florida In The Commuter Rail Race

MORE OF FLORIDA GETS ONBOARD THE COMMUTER TRAIN

Florida Central Freight heading southbound on the CSX mainline at the Orlando Florida Amtrak (future Commuter Rail) station.

Just an example of creative thought in Commuter Rail. This is called the Mount Dora Champion, (Champion - for the famous ACL passenger train of the same name) a dinner train on the Florida Central, or a ticket to the Magic games in downtown Orlando. Take another look at the photo, think commuter, think a bigger Florida Central locomotive, think dollars not Millions. THINK! It's already there for the taking.

What great news for the good people of Central Florida. The Lake - Sumpter Counties MPO has made it official, THEY WANT COMMUTER RAIL. This is along the lines of the former Seaboard Air Line, Lake Charm (Orlando) Subdivision which is operated today by the Florida Central Railroad. The track extends from Mount Dora and from Umatilla/Eustis to a junction near Tavares, located in the Orange groves north of Orlando. From Tavares the line runs southward through Plymouth/Apopka and into the heart of downtown Orlando. Due to the way the line enters the CSX mainline it misses the new Lynx Terminal which is destined to become the commuter hub of the City, instead it picks up Church Street Station and Orlando Amtrak, as the mainline continues on toward Tampa.

This railroad has already shown a willingness to run passenger trains, being the home to a handful of tourist railroads and train operations. They have continued this with Magic Basketball specials which are usually sold out in advance.

FROM THE ORLANDO SENTINEL:

Lake sees commuter rail line in future
Christine Show Sentinel Staff Writer
December 7, 2008

After throwing support behind Central Florida's main commuter-rail project, local planning officials said they hope consideration is given to a similar passenger line running between the Golden Triangle and Orlando.Lake-Sumter Metropolitan Planning Organization members last week approved a resolution supporting the proposed 61-mile train route from DeLand through downtown Orlando and on to Poinciana. The state Legislature stalled plans for that rail project this spring.But proponents -- namely, U.S. Reps. Corrine Brown, D-Jacksonville, and John Mica, R-Winter Park -- recently said their goals may be aided by the Barack Obama administration, its economic-stimulus plan and an emphasis on transportation and environmentally friendly projects.If that commuter-rail proposal moves forward, MPO officials would like to see Lake County follow close behind, said T.J. Fish, Lake-Sumter MPO's executive director.
"We expect the next step to be the northwest corridor," he said.Plans for the commuter line through Lake call for trains running from Orlando and traveling west and north past Apopka to downtown areas of the Golden Triangle with stops in Eustis and Tavares.Those involved with the main commuter-rail line planned through Volusia, Seminole, Orange and Osceola counties are focused on seeing that project through, said Christine Kefauver, Orlando's transportation manager.But they are open to plans for service in Lake County in years to come, she said."Is it in the vision for the future? Absolutely," she said.Lake-Sumter MPO officials are interested in a rail stop in Mount Dora, but firm plans are not set, Fish said. The city is still considering the best location for passengers to board the rail line -- perhaps on the city's south end, he said.Mount Dora City Manager Michael Quinn could not be reached for comment.A commuter-rail stop in downtown Eustis is something James Rotella, outgoing Eustis commissioner, would like to see. As the MPO's second vice chairman, Rotella supported a northwest corridor route.Once a commuter himself, Rotella became a rail supporter 25 years ago after driving between Eustis and Orlando for work."It improves our mobility and connectivity," he said, referring to commuter rail. "Our biggest problem in transportation is that we have too many automobiles on asphalt. We need to reduce the congestion on the roads we have."MPO officials also discussed a second commuter option -- rapid-transit bus service on highway lanes reserved for buses only. Those routes would run along State Road 50 from Orlando to Winter Garden to Clermont.But commuter rail -- which has been pushed before in Lake without success -- dominated most of last week's discussions.A rail line through Lake County comes with convenience, Fish said. The CSX A-line train tracks are already in place to carry trains from Orlando into downtown Tavares.Although some areas of track need improving, they have good potential for use with a commuter-rail system, said Tavares City Administrator John Drury. And he noted that the timing may be in Lake's favor, too."We'll be looking at the president's new economic-enhancement program," Drury said.The existing tracks already have been used to bring Lake residents to Orlando Magic games. Tavares sold out 12 trips to games this year, with the train carrying about 60 to 80 people each trip. Tavares officials plan 17 trips to Magic games this year."We are a great capture point," Drury said. "It makes sense to look toward the future, going beyond tourist-related activities and looking some day at the possibility of actual commuter-rail service."With the city prepared to make upgrades to the existing tracks, Drury said a commuter-rail line into the county would protect the environment, help spur the economy by creating new jobs and enhance the surrounding communities."The timing couldn't be better," he said.

The amazing thing is the Orlando Commuter Rail project is held hostage by the legislature of the State of Florida. Thus far, they have simply refused to grant CSX (or others - implied) an insurance agreement that would hold the railroad harmless for damages done due to Commuter Rail operations. In effect the State of Florida is holding Jacksonville, Tampa, Orlando and now Lake and Sumpter Counties hostage.

Even more amazing is no one in the Olando MPO seems to realize that Commuter Rail on the shortline FLORIDA CENTRAL would be much easier to achieve then any deal with the CSX.

Certainly the track needs some work, but even so it is good for 20-30 mph today. New ties and ballast, tamping and leveling, would do wonders for the ride quality. The shortline as are most shortline's, is creative and hungry for ways to turn a buck or improve the railroads physical plant. This is a win-win for them and there is no reason to think that if the Counties approached the railroad independent of Orlando or the State, they would be running trains while Orlando is still doing surveys. All of this would cost Penny's on the dollar to what the state has in mind. I implore anyone in those counties to contact this blogger and I will put you on the track of contractors and equipment that will leave you with your jaw agape.

This is totally doable. Please lead on and let's teach our big sister city to the North how its done.

Jacksonville
jacksonville transportation authority
Commuter Rail

Take A Tour Of The Port Of Gold - JAXPORT

So just where on earth is this "Port of Gold?"

Q. What if God created an East Coast - Atlantic port so far west that it was under Cincinnati?

A. He did, and it's called JAXPORT.

Hope you enjoy this photo tour of our booming waterfront.

JAXPORT Photo's Credit: The Jacksonville Port Authority Album




Port of Gold
JaxPort
Jacksonville Port
international shipping

Malarkey From The Mayor

Beware the Boy Mayor bearing gifts... Beware Indeed!

When it comes to progressive thought - go to Tampa. Jacksonville, been held hostage by a Mayor that is deeply rooted in both Oil and Concrete. The man is heir apparent to his fathers fortune as the head of Gate Petroleum and Gate Concrete Products. When he took office 6 years ago, he looked like the all American business man from the big city. What we got was 6 years of misguided leadership and an acute inability to capitalize on myriad opportunities.

When the news hit that Mayor John Peyton, wanted to finish the port expansion as a job inducing economic package, things didn't sound so bad. Then we all saw the details. Horrid.

Indeed Peyton and Company want to raid the City's Jacksonville Transportation Authority of it's sole dedicated funding source. Currently JTA enjoys the benefit of knowing that it will receive 1/2 cent from every sales dollar in the County-City.

Under the Peyton scheme, the Better Jacksonville Plan, a massive infrastructure improvement program started under previous mayor Delaney, would see some projects shelved until 2019. Worse, the BJP called for a $100 Million dollar set aside for mass transit right-of-way. Apparently it wasn't for anything more as no one in City Government understood there were far cheaper modes then a $26 Million dollar a mile BRT project. The "Just like rail only Cheaper," mantra had taken hold at the City Hall on Duval Street. Everyone just "knew" that rail or LRT would be far more expensive then our 25 odd mile BRT system.

Peyton shut down those voices of descent and is now after another $100 Million dollar set aside, this time, for massive highway projects in the Port of Gold. Refusal to meet with anyone with a more rail-centric point of view, he is now hard at work convincing the city council that the highway program is the quickest route to more jobs.

How this will effect our Light Rail/Streetcar and Commuter Rail Studies is yet to be seen, but it doesn't bode well for any transit at a time when JTA is all about becoming regional.

The end of the Peyton Plan will be to cut JTA back to beggar status. Bus improvements which are long overdue and sorely needed are going to be trashed. Schedules will be slashed and some runs will be discontinued. The stepchild of the City, our many-million-dollar monorail, called the Jacksonville Skyway, is going to linger and fade as promised extensions and betterment's are buried under the pavement. Their $100 Million will be spent on land deals that will cashier into collateral for BRT grants, for a bus system without funds.

Finally, the result will be a fist full of new roadways at JaxPort. Big, wide Florida type roads, to move trucks that burn lots of diesel fuel. The railroads are going to be left to fend for themselves to get Port access to the new Trans Pacific TRI-PAC terminals. Already the Zoo Parkway at JaxPort is perhaps the prettiest road in North Florida, and why not? It serves as an address for the Gate Corporation.

For the complete news article click:

http://www.jacksonville.com/tu-online/stories/120208/met_362515013.shtml

Better Jacksonville Plan transportation projects to travel more slowly
Cash isn't coming in as quickly, so work can't move as quickly

By DAVID HUNT, The Times-Union
Better Jacksonville Plan transportation projects likely will be delayed as the city tries to make a legislative detour around a financial roadblock

A gasoline tax set to expire in eight years might be extended until 2039 to help drum up cash. Peyton also is asking Jacksonville Transportation Authority to restructure an agreement that has had the JTA collecting revenues from a half-cent sales tax that's been on the books for two decades.

City officials think both moves would help finance $50 million in ongoing Better Jacksonville projects. That announcement was coupled with Peyton's call for the city to finance another $50 million in new spending to help move heavy trucks in and out of Jacksonville's growing deepwater cargo ports.

Together, the projects were sold as a $100 million stimulus...

The city wants to restructure how much JTA gets from a half-cent sales tax that replaced Jacksonville's toll-booth revenue in 1988, money that has been used for the authority's operating expenses and road projects. The City Council also will be asked to extend through 2039 a 6-cents-a-gallon gasoline tax that was set to expire in 2016.
Peyton credited the Better Jacksonville Plan with generating more than $1 billion in regional economic impact since its inception. Around $250 million in road projects should finish on schedule, he said. Monday's issue was finding a way to get the remaining 17 road projects out of the conceptual phase.

Peyton said keeping the Better Jacksonville Plan moving is critical to the region's economy because the projects provide construction jobs. City Council President Ronnie Fussell agreed.
"We can't stop," Fussell said. "These jobs are tied to keeping the majority of households alive."
Too many original Better Jacksonville road projects were trimmed during a revisit of the plan in 2005 to think about further cuts, Peyton said.

The Executive Director of the Jacksonville Transportation Authority, Michael Blaylock, says he's on board to help the city. "Everybody is hunkering down", he said as many in the crowd wondered why he would sign off on the impending Transit crisis this will create.

Blaylock's dilemma is easy to understand when one recognises the folly of being one of a handful of cities on earth with a highway agency operating and planning our mass transit. Thus the name of this Blog, Jacksonville Transit, "as-if" we were smart enough to split off the highway boys from the strap hangers. Fat chance if this is rubber stamped by the City Council early next year. Peyton is marching our city into it's very own, modern day, Permian-Triassic extinction.

Port of Gold
Port of Jacksonville
jacksonville transportation authority
Jacksonville
political corruption

mitsui
hanjin

When BRT Brings On Bloodshed

Mass Transit Magazine has an article on the new BRT system planned in Cape Town, South Africa. It appears to be yet another case of the Transit Agency ignoring the will of the people in order to advance some ultra-highway agenda. For years Cape Town has buzzed along with a network of Jitney Buses in private hands, a mirror image of Santiago De Chile.

In Santiago the BRT system was rammed through right over the protests of the private Jitney companies. The new super-bus routes were designed as trunk lines and the Jitneys were expected to jump in line and carry the connections to their destination. That didn't happen. People used to getting door to door service were furious over the new bus system. The system itself quickly overloaded and became as gorged and slow as the Jitneys it was to replace. Proof enough that BRT DOES have a ceiling - and it's no where near rail.

The next step in Chile was rioting which included turning buses over and burning them for effect. Now to compound the mistake the Santiago Metro Subway System is being expanded as it offered the only viable alternative to BRT and was thus crushed in the process. Again, even rail has a ceiling, and when passengers are relegated to the position of a tuna-in-a-can, things will go over the top. The rioters didn't seem to blame the rail for the problem and saved their wrath for the BRT system itself.

One has to wonder if these projects had included the Jitneys and allowed them to be the operating arm of the new system, how things might shake out. Could the Jitney companies each be issued so many of the new buses? Could the Jitneys use the exclusive lanes? Why does BRT have to be exclusive of Taxi's? Rail? Subway?

If BRT is really the attractive alternative that it is billed to be, then why can't it hold it's own as a component of a much larger mix?

In Bogota, the highly praised system is a national joke, anyone that thinks otherwise has been listening to the prose written for you digestion by the BRT institutes. Sure Colombia would love to call it a great success, they would love to continue to pioneer this mode and sell it to you when the time comes. But when the truth gets out it's going to crash big time. No problem, the BRT camp will just point to some other "success".



Cape Town's Rapid Bus System Will Lead to Bloodshed
Peter Luhanga
Argus Weekend (South Africa)

SOUTH AFRICA - Taxi bosses have warned of a "taxi war" over the City of Cape Town's planned multi-billion-rand Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system, which is set to change the face of public transport in the city.

While the city has stated its aim of completing phase one of the BRT by March 2010, three taxi associations operating in the greater Blaauwberg region released a joint statement last week saying the way city transport planners were implementing the system was "unacceptable".
The taxi owners - representing the Ysterplaat Taxi Association, Maitland Taxi Association and Du Noon Taxi Association (DTA) - said they had been invited to a meeting at the city civic centre offices on Tuesday where the BRT system was explained. But DTA spokesman Terrence Mhlangatshoba said they walked out of Tuesday's meeting as the BRT system undermined their business and did not take into account what they had invested over the years.
Itshaan Stanfield, appointed spokesman for the three taxi associations, said they would have no part of the BRT system.

He said the way the city was going about trying to gather support from the taxi industry for the BRT was dividing the taxi industry and would lead to violence.
"We know for a fact that this process will lead to bloodshed between permit holders and people without permits. The blame will be on the city, it will be held accountable.
"The city must stay away from us. We have come a long way with this business. They must rather invest their millions in building houses for millions of people who are living in shacks."
City director of transport Maddie Mazaza said the city had been engaging with the taxi industry "in detail and on different levels" and was "committed to pursuing this process of engagement".
Mazaza said all exchanges so far had been "frank and open".
She said the city was not aware of anyone walking out of meetings without excusing themselves and was confident a "real win-win" agreement between the city and taxi industry could be found, and engagement with the minibus taxi industry would be ongoing.

Phase one will cover the city's central business district, with a trunk route to Du Noon in the north and a link to Cape Town International Airport.
The BRT system is to be expanded to other parts of the city after 2010. - West Cape News



This battle has been fought in Santiago, and it's coming to Cape Town. One must now wonder how long until it hits our shores?

Jacksonville has had an ill advised highway based transit plan in place for about 10 years. The project includes $100 Million dollars which the City has in the bank for Mass Transit. Last night the Mayor announced that he wanted to take $100 Million of transit money and transfer it to new highway projects throughout the City. He is using the rabid port expansion as his excuse, yet 1/2 of all the many projects are no where near the port or remote warehousing.

So are we to have more highways and less Mass Transit? It sure looks like it, and what little we have will be tied up in a BRT scheme on the North side of Downtown. Something likely to eliminate local parallel routes.

This bears a close watch, shutting down our Mass Transit system, just as JTA has come to terms with some rail studies and re-planned it's North BRT line is insanity. As the news trickles in it appears to be the same $100 Million Transit set-aside that he is after. He has even pointed out the desire to cut JTA's funding and tie it to sales tax revenue. To do so will create an inability on
the part of JTA to do more then what we have seen from 30+ years of cash starved Amtrak.

The thousands of jobs the mayor is claiming will come from highway projects have not been borne out by facts. No where does highway development do anything more then create or add to sprawl. Sprawl? Yes, Jacksonville invented it - we are the largest City in the Western Hemisphere in size.

So what jobs? Those at the corner Big Lots? Mickey D's? How will those low income workers get to those new jobs without a stable bus system. The only high income jobs this will create are in road construction. With the Mayors father owning the largest concrete company on the coast this ought to be a cozy relationship.

Bloodshed? Try and pull the transit out of our urban core and watch what happens. I fear it won't be just Cape Town getting the headlines. No problem, the BRT camp will just point to some other "success", but it won't be Santiago, Cape Town, Bogota or Jacksonville.

Transit
Bus Rapid Transit
highway
city of jacksonville

OPERATION COLD FRONT

Millard Refrigeration
Millard Refrigeration is an multiphase industrial/office complex located in the City of Streetsboro, Ohio. Encompassing a total of 27.6 acres, improvements include 10.5 acres of warehouse, 2 story office building totaling 12,800 square feet, approximately 3.81 acres of parking lot infrastructure and fully engineered site utilities.

How funny is this report out of Charleston, South Carolina? As - if our city had a hit squad out on all other cities. Perhaps Charleston would swap some of that tourist money for a warehouse or two. Frankly Jacksonville has lots of warehouses, highways and railroad tracks, just how much is enough? Anyway, we are hearing the same story about Charleston, doing the same thing, from our end. Besides talking about Cold Fronts, Charleston is way colder. Now THAT is funny.

Chilling effect
Charleston apparently was one of at least two Southeast port cities to be frozen out of a possible $25.5 million investment by a refrigerated warehouse operator.
According to recent reports out of northern Florida, Jacksonville officials have set the wheels in motion to provide $230,000 in incentives to nail down the deal with Millard Refrigerated Services of Omaha, Neb. The first phase of the 185,000-square-foot warehouse project would create 92 jobs by 2010, paying an average salary of more than $37,000.
In addition to Jacksonville and Charleston, Millard, a 45-year-old family-owned international warehouse and distribution company, had Savannah on it short list. As with most economic-development deals that involve a stop at the taxpayer trough, this one was kept hush-hush and still hasn't been officially announced. Fittingly, the assigned code name is "Project Coldfront."

refrigerated services

Amtrak Get's A New CEO

Will this photo mean anything to Amtrak now, or, are we still the dumping ground for left over equipment and tardy trains? After all, Florida is the number one tourist destination in the USA.

Amtrak got a new CEO yesterday as Kummant ran headlong into the Bush Transportation Nightmare. Meanwhile new Amtrak CEO while at the FRA has spent the last couple of years trying to bring down the Austin "Light Rail System" because they called it "Commuter Rail" which put them in his cross-hairs. Another George Bush clone? Time will tell, who knows, he might really turn out to be good for passenger rail. However if hindsight is anything, better bar the door y'all.

Progressive Railroading Magazine had this to say in a news release:

Amtrak names Boardman interim CEO
Yesterday, Amtrak announced it appointed Federal Railroad Administrator Joseph Boardman to serve a one-year term as president and chief executive officer.He succeeds Alex Kummant, who resigned earlier this month after serving in the top post for a little more than two years. William Crosbie, who had been appointed interim president and CEO following Kummant's departure, will return to his duties as senior vice president of operations. Boardman's interim appointment is unusual, says spokesperson Cliff Black, but the board believed that Crosbie needed to continue focusing on the "nuts and bolts" of the railroad, while another executive focuses on Amtrak's future direction. The one-year appointment is flexible and Boardman could be considered as a candidate for the permanent CEO position, says Black. The Amtrak board will conduct a search in the coming months. "Amtrak is at a critical juncture and needs a vigorous management vision and ability to take advantage of this unique time," said Amtrak Chairman Donna McLean in a prepared statement. Boardman has 34 years of transportation industry experience. During his tenure as FRA administrator, he served as the U.S. Department of Transportation designee on the Amtrak board. He also served stints as chairman of the Executive Committee of the Transportation Research Board, and the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials' Standing Committee on Rail Transportation. Prior to joining the FRA in 2005, Boardman served as commissioner of the New State DOT for eight years.

amtrak

There Goes Savannah

There goes Savannah, our little sister to the north. Up and running with rail while Jacksonville fiddles - all the while sitting on a pile of cash for Transit from the BJP. "Oh I almost forgot, it's JUST for right-of-way, how many ways can you spell BRT? Running with skunks won't leave you smelling like Tri-Rail or MARTA or Tampa Streetcar, but that's alright, it's all MASS TRANSIT.