Mass transit a key component for events

[Steve]

“Great things are coming out of this group already,” commented Mayor John Peyton at Thursday’s meeting of the Downtown Action Committee. He was referring to the lights that were installed in the trees at Jesse Smith Park on Forsyth Street near the Florida Theatre.

“It didn’t take a lot of money or resources, but it has made a tremendous difference,” added Peyton.


http://www.jaxdailyrecord.com/showstory.php?Story_id=49778

[Steve]

While the whole "turn downtown into an outdoor convention center" mindset makes me sick, Peyton does highlight something that MetroJacksonville has been saying for over two years now:

KEEP IT SIMPLE!!!


Screw the condos; the city should get out of the way of almost all private development (get involved to move roadblocks only), and concentrate on the little things.  See what stringing lights for a couple of hours has done - it has created a more friendly place to spend time.

Now, I've not been in the pocket park recently, so I can't say for sure that it has helped, but the idea of simple solutions is where the city needs to go.

[Driven1]

yeah...if i remember correctly, when the city started getting involved with the "Lighting Laura St" initiative, didn't they start skyrocketting the costs with $10,000 lamp posts or something?  the city seems to have the opposite of the midas touch.

[thelakelander]

I attended this meeting last week.  One thing that still needs to be done is finding a way to promote these events that leads to spill over traffic to the rest of the core.  For example, a festival at Metro Park or a game at the stadium does downtown no good, if we can't find away to keep those visitors in the downtown core to dine at our restaurants and shop at our shops.  If we're going to continue to railroad them out of downtown to I-95, the effect on the core would be about the same as if these events were held in Baldwin.

[Steve]

yeah...if i remember correctly, when the city started getting involved with the "Lighting Laura St" initiative, didn't they start skyrocketting the costs with $10,000 lamp posts or something?  the city seems to have the opposite of the midas touch.

You're about right on.  The historic light posts are 10,000.   While expensive, I had less of a problem with that then the uniform newspaper bins and other ridiculous expenditures.

This is the problem.  We don't need uniform newspaper bins.  I've never heard a 23 year old female walking by herself downtown at night saying, wow, I wish we had uniform newspaper bins, but I do know 23 year old females that have said to me, we need better lighting downtown.

[Seraphs]

 If we're going to continue to railroad them out of downtown to I-95, the effect on the core would be about the same as if these events were held in Baldwin.

One thing I think could be done is to let JSO direct traffic only around the immediate stadium or arena area.  They do exactly as you stated, railroad all the folks to I-95.  Why is the city so idiotic?  Here we are with thosands of people to enjoy downtown and spend money and we make every street a oneway barracaded only to exit onto I-95.  Do you really think they don't get it.  I really think we would be better off without JSO directing traffic.  Just let the traffic lights do what they were designed to do.

[Ocklawaha]

Monorail's can even be a beautiful thing if a city is smart enough to do it right. Photo Sydney, Australia.

For certain if we would get with the program and do what 90% of the City thinks we should do, FINISH THE SKYWAY to Randolph, and hence North to Arlington Expressway/Randolph at Beaver. Stations could be at Hyatt/Newnan, Shipyards, Baseball Grounds/Arena, Fair Grounds/Stadium/Arlington Expy... We could then move about 3,000 persons per direction per hour in this segment. IF JTA would buy new train cars for the same system, we could bump that up towards 30,000 PPDPH.

The current price of Monorail construction, (without the excessive Skyway-people mover pathway and tub) should cost us about 20 million per mile. With impending expansion propelled by private sector developments on Bay, in Riverside and Jackson Square at San Marco, the Skyway could start to show some signs of life.


Restored Streetcars add color and TRANSIT to the City, here they line up at fishermans wharf, imagine if it was Duval Street Trolley Station in Jacksonville.

Secondly, The proposed Water Street Streetcar line, has a natural extension with a route that follows Newnan northward to Beaver, hence Eastward to Fairgrounds/Stadium/Arlington Expy. Moreover a loop could be closed by running South from Beaver and Randolph, to Duval and Randolph, hence West on Duval back to Newnan. Fact is the City has already built a "Trolley Station" across Duval from the new Arena.

Streetcars operated for crush load conditions, could be entrained. Such systems typically have between 20 - 50,000 PPHPD abilities. Therefore, we COULD fill or empty the area within 30 mins, using transit we already have but haven't finished (Skyway) and transit we know we need and is currently proposed (streetcars).  This without a single bus or automobile!

Put these Transit improvements in place, add BRT on HOV into Arlington, and jump back and start the countdown to the NBA, NHL, ABL, NBL... The boom fix would be in...

Ocklawaha