FDOT considering commuter rail along the FEC

[thelakelander]

..too bad it's in South Florida.  Anyway, I found this quote from the article pretty funny.

There are two bus options, but both would take twice as much time to travel between Miami and Jupiter. One, called bus rapid transit, would use buses that resemble rail cars and run them in a new roadway built next to the tracks for exclusive use by buses. The other bus option, the cheapest by far among the four being considered, would rely on buses using local streets that parallel the tracks, like U.S. 1, Andrews Avenue or Dixie Highway.

The company that owns the FEC opposes building a road for buses along the tracks because it would limit expansion for freight service and generate less robust economic development around stops compared to passenger rail stations.

As many as 192 passenger trains a day could be added to the FEC, although not all of them would travel the entire length of the corridor. They would run every 15 minutes at rush hour and every half hour the rest of the day. Tri-Rail offers 50 trains a day on weekdays but only a limited number run every 20 minutes at rush hour.

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/broward/fl-fec-passenger-rail-20100915,0,1372868.story

This is the same Jacksonville-based company that owns the rail line paralleling Philips.  I wonder which one would the prefer in Jax.  BRT on Philips or commuter rail along their corridor running past all the potential TOD property they own?

Get with the program Jax!

[CS Foltz]

lake..........I am beginning to believe it is a lost cause! We have not done enough studies or imported enough consultants! Not to mention according to JTA.........."BRT is better than rail and cheaper"! What a crock of excrement!

[JeffreyS]

Could we get Mica to make a comment on Rail vs. BRT for Jax.  The whole we are going with BRT because that is what we were working on before we realized rail was possible is an attitude that needs to be changed at the JTA.

[CS Foltz]

JeffreyS.........Mica is more concerned about getting his butt re-elected! Attitude at JTA needs to change beyond doubt, but until the upper layer is given their walking papers, the attitude won't change!

[Ocklawaha]

Well y'all remember what the JTA "official" said to MJ about all of this...

"Rail is rail."

OCKLAWAHA

[tufsu1]

well you should all know that FDOT District 4 is spending up to $20 million (you heard me) on the necessary studies....are you all up for that here?

oh..and btw...the consultant that is leading the effort....local grown RS&H

[thelakelander]

How much has JTA spent on BRT studies over the last decade?

[CS Foltz]

lake..........probably enough to build both BRT and Rail.................thats just my humble opinion!

[tufsu1]

Far less than that....the studies they are doing right now are $300,000 each....and the studies for the former BRT plan were not more than $3 million.

And so far they have spent about $3 million for design and $9 million for construction

Also, Miami, Broward, Orlando, and Tampa are doing BRT too....the differencefor Jax  (so far) is that they are also doing rail

[Ocklawaha]

So about $4-5 million for a bus ride on Philips, Roosevelt and I-95 north... wow, if this is the best we can do I want my money back!

OCKLAWAHA

[ChriswUfGator]

Far less than that....the studies they are doing right now are $300,000 each....and the studies for the former BRT plan were not more than $3 million.

And so far they have spent about $3 million for design and $9 million for construction

Also, Miami, Broward, Orlando, and Tampa are doing BRT too....the differencefor Jax  (so far) is that they are also doing rail

So they spent at least $3MM just to decide whether or not to add a couple extra buses with "BRT" painted on the side of them in a lane with "BUS" painted on it? And you have no problem with that? This is like JEA paying a consultant $90k/yr to run their board meetings. At what point when we're paying all these salaries do you have to expect that things are within their job description and they shouldn't need to hire 14 outside consultants to show them where the toilet paper is in the office bathroom?

I would probably be horrified (as the rest of you would) if we actually knew how much money is spent on these consultants and studies. The real laugh track about it is that none of them accomplish anything here in Jacksontucky, we all know their minds are made up and they're going to do it anyway no matter how asinine the idea is, so we should at least save the consulting fees.

[thelakelander]

Also keep in mind that the South Florida proposal covers three counties. Also, are those other cities proposing BRT to parallel their proposed rail or will they connect rail to destinations not adjacent to tracks?

[CS Foltz]

lake.........maybe tufsu would know! From what I have seen to this point, the most asinine,least cost effective and concrete sucking way they can go...........thats the way JTA will wobble!

[tufsu1]

Also keep in mind that the South Florida proposal covers three counties. Also, are those other cities proposing BRT to parallel their proposed rail or will they connect rail to destinations not adjacent to tracks?

in at least one case (Tampa) yes...BRT down Nebraska will be implemented next year...and light rail usng either I-275, 30th St, or the CSX tracks could be in place by 2017

[tufsu1]

we all know their minds are made up and they're going to do it anyway no matter how asinine the idea is, so we should at least save the consulting fees.

Feel free to submit a proposal yourself when an RFP or RFQ is released