AAF Files Court Documents For Extension To Jacksonville

[Tacachale]

The mayor doesn't know about this? Shocker. Honestly I'd be surprised if the City Council did know; they've got their hands full cleaning up after the mayor.

[Steve]

Apparently we are incapable of multi-talking. Reminds me of Peyton.

[brainstormer]

LOL JeffreyS.   

It amazes me that for most forum members, being a part of MetroJacksonville is kind of a hobby.  We have jobs outside of city government and personal lives too.  I consider most of us pretty well informed about our community and even surrounding communities. 

When it is actually your PRIMARY JOB to run the city and you haven't the slightest clue about what is going on around you, then I question your ability to do your job.  One of Mayor Brown's biggest downfalls was that he surrounded himself with incompetent people.  I won't name the names but we know who they are.  There are a number of departments that have terrible leaders and he hasn't held one of them accountable in his years as mayor.  To me that is the sign of a weak leader.

[Jdog]

So historic to get trains stopping in downtown again leaders should know absolutely everything. 

Also, would be nice to hear "how can we make this happen" as opposed to "who is going to pay for it" out of the gate. 

[brainstormer]

Completely agree Jdog.  Gulliford is so clueless he doesn't even know AAF is private development.  Look at the stations AAF is building in other cities.  I bet with their money we could restore the Prime to its original intent and end up with something really neat.  With a compact transportation center Greyhound will surely be back on board.  Our leaders wouldn't know a good thing if it smacked them upside the head.

[edjax]

Action News is suppose to have a story on 5o'clock edition per Varnum twitter

[edjax]

Updated story on JBJ and FEC states the easement filing is simply an extension of one granted in 2007.  No plans to extend to Jax.

[Steve]

The reason why is because generally, this Council has just administrated (or tried to). I feel like with Brown, he's just tried to administrate (better at times than others). However (with the exception of Brown and sporting events), nobody seems to be trying to drive the bus to a specific destination. There doesn't appear to be a lot of vision, just desired. Vision and desire are not the same thing. Vision is knowing a destination and articulating a plan to get there. Desire is the equivalent of the 9 year old on Santa's lap telling Santa he "wants stuff."

If we want to be the city we know we all can be, we need someone with a vision; someone to be a champion of things.

[spuwho]

Hey Lake,

Didn't AAF have a briefing up at the Jax FDOT offices last year to walk through the plans?

Rep. Alan Bean knows about it, he is the one asking to help them out and they turned him down.

[thelakelander]

Updated story on JBJ and FEC states the easement filing is simply an extension of one granted in 2007.  No plans to extend to Jax.

LOL, at Jacksonville media. 

To the Jax Business Journal: Yes, there are no plans for light rail.

http://www.bizjournals.com/jacksonville/news/2014/06/27/local-court-documents-are-not-plans-for-light.html

To Action News Jax: Yes, there are no plans for high speed rail either. AAF is intercity rail.

http://www.actionnewsjax.com/news/news/documents-filed-clerk-indicate-high-speed-rail-pla/ngTJQ/

To the idea that this is just a reinstatement of an access easement given to AAF in 2007. AAF wasn't around in 2007.  Obama hadn't even been elected, to even suggest the feds would fund HSR between Orlando and Tampa.

But Robert Ledoux, general counsel for Florida East Coast Railway, told the Jacksonville Business Journal the easement is just a restatement of one issued in December 2007 giving All Aboard Florida the right to use Florida East Coast's rail system if it chooses.

Ledoux said there are no plans to do so. "There is no budget, no plans, there has been no discussion with us," he said.

Ledoux said there are similar easements between Miami to West Palm and West Palm to Cocoa. He said All Aboard Florida has said it may consider expanding to Jacksonville but first wanted to see how connecting Orlando to Miami went.

For anyone who has followed this thing since 2012, it basically tells you what you already know. These guys have their eyes set on extending the service up to Jax, assuming the first phase between Orlando and Miami turns out to be a success.

[spuwho]

I tried to reach out to some press in Tampa and the Treasure Toast for a response and got a collective yawn.

It's a laugher when its a topic of discussion in the chambers in the City of Tampa that Jacksonville might be next, but our city fathers know nothing.

That is bad.

[tufsu1]

knowing nothing and saying nothing aren't the same thing...clearly there are folks in City government that are in the know...and the folks that really matter in this right now is JTA, who is definitely up to speed on the issue.

[tufsu1]

nice try, but no.  As in there have been high-level talks, but lips are sealed.

[spuwho]

nice try, but no.  As in there have been high-level talks, but lips are sealed.

http://www.youtube.com/v/r3kQlzOi27M

[thelakelander]

The Daytona politicos know. They've been informed that that it would be a good idea for them to go on the aggressive to make sure they end up with a stop.

Wagner: Use Daytona As Hub For SunRail And All Aboard Florida

Daytona Beach, FL – Could Daytona Beach become a stopping point for both SunRail and the proposed All Aboard Florida train?

That's the vision of at least 1 member of the Volusia County Council.

In an interview on WNDB's Marc Bernier show on Monday, District 2 Councilman Josh Wagner said he wants to see a study done on the possible impact of an All Aboard Florida train stop somewhere in Daytona Beach.

All Aboard Florida is a private venture which promises high-speed train service from Miami to Jacksonville.

Wagner says he'd like to see that analysis piggy-backed onto the SunRail study already being done on a possible expansion to the Daytona Beach area from the DeLand station being planned as part of SunRail's Phase II.

"The key is, can we put in as part of the analysis the north-south numbers?" Wagner added. "Because that would give us what we need initially to get the conversation going."

Wagner sees the Daytona Beach International Airport being a possible meeting point for both SunRail and All Aboard Florida users. To save on costs, Wagner suggests using the current Florida East Coast commuter line as a way to connect the All Aboard Florida service from North Florida to South Florida.

http://newsdaytonabeach.com/wagner-use-daytona-as-hub-for-sunrail-and-all-aboard-florida/