JTA making progress on transportation center

[jcjohnpaint]

yeah it seems like that parcel guarantees a way too sprawled out transportation center. 

[brainstormer]

Between Houston and Adams Streets?  I didn't think the plans called for a footprint larger than the courthouse?  That is like 4 blocks from the Prime Osborn.  It's like we used to build public buildings with legos and then all of a sudden decided to start using MEGABloks.

I know what will happen.  They will build Greyhound on this parcel in the middle of nothing.  Never get the money or land to build the middle section and we will be stuck with an amtrak station and greyhound station five blocks apart and not connected to anything else.  Someone needs to get the Mayor to stop this sprawled out plan and look at the MJ plan.

[Charles Hunter]

Can't they work something out to put the Greyhound station between Forsyth and Houston?  Or does this deal lock them into the remote site?

[Ralph W]

I looked at the map a while back. JTA already owns so much land around the Terminal that they could have built everything as promoted here on MJ without sucking up more land from the city (from us).

As the transportation center would have grown, those parcels of land would have had an accelerated value for commercial development that would have far outstripped the $5 million cash the city pledged to JTA.

Those planners must think they have the acreage similar to the south point and deerwood buildouts to insist upon such a far flung plan. I guess they want to put a super sized parking lot right in the middle to handle all the cars that will flock to use the new facilities. I thought the idea was to get people to USE the public transportation to get from many point A's to many point B's.  I can see the signs now that say Park and Ride. Just drive downtown, park in the mega lot and hop the skyway, the bus, the trolley to your work place - 2 blocks away. Phooey!

[Seraphs]

I know has Peyton woke up or something?  He seems to be kicking butt recently, or just getting some good stuff done. 

He should have started 60 days after he got in office instead of 60 days before leaving office.

[duvaldude08]

I know has Peyton woke up or something?  He seems to be kicking butt recently, or just getting some good stuff done. 

He should have started 60 days after he got in office instead of 60 days before leaving office.

Exactly. He just wanted something to put on his resume to say he did SOMETHING for downtown.

[Jdog]

Does somebody have this mapped out...what is the nearby North - South street?  And where will parking be in relation to the bus station? 

[thelakelander]

The Greyhound station will be on the far north end of the transportation ranch.  Considering the DT Transition Team is recommending that a new convention center be built next door to the Hyatt, we have an expensive disaster in the making, due to years of uncoordination between our public entities.



Now this retention pond stuff is news to me and not reflected on JRTC's sprawling plantation.  I really hope its not on any block NOT immediately adjacent to I-95 or east of Stuart Street.  If so, that will go down as another wasted permanent block of dead activity between the new bus terminal and the rest of downtown.

[thelakelander]

Sure, it would be nice to have a higher level of coordination.  Coordination, alone would save this city tons of money and get several iced public projects under way sooner, in a manner that benefits more than just one specific entity.

[Jdog]

Lake, thanks for the great map. 

The sprawl really eats up potential TOD / economic development and city revenue. 

And I would think the fixed rail has the most TOD potential and, of course, that happens to be the most buried item inside of the sprawl.   

[Dog Walker]

Why is it just a Greyhound station? Why isn't it like the airport where all of the airlines use it.  Maybe we could attract that luxury bus company there if it was a Bus Terminal.

[thelakelander]

From my understanding, multiple bus lines will be able to use the facility.

[Jdog]

I looked at a map that measures distances to gauge the JTA transportation center layout:

One thing I note: 

A bird flying from the JTA mapped Amtrak area gets to Park Street WEST of Leila in about 160 yards.         

Is the proximity of Brooklyn relevant to arguing that the transportation center should be unified and compacted at Union Station? 

The pedestrian walkway, as designed now, which runs only a portion of the proposed transportation area, looks to be, interestingly, about 169 yards in length. 

 
   

[exnewsman]

Adams St does allow for direct access to the interstate in both directions for the Greyhound buses. So from that statepoint it would be advantageous for them to be located where its being proposed. But that location does cause other issues as have been documented here.

It would help for travelers to at least have the ability to move from one facility to the other completely undercover. Nobody should have to haul their bags three blocks in the heat/rain.

Although, I'm not sure how many people we're going to see getting off an Amtrak train and then getting on a Greyhound bus or vice versa. I think going from one long-haul service (Amtrak or Greyhound) to a local haul service (bus, Skyway, taxi) would be more likely.

[Dapperdan]

I really don't see too much wrong with the whole proposal.  I know everyone is saying that this is prime land for TOD developement or whatever, but this land has not been developed yet. I know the city has owned it for a while and no one has bmade any proposals for it for years and years.

I am familiar with these empty parcels as I usually park there for Jags games. It really isn't that long of a walk, 160 yards. Some people walk that to get into Walmart. I beleive the elevated walkway connecting everything will have covering. Maybe they could even make it a moving walkway like at Universal Studios or airports.