Jax's Rapid Transit System Taking Shape

[spuwho]

Jacksonville


Orlando

Any questions?

Wow, Jacksonville is getting a 'Rapid Transit System?' OMG! Just look at that photo... I mean no other city has one of these, damn, I mean a sign like that should cause excitement from Tampa to Tupelo. I'm so happy,  I feel faster already.

This should answer the question once and for all; "Has Jacksonville finally arrived?" Imagine the TOD, imagine the jobs, the mobility, the crowds flocking to ride a bus, imagine!  Say, I know a town in Oklahoma that has FIVE stop signs and one yellow flashing light, talk about big league cities. AWESOME. 

I can see it now, 'Welcome to Jacksonville, Wart of the World and in the Armpit of the Great Frog,' apparently all of the waters of the world are contained in the armpit of the great frog. The confluence of those waters is in obviously over on Myrtle Avenue.

S U C K E R S !

Dont mince words Ock, what do you really think? (sarcasm)

[Ocklawaha]

Anything I can do to help them understand what we are getting Spuwho!

Look at this image, except for a bus every 10-20 minutes, and some much needed digital data, there is NOTHING different here, the same stops, same shelters, same benches, same buses (albeit with a cleaner fuel), same drivers... We are getting a few more lane miles of bus lanes and a few less miles of auto lanes. Yes they'll have WIFI and real-time information (great improvements) but other then that and a different coat of paint they are claiming this will:

1. Revolutionize transit in Jacksonville
2. Be "Just like rail only cheaper" (look up the word CHEAP)
3. Serve as a true 'Rapid Transit System' 
4. Create a 'rail like,' avalanche of new private sector TOD

Sorry folks, this isn't even REAL BRT. At best it is a much improved quality bus service the likes of which we had in 1908. Real BRT that meets the international BRT standards for 'Bronze', 'Silver' or 'Gold' level service are the only bus services that have ever approached any of those goals and even then it's with mixed results.

Over the life of the project, even a 'BRT LITE' (read that BRT CHEAP) project higher operating, maintenance and bus attributed highway costs will prove within 10-20 years that BRT isn't the bargain cities are led to believe. The devil is in the details but here are a couple:
Maximum axle loading on most Florida highways?

Florida Statues 316.535 Maximum weights.—
(1) The gross weight imposed on the highway by the wheels of any one axle of a vehicle shall not exceed 20,000 pounds.
The new BRT low floor, CNG and other non-articulated buses weigh in right at 30,000 pounds meaning in operation, each bus is not far from the extreme limit of street axle loading.

According to a GAO study, Excessive Truck Weight: An Expensive Burden We Can No Longer Afford, road damage from one 18-wheeler is equivalent to 9600 cars... Guess what? Those 18 wheeler axles weigh in the same range as JTA's new buses.
(SOURCE: COMPTROLLER GENERAL'S
REPORT TO THE CONGRESS
EXCESSIVE TRUCK WEIGHT:
AN EXPENSIVE BURDEN WE
CAN NO LONGER AFFORD)

Since the highest costs in transit operations is found in the employee payroll, buses make less and less sense over a long term in a heavy use corridor. In the new NABI articulated bus: Passenger Capacity - Seated   43 in the 42' model and 63 (Single Exit Door) in the 60' model. While articulated buses can achieve a capacity of around 100 passenger each, JTA has no articulated buses in the mix.
(SOURCE:Vehicle Catalog
A Compendium of Vehicles and Powertrain
Systems for Bus Rapid Transit Service)

Conversely the Alstom Citadis 100% low-floor Streetcar's operating in Melbourne AU have a capacity of 231 passengers with 56 seated. The Bambardier Flexity 100% low-floor Streetcar's operating in Vancouver and Brussels have a capacity of 178 with 50 seated.
(SOURCE:APTA RT ST-GL-001-13
Modern Streetcar Vehicle Guideline)

The life expectancy of the vehicle is short: Large, Heavy-Duty Buses (12 Years; 500,000 Miles) (FTA figures) and there is a general push in the industry to shorten this to 8 years.
(SOURCE: FTA/USDOT
Useful Life of Transit Buses and Vans)

The Pittsburgh has this to say:
"Compared to typical bus operations costs, streetcar's may be marginally higher when calculated on a per hour of service, due to the maintenance of additional facilities that are required for streetcars. (Note that buses typically do NOT include the maintenance of the roadway in their costs) However, recognizing the higher ridership that streetcars encourage, operating costs for a streetcar may be lower then those of bus on a per-passenger basis. Furthermore, the life-cycle cost of streetcars is typically lower than the bus, due to the longer service life of streetcar vehicles (30-40 years) as compared to buses (12-15 years)."
(SOURCE: Streetcar Capital Cost Estimation;
City of Pittsburgh Publication)

Simply do the math over the next 40 years- to achieve the same capacity in transit we need a minimum of 3 buses and 3 drivers per 8 hours compared to each streetcar. Cost? Bus @ about $800,000 each, Streetcars @ about $2.5 Million each. Now consider the roadway re-pavement costs (currently about $1M per mile for resurfacing), labor, service life...

In the end you have a collection of buses that "they" (JTA) is calling "A Revolutionary Rapid Transit System" and on the other hand you could have a long-life 40 year rail system that really IS rapid transit.

Oh and STREETCAR'S DO NOT NEED TO RUN IN A STREET!

[ricker]

^
noted.
I have what I hope is a legitimate question for the Southwest Corridor:
If 22-26 stops are considered appropriate, and JTA is aiming to increase ridership, while FDOTs mantra is to keep traffic moving,
Can 2-3 more stops be added?


Perhaps one at Harow/Wesconett/Blanding?
There exists a grassy triangle at this intersection.

Confederate Point Rd / Blanding (near the  old dollar theatre) ?
There is an FDOT intersection improvement planned for this intersection; Can JTA and FDOT work together on this??

Cassat Ave/Blanding?
There is an empty lot between Pomade & Tonic and the church at this intersection,
and the Timothy Lane/Lake Shore Blvd commercial triangle immediately across Blanding  is suffering from abundant vacancies
(immediately north of the old Phoenix Lanes bowling alley Mr.Scott McAllister is revamping...)


Adding a stop on Blanding at Harlow/Wesconnet,
ANDConfederate Point Rd
AND somewhere on Blanding between Lake Shore Blvd and Cassat Ave
^
These are stop locations  which could boost ridership and improve quality of life for the entire inner Southwest side of town.

Anyone have any feedback to offer?



The current stop locations in this segment of the SW corridor appear to be located at:
Wilson / Blanding (Cedar Hills Shopping Center) which is abhorrently auto-centiric.
San Juan Ave / Blanding, a good choice
FSCJ Kent campus, also a no-brainer.

The Timothy Lane intersection of Blanding needs a BRT stop and a Ped Xing High Visibility crosswalk to effectively reconnect what the last widening and median installation severed.

[spuwho]

Replace "Go" with "Flyer"?

[thelakelander]

Nice! I didn't know the TTC upgraded their commuter rail cars.