Is Springfield Regressing??

[thelakelander]

"JTAâ€"Suraya Teeple
Ms Teeple said the Bus Rapid Transit (Rapid = limited stops) North corridor line will be moved from Boulevard to Jefferson Street. Residents can attend a presentation at the Gateway Mall on February 15th from 4:30 â€" 7:00pm. A stop is planned for FSCJ, the VA clinic and Gateway Mall. It has not yet been determined if it will stop at the pool. The bus, and other, can hold a green traffic light on green until it passes the light.

Any idea if the proposed BRT route will still run up Broad Street, through Brentwood?  Pearl is the dominant commercial corridor in that area and could really use a shot in the arm from any streetscape or transit station improvements that will be made as apart of this BRT plan.

Btw, I do believe some bus stops or routes along Main have been removed.  An email about this was sent to my Metro Jacksonville email account a couple of weeks ago.  It included correspondence from a JTA spokesperson.  I'll see if I can go back and find it.

[thelakelander]

Here is the email that was sent to me on January 11, 2011. 

On Tue, Jan 11, 2011 at 2:45 PM, Wendy Morrow <wmorrow@jtafla.com> wrote:
> Stephen:
>
> 
>
> I have gotten additional information on the routes we discussed in relation
> to Main Street. Let me say up front that we have been working system wide to
> reduce duplicated service on road ways and merge routes to streamline
> service. Main Street between 8th and 1st had a lot of duplicated service
> prior to May 2010. Main Street buses now come every 15 minutes along the
> route versus multiple routes which may have followed one another down the
> road in the past with longer headways.
>
> 
>
> 
>
> L7 and L8
>
> 
>
> The L7 and L8 did travel on Main Street between 1st and 8th streets prior to
> the May 2010 service modification. There were a number of  reasons for the
> change. One of the key reasons was to space the L7 and L8 out 15 minutes
> apart on Lem Turner, our primary market for those routes and to begin
> preparations for the north corridor Bus Rapid Transit  (BRT) service which
> will replace both the L7 and L8 beginning late 2012 or early 2013.  The BRT
> will not operate on any part of Main Street. The current L8 route operates
> the exact future BRT route.
>
> 
>
> L9
>
> 
>
> No change, service still operates between 8th and 1st on Main Street
>
> 
>
> CT1
>
> 
>
> The CT1 replaced the I6 with frequency improvements and destinations. The
> old I6 route turned around at Main and 63rd Street. Today’s  CT1 offers
> service north of 63rd Street to Hecksher Drive, Dunn Avenue and the FSCJ
> North Campus.  South destinations include Mandarin along San Jose Boulevard.
>
> 
>
> E5
>
> 
>
> The E5 is now the CT2 and includes a service extension into Arlington. The
> north segment operates along 8th Street between Phoenix Avenue and I-95
> providing a one seat ride to the Shands Hospital. The Talleyrand E5 segment
> became the Talleyrand Community Shuttle.
>
> 
>
> I6
>
> 
>
> The I6 service segment between 63rd Street and Rosa Parks became the CT1 and
> merged with the former SS9 service.
>
> 
>
> NS16
>
> 
>
> This service never operated in Springfield.
>
> 
>
> 
>
> All the service modifications listed above went through our normal public
> involvement process. Customers from Springfield did not complain about the
> L7 or L8 service being relocated onto Boulevard and Jefferson Streets.
>
> 
>
> Let me know if you still have questions or concerns.
>
> 
>
> Wendy
>
> 
>
> 
>
> We are JTA, an independent state agency committed to providing effective and
> efficient transportation solutions for our growing region through roads and
> public transit options.
>
> Part of your day. Part of your community. Part of your life.
>
>
>
> -----------------------------------------------------------------
> Please note that under Florida's very broad public records law, email
> communications to and from JTA officials are subject to public disclosure.



--
And now abide faith, hope and love; these three, but the greatest of these is love

[ChriswUfGator]

Well, I'm with a lot of other posters here who think the thing that will TRULY set Springfield apart & be attractive is to get her Streetcar back (a REAL one, not those fake bus ones). Why in God's name they didn't do it when they recently tore up Main Street & didn't put the line in where the median went I'll never know.

To me, Main is even more of a deterrent for walkability than it was before. The 2 lanes each way & that median separating them give it more of a "highway feel" instead of a pleasant "main street feel" that one would want to take a stroll down.

Ugh, can the city throw us a bone every once in a while?? 

I really don't mean to jump on this bandwagon again, but you can thank SPAR for the current design of Main street. They pushed for those awful medians that force you to drive 4 blocks out of your way and then cut a dangerous u turn across two lanes of oncoming traffic to get to any destination. They removed all the bus stops, etc. SPAR's intent was to get rid of undesirables, which is how they viewed pedestrians.

The flaw in their plan is that, when you manage to make a street hostile to people on foot who ride the bus, then its also hostile to everyone else too! There is no way to ONLY inconvenience low income people when it comes to street design, we are all human and it serves as just as much of a barrier to the rest of us as to the targeted group. SPAR's actions regarding the street design are also a large part of why Main street is now almost completely vacant until after the MLK expressway. As soon as you cross under that bridge (out of SPAR's reach) you'll immediately notice it is again filled with businesses and activity.

"JTAâ€"Suraya Teeple
Ms Teeple said the Bus Rapid Transit (Rapid = limited stops) North corridor line will be moved from Boulevard to Jefferson Street. Residents can attend a presentation at the Gateway Mall on February 15th from 4:30 â€" 7:00pm. A stop is planned for FSCJ, the VA clinic and Gateway Mall. It has not yet been determined if it will stop at the pool. The bus, and other, can hold a green traffic light on green until it passes the light.
SPAR has been working with JTA on a proposal to put new trash receptacles every two blocks at each bus stop. JTA will take the responsibility to provide and maintain them and to empty them 2 times per week.
Brenda Boydston stated that SPAR has not asked to have any bus stops removed along Main Street. She also checked with JTA and found that there has been no change in the bus route for at least 5 years and was told no bus stops have been removed from Main Street. There was some comment made that maybe a change occurred temporarily during Main Street construction on Phase II (4th - 12th), and Brenda restated that according to JTA, the position of stops at even streets was the established route with public input prior to Main Street construction.
Brenda followed up on route for the Community Shuttle. There had been some discussion about a stop at 3rd and Main, but JTA does not currently plan a scheduled stop there. For an additional $1 fee, individuals can call ahead for a special pickup there or any location along the route. A regular stop would be added at 3rd & Main if there is enough demand."

You know you said the bus stops were removed by spar or something but they werent! i read the RoundTable notes up above. so whats up with that?

Brenda hasn't been ED for even a year yet, she wouldn't know one way or the other. And the removal of the bus stops was precipitated by SPAR members discussing with SHADCO the bus stops at a community meeting where several posters on this site were present, and the SPAR members and SHADCO determined that removing the bus stops would give criminals less excuse to be out on the street. They then suggested this to JTA, which probably seized on the opportunity to save a buck and was more than happy to cooperate. But I'm sorry, SPAR most definitely was behind the removal of the bus stops.

I don't know what you think you're accomplishing? You've been here what, 5 minutes? And now you're going to come teach the rest of us (who've been padding around Springfield for a decade before you got here) how great SPAR is? Sorry but we know better. And remember we all tried to warn you.