Governor Scott Forges Ahead With Bold Transportation Plan

[thelakelander]

It's a good thing Jacksonville will have something like a mobility plan to somewhat counter balance what Rick Scott and FDOT are cooking up.  The're literally trying to pave over the state with little concern about the impact on the surrounding environment or context.

TALLAHASSEE | Gov. Rick Scott, who killed high speed rail in Florida earlier this year, is pushing ahead with a major transportation plan that calls for speeding up road projects and relying more on new tolls to help pay for them.

The Scott administration wants to consolidate the groups responsible for approving new roads and look at ways to eliminate "regulatory burdens" to accelerate construction.
Scott touts the proposal as a way to spur job creation.
"The transportation industry will be leading the charge in making sure we have the state-of-the-art infrastructure that is interconnected and efficient," Scott said in a statement. "This will make Florida tough to beat for the place where we all want to live, work and play."

But a key new element of the plan â€" dubbed the Florida Transportation Vision for the 21st Century â€" also calls for relying more on tolls to help pay for new road projects.
Department of Transportation Secretary Ananth Prasad told road builders in Marco Island that paying for roads from gas taxes is no longer "sustainable" and that Florida will instead rely on tolls to pay to widen interstate highways, build expressways and replace bridges.

DOT wants to move ahead and study new roads such as the North-South Heartland Parkway, which would stretch from Collier County to Polk County through the interior of the state. Another future corridor project is the East-West Heartland Parkway that would run from Manatee County to St. Lucie County. DOT also wants to look at building new roads to link Tampa to Jacksonville and Panama City to Alabama.

But the plan outlined by Prasad on Friday dealt primarily on roads â€" although he touched briefly on ports and aviation as well as suggesting the state may want to partner with a private company to take over Tri-Rail service in South Florida.

Full Article: http://www.theledger.com/article/20110805/NEWS/110809667/1410?p=1&tc=pg

[dougskiles]

I read about this in the Orlando paper yesterday and was going to post it.  The attitude that the only way we can spur job growth is by building highways is part of how we got in this mess in the first place.  The only comforting part of his plan is that I don't see there being much public or private support for tolls.  I read something late last week demonstrating that Public-Private Partnerships set up for this purpose have fallen far short of expectations.

[dougskiles]

Here is the link to the article:

http://www.landlinemag.com/todays_news/Daily/2011/Aug11/080111/080311-02.shtml

[Lunican]

New roads to link Tampa and Jacksonville! What??

How about investing one percent of that cost into our current Amtrak route between Tampa and Jacksonville?

[Dog Walker]

Didn't you know that railroads are a socialist plot?

[manasia]

Didn't you know that railroads are a socialist plot?

LOL!!!

[north miami]

fast forward to a recent Narrative Chapter:

Brannon Field Chaffee,Lake Asbury (1&2) Sector plans.
Go for it,at one time the file was subject of one of the most intense FOI requests ever witnessed by USACOE.

Don't forget too the Clay Girl placed at top FDOT Pedestal.

connect the DOTs

Some here may complain of Cryptic post message.Come on, this is MJ 103.Connect the DOT.

[tufsu1]

New roads to link Tampa and Jacksonville! What??

this is bringing back the Future Corridors idea that was studied at the end of Jeb's administration...one of Crist's first actions in 2007 was to shelve the plan.

The Tampa-Jax link is really an upgrade (w/ tolling and bypasses) of US 301

[tufsu1]

Don't forget too the Clay Girl placed at top FDOT Pedestal.

connect the DOTs

actually, no....see my post above...the future corridors plan was shelved while Crist (and Kopelousos) were in Tally.

[thelakelander]

Is there a true need to invest in a bypass for US 301? Are there significant backups in this rural area of Florida? Are they trying to take out towns like Waldo and Starke once and for all?

[north miami]

New roads to link Tampa and Jacksonville! What??

this is bringing back the Future Corridors idea that was studied at the end of Jeb's administration...one of Crist's first actions in 2007 was to shelve the plan.

The Tampa-Jax link is really an upgrade (w/ tolling and bypasses) of US 301

Fast Backward to Governor Martinez Jax Tampa Toll Road.Gainesville area interests stopped that episode.Pajcic era Duval Delegation a component too/Brannon Chaffee even in the face of lavish Lobster Dinner pro B/C lobby efforts.

Gainesville et al will again emerge if need be regarding Conservation Lands; O2O Ocala to Osceola-Camp Blanding to Raiford WMA.

[north miami]

Is there a true need to invest in a bypass for US 301? Are there significant backups in this rural area of Florida? Are they trying to take out towns like Waldo and Starke once and for all?

matter of fact I was out on the hunt lease thereabouts today,conversation with arch conservative others;"Bald Headed Bastard in Tallahassee" suggests we might just weather this storm.

On the other hand,this is the Region of "Inevitable" 'Growth'

[north miami]

Don't forget too the Clay Girl placed at top FDOT Pedestal.

connect the DOTs

actually, no....see my post above...the future corridors plan was shelved while Crist (and Kopelousos) were in Tally.

Skip it.Her family connections saw keen involvement in for real Brannon Chaffee/Beltway.County proceedings/Official Record Book & Page. Past events a springboard to current events.

[Jaxson]

Tolls?  IMHO, that is a convenient way for the governor to say that he has not raised taxes.  I don't mind it when we have politicians who campaign under the mantra of no new taxes, but begin to mind when they start talking about fees and tolls.  I understand that this kind of revenue depends on those who voluntarily pay the fees and tolls, but I cannot help but be cynical...

[tufsu1]

and the best part of it all is that teh next segment of 9B is being advanced....yay 

http://www.dot.state.fl.us/publicinformationoffice/moreDOT/spenews/FDOT%20Secretary%20Prasad%20Announces%20Major%20Transportation%20Plan%20Agust%202011.pdf