San Diego Trolley 30 Years Later: Special Report
(http://photos.metrojacksonville.com/photos/1430047289_dTkpGKS-M.jpg)
30 years have passed since San Diego opened its first 15.9 mile starter and Jacksonville ignored Metro Jacksonville's Bob Mann's warning that the skyway would be a failure and that it should be replaced with light rail or streetcars. Today, Jacksonville's 2.5 mile Skyway attracts less than 3,000 riders a day in a struggline downtown that has city leaders perplexed on what needs to be done to stimulate revitalization. On the other hand, San Diego now has 53.5 miles of light rail, attracting over 91,000 riders a day and a buzzing downtown with 32,000 residents (expected to increase to 90,000 over the next decade). Today, Metro Jacksonville takes a look at the San Diego Trolley system and suggest where successful transportation and land use policies could be implemented locally and in other peer communities across the country.
Full Article
http://www.metrojacksonville.com/article/2011-aug-san-diego-trolley-30-years-later-special-report
Great report. Thanks so much for doing this. Now if we could just get Jacksonville on the right track!
and i still dont care about san diego...next subject please
why...because they don't have enough tall buildings?
Quote from: hightowerlover on August 29, 2011, 09:32:56 AM
and i still dont care about san diego...next subject please
Submit one that you care about and we'll consider running it on the front page.
Jacksonville
Today's article is about Jacksonville's mass transit situation. Submit a Jacksonville specific article on a subject you're interested in and we'll consider it for the front page. Here are a few examples of guest articles we've featured in the past that can give you some ideas.
http://www.metrojacksonville.com/article/2011-aug-toll-it-and-they-will-come
http://www.metrojacksonville.com/article/2011-jul-make-it-happen-by-preservation-sos
http://www.metrojacksonville.com/article/2011-apr-water-taxi-service-expands-to-riverside
Amen. Glad to be on the Green line b/w the Grossmont and Morena/Rio Vista TODs. Looking forward to implementation/completion of UTC and Balboa Park legs.
Didn't know you moved to San Diego. The Green Line is pretty impressive, considering it serves a suburban corridor that has similar uses to Jax's JTB corridor. Also, loved Balboa Park. That space is pretty special.
Not about Jacksonville? The abandoned rail right-of-way from Maxwell House north to Gateway Mall, and from Springfield Yard to the old Jacksonville Terminal are owned by the City of Jacksonville. Their best and brightest idea? We'll build bike trails on them, then blow another $100 million on more pavement for a Bus Rapid Transit System.
Currently one can stand at the foot of Broadway, step on a JTA bus, pay a dollar and step off at Gateway. After this massive investment in buses, one can stand at the foot of Broadway, step on a JTA bus, pay a dollar and step off at Gateway. Is it just me or does anyone else see insanity written all over this?
OCKLAWAHA
It's insane. However, if things don't change soon, they surely will come 2016.
It is interesting to read a "foreign" perspective on one's hometown. Let me say that, like you, our citizens often feel frustrated by a lack of local leadership. Our leaders require regular kicks in the a**.
It seems to me that Jacksonville needs to protect its web of railway rights of way until a future administration sees the light and decides to return rail to them. Also, the extension of your Skyway to the convention center and airport seems very logical and cost effective.
I would look at your most successful inner city neighbourhoods and try to determine why they have more vitality than other areas. Try to copy their methods of organization.
The" base hits vs. homerun" idea is a good one. I see in San Diego that all old buildings, no matter how humble, seem to be in use either commercially or residentially or both, while many buildings that were torn down and not replaced have left us with a legacy of vacant, weed strewn lots surrounded by chain link fences. Old buildings offer low cost incubator spaces that start up businesses can use. These businesses in turn re-invigorate neighbourhoods.
thanks dougsd....people in Jax. often forget that folks in other cities are often concerned about the same issues...and also are striving for better leadership....perhaps its the whole "grass is greener on the other side" thing.
Quote from: tufsu1 on August 29, 2011, 09:09:13 PM
thanks dougsd....people in Jax. often forget that folks in other cities are often concerned about the same issues...and also are striving for better leadership....perhaps its the whole "grass is greener on the other side" thing.
Sorry, that's not what it is.
+30,000 DT residents to Jax's 2,000? 53 miles of reliable rail service to 2.5 miles of skyway? Balboa Park vs. Hogans Creek? In the case of urban living, its definitely not a "grass is greener" situation. It simply is and all we can do is try to learn from it instead of making excuses to justify our failures to this point. This is the reason, I started doing these city comparisons years ago. They are to show how other cities have dealt with issues we currently struggle with and to potentially provide a road map of viable solutions that can be implemented in Jacksonville.
Quote from: Lunican on August 29, 2011, 09:33:05 PM
Quote from: tufsu1 on August 29, 2011, 09:09:13 PM
thanks dougsd....people in Jax. often forget that folks in other cities are often concerned about the same issues...and also are striving for better leadership....perhaps its the whole "grass is greener on the other side" thing.
Sorry, that's not what it is.
that is part of the problem....there are many people in this town (including leaders) who have not spent much time travelling...so they either think things are just fine here....or that everything sucks here.
sorry, but its just not that simple
and yes, Lake....the compasrisons to other cities are a huge asset....they allow folks to see what other cities are doing right (and in some cases, wrong)....a big thanks for doing those!
Tufsu, when you use the phrase, "the grass is always greener on the other side" you are implying that San Diego's situation may seem more desirable, but in reality it is not.
Is that what you are trying to say regarding San Diego's mass transit situation and the path they took over the past 30 years?
I wasn't referring to San Diego specifically...I was referring to the general mentality of people.....sometimes it seems like it is better somewhere else....and then when you get there and stay for a while, it begins to look different.
IMO, San Diego is clearly ahead of Jacksonville in many ways (especially when it comes to downtown and transit)....yet I'm willing to bet that some people there might visit Jax. and think "what a beautiful city"....that's the notion/concept I was referring too.
And as noted by the poster, they also have concerns about leadership....for example, look at how Jacksonville's leadership has handled the Jaguars....and then compare that with what San Diego has (or hasn't) done with the Chargers.
Bottom line...as Lake said, we can learn a lot about what to do (and not do) from other cities.....and the vice versa is also true!