Support grows for possible cut to $247 million for Skyway conversion

[thelakelander]

A growing number of Jacksonville City Council members say it's time to reopen an agreement struck in 2021 that commits $247 million in local gas tax money for overhauling the downtown Skyway's elevated structure so self-driving transit shuttles can travel on it.

If a review of the agreement between the city and the Jacksonville Transportation Authority ends up shifting some or all of the $247 million to other purposes, it would deal a blow to expanding the NAVI system that started last year along east Bay Street and has been slow to attract passengers.

City Council member Rory Diamond said based on his talks with JTA board members and feedback from City Council members, he thinks JTA and the city would be willing to renegotiate the contract that can only be changed by mutual agreement.

"It's not going to be fun," Diamond said Aug. 21 during a meeting of the City Council Finance Committee. "It might get a little rodeo-crazy, but I think at the end of the day we'll have a better product than what we locked into from 2021."

The $247 million for converting the elevated Skyway structure so rubber-tired autonomous transit shuttles can run on it is the single biggest item in a list of 17 projects the city authorized JTA to carry out using proceeds from doubling the local gas tax.

The next-biggest item is $132 million for the Emerald Trail network that will connect neighborhoods with 30 miles of paths for walking and bicycling from downtown into surrounding areas.

Nat Ford's departure from JTA removes NAVI champion from debate
The JTA board intends to picks someone from within JTA this month to be interim CEO and then launch a national search for a permanent CEO.

Employees who applied by the Aug. 14 deadline for the interim CEO job are Executive Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer Cleveland Ferguson, Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Jeff Smith and Senior Vice President and Chief Infrastructure and Development Officer Greer Gillis.

Also applying are JTA administrator Richard Clark, who served on the Jacksonville City Council from 2005 to 2015, Controller Russell Caffey, and former chief financial officer Raj Srinath.

JTA could hire a permanent CEO by the end of the year replacing Ford who is moving on to become CEO of Dallas Area Rapid Transit.

Ford worked with then-mayor Lenny Curry and City Council in 2021 to forge a long list of more than $900 million of road, transit and drainage projects financed by the local gas tax. JTA initially sought $379 million to convert the Skyway for autonomous transit shuttles and also extend those shuttle routes into surrounding neighborhoods.

City Council reduced JTA's request by $132 million and put that money instead into construction of the Emerald Trail network, leaving $247 million for the Skway conversion in downtown.

Diamond, who voted against the local gas tax increase, said Ford's impending departure has opened the way to reconsidering the gas tax list. Ford was the driving force behind JTA becoming the first transit agency in the nation to have autonomous transit shuttles as part of its regular fare-paying system.

"I don't get any pleasure in saying this, but with Nat Ford leaving, there isn't a face to this anymore that people are afraid to criticize," Diamond said. "People like Nat. They didn't want to criticize him. They'd hope he was right about all this. Now that's he's leaving, they can see the facts for themselves without all the politics in the way."

Full article: https://www.jacksonville.com/story/news/local/2026/08/24/jacksonville-might-reopen-agreement-with-money-for-downtown-skyway/91407080007/

[jaxlongtimer]

^ First time I ever agreed with Rory Diamond on something important  .  His call out of the reluctance to criticize Nat Ford is spot on.  I hope the Mayor's office takes the hint and comes around too.  This project is radioactive for anyone left supporting it.  A no-brainer to drop it like a hot potato. 

Imagine what $247 million could do for the Emerald Trail and so many more deserving infrastructure projects.  We can't afford to blow those dollars on a boondoggle, certain-to-fail project like NAVI-Skyway that serves so few vs. endless numbers of projects that can serve so many.  Heck, a drop-in-the bucket sidewalk project on a busy street in a part of town without them would serve more people than the NAVI and the Skyway, combined.

[marcuscnelson]

I certainly understand the need to change tact on the U2C program, I've been a proponent of that myself.

That said, I am wary of the desires by some in how that might take shape. Regardless of the poor decisions made over the last 5 years, Jacksonville does need to invest in mass transit, and it would be many pounds foolish to do so through totally throwing out what it has already invested in.

I've ridden the Skyway recently, and people do ride it. More might if it were in better shape, especially with all the new development actively rising around it. NAVI, on the other hand, is clearly not so fortunate, and that was predicted by many beforehand.

As I've said before, it is probably possible to get the Skyway into a state of good repair for less than a quarter-billion dollars. JTA should make that investment, and put the difference into badly needed improvements to the bus system so many others depend on. There is already $132 million of the gas tax going into the Emerald Trail, and nothing should be taken from that, but I don't see a pressing need to add even more to it right now when there are other needs. There is money bursting from every seam for road projects which include sidewalk projects, and those sources should continue to be tapped before taking money for transit.

Per the TPO, over the next four years more than three billion dollars will be spent on transportation infrastructure in North Florida. Almost all of that is for road projects, with some for trails & sidewalks and even less for transit. The worst thing we can do right now is take a bad choice with U2C and punish even more people for it by leaving all transit out to dry.

[MakeDTjaxGre@tAgain]

The Jacksonville Song

Thought it was funny so figured Id share.

[jaxlongtimer]

I certainly understand the need to change tact on the U2C program, I've been a proponent of that myself.

That said, I am wary of the desires by some in how that might take shape. Regardless of the poor decisions made over the last 5 years, Jacksonville does need to invest in mass transit, and it would be many pounds foolish to do so through totally throwing out what it has already invested in.

I've ridden the Skyway recently, and people do ride it. More might if it were in better shape, especially with all the new development actively rising around it. NAVI, on the other hand, is clearly not so fortunate, and that was predicted by many beforehand.

As I've said before, it is probably possible to get the Skyway into a state of good repair for less than a quarter-billion dollars. JTA should make that investment, and put the difference into badly needed improvements to the bus system so many others depend on. There is already $132 million of the gas tax going into the Emerald Trail, and nothing should be taken from that, but I don't see a pressing need to add even more to it right now when there are other needs. There is money bursting from every seam for road projects which include sidewalk projects, and those sources should continue to be tapped before taking money for transit.

Per the TPO, over the next four years more than three billion dollars will be spent on transportation infrastructure in North Florida. Almost all of that is for road projects, with some for trails & sidewalks and even less for transit. The worst thing we can do right now is take a bad choice with U2C and punish even more people for it by leaving all transit out to dry.

A few comments to add:

I would rather see $247 million invested in the bus system and other mass transit solutions than the money-pit Skyway.  Why?  To serve far more riders/users than the Skyway ever will.  It's all about ROI.  If one can serve so many more with one or other solutions, why pour those limited funds in something that will serve many fewer.

Just because the existing Skyway represents an in-ground investment isn't a reason to save it, necessarily.  It is about comparing the continuing future investment ROI vs. that of other options.  I might add most entities would have fully, or near fully, depreciated, over the decades, the Skyway's original investment. Per IRS guidelines (which are usually far longer than actual lives) max depreciation lives are usually 39 years. So one can't say we haven't extracted full use from what is there now based on typical useful lives. 

To summarize, this needs to be a business decision and the Skyway is far down the list vs. other ways to better spend limited dollars.

As to the TPO, my experience is that most of the $3 billion cited will be spent on the interstates as that is their #1 priority/ranking.  Proportionally, not much will be left for other projects, especially trails and sidewalks, which, if done on any level, are likely to be along State roads.  Not City ones, which are usually the ones most in need of addressing.

[thelakelander]

I'd be interested to see the ROI. I would not be surprised if the Skyway (when maintained and running properly) has an equal or better ROI per passenger than most of JTA's bus routes. Back in 2015 or so, it was JTA's highest ridership route by far. I'm also interested in how one would determine what their definition is for ROI.