Making Tracks

[FayeforCure]

From Backpage Editorial in Folio Weekly:

Should rails come up the FEC tracks into the city, it would be a natural choice to finally act on creating the intermodal transportation center at the Prime Osborn Convention Center. This project has been stalled for nearly a dozen years. Instead of detraining to a cramped hole-in-the-wall on the city's  Northside, travelers from up and down the Eastern Seaboard and beyond would be able to access downtown retailers, restaurants and hotels. It should be a Chamber of Commerce dream to see visitors coming directly into the heart of the city to spend their time and money........

Allowing stimulus money to enhance the rail infrastructure would also be a golden opportunity to set the stage for commuter rail on the Southside. It is doubtful that there are many people who think that I-95, Philips Highway or Southside Boulevard don't have enough traffic during the daily commute. And, with more people coming into Duval from St Johns County, it would be just as sensible for them to also hop a train to work.

[thelakelander]

We don't have to build the whole JTC immediately.  It would do us wonders just to get the Amtrak portion funded as a part of the FEC corridor project, if it goes forward.

Lets hope the council, chamber and mayor's office can finally jump on board and support this thing PUBLICLY!

While, their support may not critical to moving this plan forward, it would not hurt to rally around ideas like this.

[Ocklawaha]

We don't have to build the whole JTC immediately.  It would do us wonders just to get the Amtrak portion funded as a part of the FEC corridor project, if it goes forward.

Lets hope the council, chamber and mayor's office can finally jump on board and support this thing PUBLICLY!

While, their support may not critical to moving this plan forward, it would not hurt to rally around ideas like this.

"...and this just in from City Hall ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ!"

OCKLAWAHA

[tufsu1]

Remember that the JTC at the Prime Osborn doesn't have to mean INSIDE the Prime Osborn....the current plans would still suffice and would likely be moved up the FDOT and NFTPO priority lists if the Amtrak/FEC thing happens.

As for the City, maybe we could use some of the $100 million BJP transit money to jump-start the project....but that might be at the expense of streetcar.

[FayeforCure]

Remember that the JTC at the Prime Osborn doesn't have to mean INSIDE the Prime Osborn....the current plans would still suffice and would likely be moved up the FDOT and NFTPO priority lists if the Amtrak/FEC thing happens.

Here is a very telling closing paragraph in the backpage editorial:

As it is now, Florida is the largest state in the Union that does not have a working relationship between its Department of Transportation and Amtrak. Look no farther than North Carolina to see how a state DOT can make intrastate and interstate an affordable option, while helping to maintain stations. It is up to Floridians to ask FDOT and local leaders to enter into similar partnershops with Amtrak.

Henry Flagler is a legend in Florida because his railroad helped make our state what it is today. His historic route can help make our state what it can be tomorrow, if we have the same vision he once had.

John Louis Meeks Jr. is chairman of the social studies department at Mayport Middle School and a longtime rail passenger.

[thelakelander]

It is up to Floridians to ask FDOT and local leaders to enter into similar partnershops with Amtrak.

The amount of support the Amtrak/FEC project has generated proves that Floridians are doing their part.  Jacksonville needs to make sure we have done everything possible on our end to benefit locally from it.  Bringing Amtrak back downtown is one of those things that makes sense for us, FDOT and Amtrak.







http://www.metrojacksonville.com/article/2009-jul-jacksonville-to-miami-passenger-rail-returning

[JeffreyS]

I received an email from a city council member whom I asked to support a similar resolution That said it is not in the CC's purview.


Pur⋅view
  /ˈpɜrvyu/ Show Spelled Pronunciation [pur-vyoo] Show IPA
Use purview in a Sentence
â€"noun
1.    the range of operation, authority, control, concern, etc.
2.    the range of vision, insight, or understanding.
3.    Law.
a.    that which is provided or enacted in a statute, as distinguished from the preamble.
b.    the purpose or scope of a statute.
4.    the full scope or compass of any document, statement, subject, book, etc.

[Doctor_K]

Priceless.

[thelakelander]

That's horrible.  However, it illustrates what the problem is with council in general. 

[thelakelander]

Council and Commission representatives in places like St. Augustine, Palm Coast, Ocean Breeze Park, Seawall's Point and Hypoluxo get it but the those representing the largest municipality in the state are too clueless (according to the definition of purview) to understand?  Isn't there something wrong with this picture?  Sad and hilarious at the same time.

[Ocklawaha]

THE WHOLE COUNCIL IS ASLEEP Y'ALL! Where is our Glorious? This is a copy of my correspondence with our leadership:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TO: Jacksonville City Coucil Member:

Please introduce the Resolution of support to re-start passenger rail services on the FLORIDA EAST COAST RAILWAY. The Railway that built Eastern Florida, has already been funded at the State Level. It was put on hold during the Bush administrations Amtrak Freeze.

This might be our best shot at restoring service to downtown Jacksonville, and once again being the "Gateway City" to all of Florida.

Funding our Streetcar Study at JTA, and using the BJP funds to build the streetcar starter system would push us to the front of the pack. As many of you know, I'm a retired Transportation Consultant, and I'll be glad to talk with any of you Pro-Bono on the subject. We stand at a very important junction and we simply must make a stand.

Sincerely Ocklawaha
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mr. OCKLAWAHA,

Thank you for your email, though the City does not have direct purview over Amtrak's decisions.

Clay Yarborough
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mr. Yarborough:

Of course you are correct that the City does not have "direct purview" over Amtrak's decisions, however, as the City does have "purview" over the Prime Osbourne and JTA plans for Jacksonville Transportation Center. By issuing a resolution of support we join the other Florida Cities up and down the East Coast of the state in letting Amtrak and FDOT know that we too think this is a good idea. Adding trains not just to Jacksonville but to our historic Terminal downtown could turn this into an economic development engine. Amtrak already plans to split these trains in Jacksonville for each coast of Florida, but they are woefully short on space in their current location. Letting them know that we will be supporters of Amtrak and our downtown Terminal positions us for an economic boom. Splitting trains involves switching and servicing of train cars and that equates to more highly paid jobs in Jacksonville. Please give me a call if you have any questions.

OCKLAWAHA----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[thelakelander]

Has Mr. Yarborough responded?  Most would agree that helping to bring Amtrak back downtown is more important to our community than banning the Folio out of the public library.

[Ocklawaha]

Lakelander, Yes, the above is his one line response. No other Council member has so much as given me a call on this.

Glorious wanted to meet with us, but I'm not sure it's on this subject.

As for the city with the most to gain from a massive State and Federal rail passenger expansion, we are playing dumb. (Correction: Perhaps we are dumb as a bucket of nails). If this were a French Battery Plant, Alena Aircraft, JIA or Bridgestone, the Council and our Chamber would be all over it. Yet this represents an economic engine proved to expand Cities in the $BILLIONS of dollars range, and we ignore it. Once upon a time we owned the Railroad Passenger Industry in the entire Southeastern USA. The shell is still there, just waiting for the meat to arrive, and our Chef has gone to lunch!

Again and Again I have made the statements that NO HIGH SPEED RAIL is going to ever happen here, and if it does, it will never be successful until we retrain the now generation to use trains. That "training" MUST be done with State sponsored Amtrak, and Regional Rail, as well as Commuter Rail commitments. Gainesville and Tallahassee are both ripe targets for a regional "scoot" service. The Florida East Coast is the freaking golden ring on the merry-go-round and it's about to be pulled. The Gulf Wind is coming back (NOL-JAX), The Palmetto could come back (NYC-JAX), and direct midwest - Florida services could come back with Georgia's involvement. The only response from the state is more Freeways and ignorance. Sadly this is going to cost us big... really big...HUGE!  Jacksonville is the leading bastion of "Rail Hate" in this state, which seems to be the leading highway lobby money vortex. Think it's just me? Check this out.

 

Quote from Miami Today: http://www.miamitodaynews.com/news/090806/story4.shtml
Bigwigs such as Mr. LaHood and Vice President Joe Biden have said they see potential in a high-speed train here.
   But it's become clear a lack of concrete support at the state level could derail the effort.
   Local legislators in Washington "all expressed support" for a state bid for high-speed rail, and the US transportation secretary says Florida has a shot, said Humberto Alonso, the chamber's transportation and infrastructure chair, at the meeting with commissioners.
   But the state's track record â€" or lately, lack of one â€" for supporting existing rail systems could prove a roadblock.
   "Unfortunately, what they see as a weakness for us… is the support that such an effort would receive from the state," he said.
   The feds have taken note of what Mr. Alonso called "false starts" on providing South Florida commuter line Tri-Rail with dedicated state funding and approving a proposed Central Florida rail line, SunRail, during this year's state legislative session.
   "Both of those are seen as a complement to high-speed rail," he said, adding later that when it comes to supporting regional and federal projects, "it's not an either/or proposition."
   Misty Brown, the county's federal affairs coordinator in the intergovernmental affairs office, said Florida's high-speed rail funding application could carry less weight without a cohesive show of support from state leaders.
   And funding is critical, she added.
   Now, local transportation projects aren't seeing much in the way of monetary commitments. But to have a shot at federal dollars, that's got to change.

Get that Convention Center out of OUR STATION and move Amtrak back in downtown. Build our streetcar system and finish our Skyway. It costs nothing to offer a letter of support to encourage Amtrak to put new trains on the Florida East Coast, trains that will split in Jacksonville. How do we light a fire under this political deadwood?

OCKLAWAHA

[Lucasjj]

To move the convention center, the courthouse would need to be built to put in motion both places moving and turning the Prime Osbourne back in into a transit center. If the stimulis money is to be used in the immediate futre, what time time frame would we be looking at to do what we need to do as a city and still be able to get a piece of this pie?

[jbroadglide]

I'm not a big fan of hers but isn't Corrine (I lub Urgan Myer) Brown the chairman of the transportation committee? Where is her voice in all this? Most of her constituents would probably ride the train. Has anyone contacted her? Or has she made any overtures or even pushed the ball a little further to help Floirda get the dollars?