MICA supports Florida HSR, Amtrak and JTA Skyway?

[thelakelander]

On Tuesday morning Mica, chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, expressed support for the project to the Florida Statewide Passenger Rail Commission, which was holding a meeting at the Florida Department of Transportation offices in downtown Jacksonville.

But Mica tempered his support by saying no state money should go towards the $2.7 billion project. Federal stimulus money is expected to pay for about $2.4 billion.

The rest of the money should come from the private sector, Mica said.

"This project includes a link from Orlando International Airport to Disney," Mica said. "That should be a money maker for a private company."

Mica also reiterated support for Amtrak service from Jacksonville to Miami on the Florida East Coast rail line, but stressed it had to make economic sense.

Mica said he supports efforts to get people out of cars and into trains but expressed frustration at how different transportation elements haven't come together.

"The people mover here in Jacksonville was built 30 years too soon," he said, referring to the Skyway. "It's a distributor system that doesn't have anything connecting to it."

A commuter rail system in Jacksonville would help the Skyway, and Mica urged officials to look at the new multimodal facility now being built at Miami International Airport that is designed to encompass rail, air travel, buses and future high-speed rail.

That would be a good long-term model for cities like Jacksonville, and hopefully high-speed rail would eventually connect to these facilities, Mica said.

full article: http://jacksonville.com/news/metro/2011-01-19/story/mica-supports-billion-dollar-high-speed-rail-florida-caveat

[acme54321]

I though all evil republicans hated rail and mass transit in favor for their beloved concrete spiderwebs?  Now I just don't know what to think!

[dougskiles]

Great timing of this article.  If we do this right, next time John Mica will be using Jacksonville as the example of how it is done.

[BridgeTroll]

This sounds like really good news.  Faye must be in Europe again...

[Captain Zissou]

This sounds like really good news.  Faye must be in Europe again...

I didn't read this article for over an hour because I thought Faye had posted it and I was out of Advil.  This is great news.  According to Faye, Mica was the supreme evil overlord that was preventing anything good from happening in the state.  now that he's on board, what is there to stop us???

[Shwaz]

Sounds good... but I have tempered expectations. It'll be a cold day in hell when this city realizes a shitload of buss' doesn't equal multimodal.

[Ocklawaha]

Sounds good... but I have tempered expectations. It'll be a cold day in hell when this city realizes a shitload of buss' doesn't equal multimodal.

MODAL TRANSIT = BUS

MULTIMODAL = MORE BUSES

CLASSIC JTA THINK...

Y'all do realize we reported to JTA that Mica talked at length to us about transit improvements and our Skyway, saying he would support expansion. So their next big idea? They already have funding lined up to blow busways directly UNDER the Skyway! BRILLIANT!

OCKLAWAHA

[Doctor_K]

Sounds good... but I have tempered expectations. It'll be a cold day in hell when this city realizes a shitload of buss' doesn't equal multimodal.

I second that emotion.

Especially since there's a shitload of buses and a shitload of stops, but such abysmal ridership numbers.

[Ocklawaha]

Our last conversation with John Mica was very eye opening... I can paraphrase several of the points he made:

"JAXPORT - Is destined to be a SUPER PORT, one of only two in Florida, the other being in Miami and our location beats the pants off of Miami for anything transferring to truck or rail for distribution."

"We're going to see to it that JAXPORT gets that channel deepened, and those terminals built out."

"What is wrong with JTA? I would support Skyway expansion and with the new administration it would be easy to fund but those people (JTA) HAVEN'T SENT ME A THING."

"We need the expansion of AMTRAK to the east coast of Florida, and Jacksonville is the natural hub for all of the rail in the state."

"I want to get Jacksonville COMMUTER RAIL up and running, but your going to have to push JTA."

"STREETCAR? REALLY? WHY WE HAVEN'T HEARD A THING! TELL JTA TO SEND ME SOMETHING! STREETCAR! IMAGINE!"

What do you think Stephendare, did I leave anything out?

OCKLAWAHA

[Ralph W]

You don't suppose a request on Mica's letterhead, point by point, would get a timely, favorable response from JTA?

Maybe he has a staffer who can go back through MJ threads and present a responsible synopsis. Knowledge to create egg on face for JTA.

[tufsu1]

"We need the expansion of AMTRAK to the east coast of Florida, and Jacksonville is the natural hub for all of the rail in the state."

apparently he pretty much said the exact opposite at the meeting yesterday...as I understand it, Mica expressed his distaste of Amtrak...and then the Commission skeptically questioned the project.

[Ocklawaha]

He is no fan of Amtrak, but really? Who is? But Yesterday he pushed the FEC-AMTRAK idea and then explained how when the funding bill came about he would try and hang legislation to allow private operators to compete. ANYONE who remembers the trains of the past can tell you, once private operators take to the rails, Amtrak is history.

OCKLAWAHA

[dougskiles]

ANYONE who remembers the trains of the past can tell you, once private operators take to the rails, Amtrak is history.

I'm too young to remember.  Is the implication that the private operators will be more efficient and put Amtrak out of business?  Or that the government will no longer subsidize Amtrak because we now have private operators to do the job?

What kinds of services would lend themselves better to private operators? (long, medium or short distances)

[Coolyfett]

Hmmm Time will tell, much talk lil action. At least he knows the Skyway is not finished.

[thelakelander]

^Anyone who really knows transportation understands why the skyway doesn't work and it has little to do with the actual system itself.  Nevertheless, Mica can only do so much.  Even though he is in a position of influence at the federal level, unless we build support and commitment locally, nothing will change.