With the planned arrival of AAF rail service to Ft Lauderdale, the city is making new plans to create an urban core and city intermodal gateway around the city center.
With a recent federal grant ($18 Million) to WAVE for increased trolley service and the recent updates to the urban plan, there is movement to make the city entrance more "signature" and memorable.
SFBJ has some details on the civic activities going on with the plans:
http://www.bizjournals.com/southflorida/print-edition/2012/09/14/fort-lauderdale-may-benefit-from.html?page=all (http://www.bizjournals.com/southflorida/print-edition/2012/09/14/fort-lauderdale-may-benefit-from.html?page=all)
(http://assets.bizjournals.com/southflorida/blog/morning-edition/SFBJ-Zyscovich-Fort-Lauderdale-map.jpg?v=1)
(http://assets.bizjournals.com/southflorida/blog/morning-edition/SFBJ-Zyscovich-Fort-Lauderdale-parking-lot.jpg?v=1)
I'd like to see us slow down and take a look at what could be possible with the JRTC. It covers a ton of more land area than Fort Lauderdale's FECI site and it doesn't have a lick of TOD. Is there any way to bribe FECI to extend this AAF system to Jax and let them handle station planning?
Maybe we can start by meeting with Mr. Ford once he is fully on-board
^ Yes!! And with all of that already vacant property primed for development we would stand to gain a massive economic boost. Eliminate as much red tape as possible and things could be poppin long before Miami and Ft Lauderdale.
Quote from: Jason on November 14, 2012, 02:29:17 PM
^ Yes!! And with all of that already vacant property primed for development we would stand to gain a massive economic boost. Eliminate as much red tape as possible and things could be poppin long before Miami and Ft Lauderdale.
Sell all of that vacant property to Flagler Development, exit the "Convention Center," issue an RFP for the old station and let FECI fulfill our fantasies. If Flagler could develop that land, you better believe the trains would start rolling.
Concerns around public safety are raised in the urban planning in support of All Aboard Florida in Ft Lauderdale.
http://www.bizjournals.com/southflorida/blog/2012/11/how-all-aboard-station-site-could-hurt.html?page=all (http://www.bizjournals.com/southflorida/blog/2012/11/how-all-aboard-station-site-could-hurt.html?page=all)
How All Aboard station site could hurt public safety
South Florida Business Journal by Kevin Gale, Editor in Chief
Date: Monday, November 12, 2012, 10:05am EST - Last Modified: Monday, November 12, 2012, 10:37am EST
All Aboard Florida has two preferred site for a downtown Fort Lauderdale station. One is near the Broward County Transit central terminal and the second would tie into Las Olas Riverfront, a mixed-used property.
Kevin Gale
Editor in Chief- South Florida Business Journal
The north option, outlined in an environmental impact study, would close Northwest Second Street, which the study notes is a local street, rather than a state of federal thoroughfare. The problem I see is the city's main fire station is just west of the site on Second Street and would be blocked from direct access to the city's downtown, which is to the east. (My father is a retired fire chief, so I tend to notice these types of things.)
Instead, emergency vehicles would have to circle up to Northwest Fourth Street or go down to Broward Boulevard, which is a nightmare during rush hours and backs up anytime a train comes through. There would, of course, be a lot more trains coming through the crossing once All Aboard becomes operational.
Integrating the station with Las Olas Riverfront makes a lot more sense if the goal is to have the stop close to the heart of the central business district and cultural attractions. Moreover, the study says one goal of the station is to revitalize the area south of the New River. Putting the station on the north shore seems logically better positioned to do that than putting it several blocks further north.
The northern end of the Riverfront station platform would be near Broward Boulevard, so there still might be a way to closely link the service to Broward Country Transit's Central Terminal. Some of the maps of The Wave streetcar system also show it stopping at Las Olas Riverfront.
Another advantage of the Riverfront plan is that there would be one central platform, avoiding any confusion about which side of the tracks passengers should be on.
Southwest Second Street would still be open, but would be blocked by the passenger trains when they are stopped. That's not perfect, but seems to be a better trade-off than permanently closing a prime route for emergency vehicles.
The Riverfront location also might spur more development in downtown Fort Lauderdale. The photo slideshow with this post is reprised from a previous post I did about how Zyscovich Architects unveiled plans in 2004 for a new gateway to downtown Fort Lauderdale, with up to nine buildings and an elliptical landscaped median in Broward Boulevard.