The Ottawa Transitway: North America's largest busway system
(http://www.metrojacksonville.com/photos/thumbs/lrg-2715-32143280_ac1eba6fbf_b.jpg)
You can't sell BRT to a community without showing residents what North America's largest BRT system, using dedicated bus lanes, looks like. Metro Jacksonville introduces you to the Ottawa Transitway.
Full Article
http://www.metrojacksonville.com/content/view/625
Rail = 10,000 passengers per day @ $3 per round trip = $30,000 per day in revenue = a happy community
BRT = 3 city council members in favor of the system @ $.75 per trip per day = $2.25 per day in revenue = continued blighting of our neighborhoods to make way for large expensive unnecessary structures to deliver a system that no one in the voting public is for.
It's just too bad that in our city council 2 + 2 = $100,000,000 more often than not.
Add another zero to that number archiphreak.
QuoteYou can't sell BRT to a community without showing residents what North America's largest BRT system, using dedicated bus lanes, looks like.
The funny thing is, they're not trying to "sell" anything to us. Instead, JTA and the city council are cramming this down our throats. When I send emails questioning the validity of this plan, responses to me from my councilman, Art Graham, are consistently, "We're pretty much sticking to this plan." No rhyme or reason. Nothing. It's embarrassing.
Can you forward some of these emails to metrojacksonville at metrojacksonville dot com?
LungLunch,
Can you also post his email address so that we can all send him questions?
Also, should we send questions, comments and complaints to our own specific council members or is there a "team" within city council that is heading all of this up (besides the Mayor's office, obviously)? Perhaps a barrage of questions from "concerned citizens" is in order.
http://www.coj.net/City+Council/City+Council+Members.htm
Clay@coj.net
WBishop@coj.net
RClark@coj.net
Redman@coj.net
AShad@coj.net
Webb@coj.net
Gaffney@coj.net
EDLee@coj.net
WAJones@coj.net
MJones@coj.net
Holt@coj.net
DDavis@coj.net
ArtG@coj.net
Corrigan@coj.net
District 1: Clay Yarborough
Phone: (904) 630-1389
Email: Clay@coj.net
Assistant: Angela Ryan
District 2: William Bishop
Phone: (904) 630-1392
Email: WBishop@coj.net
Assistant: Suzanne Warren
District 3: Richard Clark
Phone: (904) 630-1386
Email: RClark@coj.net
Assistant: Meghan Friel
District 4: Don Redman
Phone: (904) 630-1394
Email: Redman@coj.net
Assistant: Scott Wilson
District 5: Art Shad
Phone: (904) 630-1382
Email: AShad@coj.net
Assistant: Debbie Delgado
District 6: Jack Webb
Phone: (904) 630-1388
Email: Webb@coj.net
Assistant: Suzie Loving
District 7: Dr. Johnny Gaffney
Phone: (904) 630-1384
Email: Gaffney@coj.net
Assistant: Bridgette Green
District 8: E. Denise Lee
Phone: (904) 630-1385
Email: EDLee@coj.net
Assistant: Tiffany Clark
District 9: Warren A. Jones
Phone: (904) 630-1395
Email: WAJones@coj.net
Assistant: Rupel Wells
District 10: Mia Jones
Phone: (904) 630-1684
Email: MJones@coj.net
Assistant: Daphne Colbert
District 11: Ray Holt
Phone: (904) 630-1383
Email: Holt@coj.net
Assistant: Connie Holt
District 12: Daniel Davis
Phone: (904) 630-1380
Email: DDavis@coj.net
Assistant: Sarah Balme
District 13: Arthur Graham
Phone: (904) 630-1397
Email: ArtG@coj.net
Assistant: Stan Johnson
District 14: Michael Corrigan
Phone: (904) 630-1390
Email: Corrigan@coj.net
Assistant: Dianne Smith
At-Large Council Members
Group 1: Ronnie Fussell
Phone: (904) 630-1393
Email: RonnieF@coj.net
Assistant: Mina Hosseini
Group 2: Jay Jabour
Phone: (904) 630-1381
Email: Jabour@coj.net
Assistant: Jenny Huxford
Group 3: Stephen C. Joost
Phone: (904) 630-1396
Email: Joost@coj.net
Assistant: Celeste Hicks
Group 4: Kevin Hyde
Phone: (904) 630-1398
Email: KHyde@coj.net
Assistant: Alison Miller
Group 5: Glorious J. Johnson
Phone: (904) 630-1387
Email: GloriousJ@coj.net
Assistant: Sandra Lane
thanks for posting the contact info downtownparks. is there anything else we can do besides constantly emailing our city council members?
Contact JTA, Contact your neighbors, get involved, even if it is just passing info along, or spreading the word and getting the ball rolling.
We've already had a positive response from an attorney and CPA...Now we can start to GET REAL! Great photos of that busway, amazing when you see one up close and personal, it's the ugliest darn thing and seems to have STUPID written all over it, where ever it is!
Ocklawaha
in a democratic society, shouldnt we be able to vote on how they spend such a large sum of our money? unless,we have become a constitutional dictatorship, where we have rights, but they choose wether we recieve them or not.
Last week-end I handed out information on the southwest corridor bus transit to some of the businesses located in the Cedar Hills and 103rd Shopping Center. Yesterday I stopped to talk to a few of them. Two businesses contacted COJ and were told that NO JTA was only putting in small bus stops and wouldn't effect their businesses or land acquistion. I directed them to the JTA website that shows a rapid bus system is being planned, also Metrojacksonville website. Two other business (big box stores) said there was nothing they could do on their end, it was up to their corporate office and doubted they would do anything. I have handed out flyers (50) and email addresses to surrounding neighbors, telling them to contact COJ, JTA and council persons.
Also, I sent an email to TU and Channel 4, asking why they aren't covering this issue. No response from them.
If just 20 people tell 5 people, and those 5 people tell another 5, you get the picture and 30% email or call COJ and JTA hopefully our voices/concerns will be heard.
Good work Westside!!!
I also emailed City Council yesterday. CM Bishop responded VERY positively. He asked us not to give up on this issue.
I thanked him for his leadership.
I guess this system doesn't work well when it snows. That's a bad thing considering this in Canada.
(http://fitottawa.com/wordpress/wp-content/artic_troubles.jpg)
QuoteOn December 16th, a storm which left 24 cm of snow on the ground in Ottawa left more than 100 busses inoperable as they jack-knifed and became stuck on the snow. The city has now been presented with a report recommending $800k be spent on CCTV cameras to monitor road conditions in key intersections of the transitway.
This leaves me troubled. Recent gang swarmings in and around bus property have had OC Transpo swearing by their security, stating that the transitway is monitered 24 hours per day, 7 days per week. Citing lack of funds, they said that additional security was too costly and not needed.
full story: http://splatto.net/blog/?p=123 (http://splatto.net/blog/?p=123)
That's pretty pathetic. Obviously traveling by train in the snow is a much better way to go.
http://www.youtube.com/v/KhBgM0dDjBo
Hey, it says the video's no longer available....do you have a link for it?
http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/opinion/story.html?id=dc656d6f-19c4-4231-a21d-14d07c0e3c03
The idea of spending hundreds of millions to construct dedicated busways, to then convert into light rail lines is one of the most foolish ever. Ottawa would have been better off building that transitway as light rail, right from the beginning. History has now proven that the construction of the transitway cost just as much as light rail. If they ever convert it (I doubt this will ever happen), the taxpayers of that community will have ended up paying for two systems.