Above Jacksonville's Southside

[thelakelander]

Where should future transit go to support the Southside?

It's not in our long term plans but when I look at the Southside, JTB stands out as the most logical core for future fixed transit.  Although is not geographically centered, it has the type of destinations already existing that supports mass transit. In essence, it reminds me of San Diego's Mission Valley corridor that is served by the Trolley's (LRT) Green Line. 














Looking at the JTB corridor, heading from west to east, you have a nice chain of major destinations and you penetrate Jacksonville's Edge City.

Southpoint, St. Lukes, multifamily housing, Deerwood Park, Southside Public Library, SJTC, UNF, Mayo Clinic, etc. with Jax Beach being an ending destination.  However, the major problem here, and anywhere else between DT and the Beaches, is the cost.  You're going to have to spend between $1-$2 billion building something.

- Atlantic & Kernan was an intersection of death for many years...it was #1 in Jax for accidents prior to the bridge. This intersection had to be remediated, no transit option was going to fix the issues.

My point wasn't to say improvements to the Kernan corridor were not needed.  My point was to highlight how much these improvements tend to cost on an average because we do these types of improvements all over the city.  Sometimes we push off mass transit talk based on an idea that its too expensive and will never pay for itself.  However, we turn a blind eye when it comes to more expensive roadway construction which really never pays for itself.

[blfair]

Thanks. It's an awkward-sounding name. I grew near there and probably will always think of it as Craig Airport, so I guess I can appreciate local opposition to the removal of the name.

It is awkward. I think the only place you see it called that is in JAA marketing materials. They think calling Craig 'Jacksonville Executive' (more often JAXEX, even better!) and Herlong 'Herlong Recreational' will somehow make all of the Sunday pilots leave Craig I guess?

After the 'rebranding', some folks decided to call Craig on the radio, and rather than saying 'Craig tower, piper n1234', they said 'Jacksonville executive airport at Craig field tower, piper n1234'. The controllers were not amused and informed that it was still just 'Craig'!

[spuwho]

Lake,

No issues here as I knew what you were contrasting in your write up.

Good transit planning has benefits that should last from 100-150 years, While roads have some similar benefits, the fact they have to be replaced every 30-40 years can actually make them more expensive in the long term.

A 1 Billion USD investment for a Jax to Beach fixed transit system seems like a lot up front, but measured over its useful life compared to modern highways and bridges would be an interesting study. The measurement of Per Person BTU's consumed annually over the amount of depreciated capital of each method should provide a ballpark feel for the efficiency and cost effectiveness.

[ronchamblin]

Interesting pic's Lake.  I wish the smog or haze wasn't obscuring the details. I wonder if there is such a thing as a haze filter.  Seems like I remember on the old types of cameras, when you could put a filter on to eliminate some kinds of colors etc.  I'm not a camera person.  Anybody have any ideas about a filter that might work on a digital?

[thelakelander]

I'm going to go back up on a clearer day.

[Adam W]

Interesting pic's Lake.  I wish the smog or haze wasn't obscuring the details. I wonder if there is such a thing as a haze filter.  Seems like I remember on the old types of cameras, when you could put a filter on to eliminate some kinds of colors etc.  I'm not a camera person.  Anybody have any ideas about a filter that might work on a digital?

I've always heard that UV filters helped with reducing haze. I have UV filters on all my lenses b/c they're cheap and they protect the lens. Not sure if it would make a huge difference, but it might help.

[blfair]

Looked hazy, but also like these were taken through plexiglass, which on a plane really seems to make everything dull and distorted. My experience is you can't make the result look better, just different.

I'm going to work on flying from the right seat so I can have someone take decent photos, as both planes I usually fly only have opening windows on the left.

[Overstreet]

One thing about JTB is that it is a corridor that people actually go to things on. There are business parks all along it's length from I-95 to the ICW. Then there is the beach. A lot of people move through the corridor. But Y'all would be providing transportation for the suburbanites that didn't connect to anything much less downtown.

[thelakelander]

Or you would have a DT to Beach corridor, which would blow away most starter LRT corridors in this country.