Was in Tampa Saturday and had a chance to ride the Teco Streetcar for the first time. What a terrific idea. Little pricey I thought at $2.50 one way. But still it was packed most of the day. Tampa has places to go to make the streetcar worth while, something that Jacksonville doesn't have...yet. With a little imagination and progressive thinking it would be easy to picture the street car running from the Coliseum area, down Bay St, past whatever would be built at the shipyards, continuing past the old city hall annex and the nightspots in the area, drop down by the Landing and the Times Union Center and end up in Lavilla. Not sure what would be there someday. Maybe condos or high rise apartments. Maybe someday.....
The route is from the corner of Bay and Newnan, South on Newnan to Independence, to Water, to Park (or alternative Water to Lee to Bay to Myrtle to Forest), to Forest, to Riverside, to Post, to Oak, to King, to Park corner of Park and King.
Keep in mind that Bay Street belongs to the Skyway, and some engineering and planning is already complete - IE we don't need to reinvent the wheel for STREETCAR or for SKYWAY. Also the nature of automobile traffic (heavy and fast) on east Bay is no conducive to pedestrian friendly heritage streetcar.
The second reason for the streetcar to go east on an alternate route is the future expansion northward. If the streetcar turned east from Newnan to Beaver it could run right off the end of Beaver, cross Hogans Creek in the woods ("NOONE STATION" LOL) and pick up Beaver north of the Arena garage. Hence south on Randolph, west on Duval, return to Newnan. In so doing the streetcar passes an opportunity to shoot straight north to 21st Street and hence northwest to Gateway Mall... via an underpass and right-of-way that already belongs to the city (and some of which already has track on it).This would be the first private right-of-way streetcar route selection since before 1930).
Lastly, the streetcar will open a swath of new development through the heart of downtown, so even if it never carried a passenger it would become the engine of new urban development.
We don't need Ybor City, a cruise terminal, or exposition to make this bird fly. Our streetcar already has dedicated funding and considerable rank and file citizen support, 100% local, the initial studies are likewise completed. Stringing together Park & King, St. Vincents, 5-Points Shopping, Riverside Park, JACKSONVILLE TERMINAL, the Omni, Riverwalk, Performing Arts Center, Landing, Modis Tower, General Jackson, Hyatt, C of C, East Bay entertainment district with the Arena, Arena Parking, Everbank Field, Baseball Grounds, Metropolitan Park, Kids Place Part, and a Trolley Museum, would blow the socks off of the "next best kind."
Get ready for it my fellow citizens...business owners line up to the right!
OCKLAWAHA
I like the thinking..but is this really going to happen? Or more wishful thinking?
^Its a little bit of both. This first graphic illustrates the official transit projects that are included in the JTA and North Florida TPO long range plans through 2035. All of these projects were originally intended to be funded by a mix of federal (50%), state (25%) and local (25%) sources.
(http://photos.metrojacksonville.com/Transit/2030-COJ-Multimodal/Adopted-2035-Urban-Core/1222131109_SWYDj-L.jpg)
Orange = streetcar, Blue = BRT and Green = commuter rail, Red = JTC
see full LRTP project map and list here: http://www.northfloridatpo.com/index.php?id=32
After an extensive neighborhood visioning process with significant public participation, modeling existing and future congestion on the city's streets, riding a movement to revise the existing concurrency plan and responding to Senate Bill 360, the COJ Mobility Plan was created. The map below illustrates all of the 10-year priority projects within the Mobility Plan. Only two transit projects will be funded in the first decade. A streetcar line between DT and Riverside (U & V on the TPO map above) and a small commuter rail segment (G on the TPO map above). Money for these projects is anticipated to come from mobility fee funds (concurrency) from future private sector development constructed within their particular development zones.
(http://photos.metrojacksonville.com/Transit/2030-COJ-Multimodal/2030-Multimodal-Transportation/1122466646_PU8Sb-XL.jpg)
2030 Mobility Plan information here: http://www3.coj.net/Departments/Planning-and-Development/Community-Planning-Division/Mobility-Plan.aspx
If everything works out as planned, additional projects will be funded by the mobility fee in the distant future. On the transit side, other than a short skyway expansion to Atlantic Blvd (100% funded by mobility plan), the fee is only expected to generate the 25% local match for the rest of the transit projects (additional commuter rail and streetcar corridors). Additional funds from the state and feds or other sources will be needed to fill the 75% gap. Any other locally fixed transit routes that pop up on these discussions boards are dreams at this point.