St. Augustine commission supports commuter rail to Jacksonville

[thelakelander]

The St. Augustine City Commission voted 4-1 in favor of a resolution Monday that expressed support of a proposed commuter train service route in St. Johns County.

full article: http://staugustine.com/news/local-news/2013-05-13/city-expresses-support-commuter-rail-service#.UZJT4rVJ7xQ

[JeffreyS]

Jacksonville quickly responded "what's commuter rail?".

[Doctor_K]

Jacksonville quickly responded "what's commuter rail?".

I literally "LOL"ed when I read that.

Sad but true.

[fsujax]

you mean it's not light rail???

[ProjectMaximus]

I cant tell if reading the comments section for st aug makes me feel better about jax or worse overall for humanity.

[dougskiles]

you mean it's not light rail???

And it isn't BRT either.

[Dog Walker]

Hey, at least a local government mentioned commuter rail in a favorable manner.  That's more progress than we have seen in a long time.  Cheers for the St. Augustine City Commission!

[tufsu1]

Jacksonville quickly responded "what's commuter rail?".

to be fair, some City Council members are up to speed on the study

[JeffreyS]

Jacksonville quickly responded "what's commuter rail?".

to be fair, some City Council members are up to speed on the study

I find our transit system less than fair.

[Ocklawaha]

you mean it's not light rail???

I was thinking more like "High Speed - Heavy - Monorail - Streetcar - Amtrak Rail."

[JFman00]

Regional Transportation Commission would fast-track commuter rail

Commuter rail between Jacksonville and area cities like St. Augustine could speed up, now that a bill to create a regional transportation commission for Northeast Florida is on the governor’s desk.

The  St. Augustine City Commission voted Monday night in favor of such a commuter service through St. Johns County, which was recommended in a 2009 study.

But the four years between the study and this week’s vote has produced some additional in-depth planning and little beyond that.

“One of the challenges we have faced is that the Jacksonville Transportation Authority is not regional,” said Brad Thoburn, vice president of long-range planning, capital programs and system development for the agency. “Not having a regional transportation commission has made this a challenge. When we see an issue like this, it reiterates the need for one.”

The 2009 study, performed by the North Florida Transportation Planning Organization with participation from JTA, identified the three most effective routes for commuter rail. They were between Jacksonville and St. Augustine, Jacksonville and Green Cove Springs and Jacksonville and Yulee.

More studying since then determined the two southern routes had the highest priority, Thoburn said.
“When you look at connecting population centers and centers of activity, these are some very high-growth areas,” Thoburn said. “You can only expand roads so much.”

The next step is to see whether local governments, transportation agencies and the public support commuter rail along proposed corridors. St. Augustine is a stakeholder for the Southeast route, but St. Johns County will also have to weigh in.

[Riverrat]

Hey, at least a local government mentioned commuter rail in a favorable manner.  That's more progress than we have seen in a long time.  Cheers for the St. Augustine City Commission!

+1

[paulirwin]

Does anyone have a link to that 2009 study or know what the stops would be? Would it go to the historic area of St. Augustine, perhaps off that rail line that runs along US 1/Ponce de Leon?

Of course, I'm selfishly asking, as I work in the historic part of St. Augustine and live in urban Jacksonville, and I would take that all the time if so.

[thelakelander]

[simms3]

While I'm all for regional planning and transportation linkages, I am not a proponent of this at this time.