Per the Daytona Beach News-Journal:
http://www.news-journalonline.com/article/20130115/NEWS/301159950?Title=Daytona-Amtrak-advocates-push-for-station-property-purchase (http://www.news-journalonline.com/article/20130115/NEWS/301159950?Title=Daytona-Amtrak-advocates-push-for-station-property-purchase)
DAYTONA BEACH â€" A group of local residents who've joined forces to push for a new passenger rail line that would have a stop in Daytona Beach will make a plea Wednesday for the city to buy land for a station.
A proposal that's been batted around for more than a decade to put Amtrak trains on Florida East Coast Railway tracks along the state's east coast still hasn't been finalized and put in motion, but the Daytona Beach residents who formed a committee and started meeting almost a year ago want city leaders to be ready if the hope becomes a reality.
"My goal is to get the land tied up," said Sans Lassiter, a committee member and transportation engineer based in Daytona Beach.
Even if the rail line never comes to fruition, the city could always sell the property, Lassiter noted. But Lassiter and his committee members will have to change the minds of some city officials who say it's too soon to make a dramatic move.
"That's so far from reality we don't need to be choosing wallpaper at this point," said City Commissioner Rob Gilliland, who's also the chairman of the Volusia Transportation Planning Organization.
Even if the new line does become a reality, it looks like it could be delayed by another rail project that's starting to take priority.
Rail lines will be one of many transportation issues discussed Wednesday at a transportation workshop that starts at 4 p.m. at City Hall. City commissioners will also discuss city road projects and the idea of adding more signs around Daytona Beach to help people find things.
The idea for the proposed Amtrak service is to create a passenger line that would run from Jacksonville to Miami. The latest version of the proposal calls for stops in St. Augustine, Daytona Beach, Titusville, Cocoa, Melbourne, Vero Beach, Fort Pierce and Stuart.
The spot city commissioners have chosen for a station in Daytona Beach is property just south of International Speedway Boulevard and west of Ridgewood Avenue near City Hall.
The city has its eye on two parcels in that region, one about 2 acres large and another less than a third of an acre. There are some structures on the land but neither site is actively being used, Lassiter said.
The line would span 11 counties and 350 miles, and the trip from end to end would take about six and a half hours.
A new proposed rail line that would run from Orlando to Miami with a turn in Cocoa has knocked the Miami to Jacksonville proposal down the priority list, said Kim DeLaney, strategic development coordinator for the Treasure Coast Regional Planning Council in Stuart.
"That (new) project is taking all the energy now," DeLaney said Tuesday, noting it could start service in two years. "There's an enormous effort now from all parties."
That new proposed line, dubbed All Aboard Florida, has put the line that would run through Daytona on hold, DeLaney said.
Gilliland wonders if the All Aboard Florida line â€" which he said "is moving like gangbusters now" â€" would make some stops in the line through Daytona redundant and spur changes along the Jacksonville to Miami route.
"Do you really need two carriers?" he asked.
Another factor in what's ultimately created could be the SunRail line, which could eventually run from Orlando to Daytona Beach.
For the Amtrak line through Daytona to get back on track, there will need to be an operating agreement drawn up among Amtrak, Florida East Coast Railway and the state Department of Transportation. If that agreement is ever reached, it will still take about two years after that to put all the other pieces in place, officials have said.
The state Department of Transportation has set aside $118 million for the Amtrak project, and the money could be available in July. Repeated attempts to land federal funding have failed, and the project has been scaled back to prepare for the possibility of never getting help from Washington, D.C.
The $118 million set aside by the state for the project that would go through Daytona Beach could be used for land acquisition, station construction and rail improvements, DeLaney said, but several cities would be competing for those dollars.
An advantage for All Aboard Florida, which would have four stops, is that it's privately funded, DeLaney said.
At stake for Daytona Beach is the chance to draw more tourists, offer a new mode of transportation and sprout new businesses in a timeworn part of town. City leaders would ultimately like to see a gift shop, car rental operation and other businesses sprout up around the Daytona station.
"We think there should be rail service downtown and we'd like to see it on FEC rail lines," Lassiter said. "We don't want this bypassing us. We'll be in better shape if we get the land."
Jack White, a committee member and urban redevelopment specialist who lives downtown, said he decided from personal experience the area could use a new rail line.
"I just took Amtrak (from DeLand) to Miami and it was an excruciatingly long trip," White said, noting his total travel time was eight hours.
He hopes the line through Daytona comes to be someday.
"I believe rail is a huge aspect in increasing our level of competition," White said.
City officials also still hope to see things work out.
"We're supportive," said Emory Counts, the city's director of community and economic development.
But the city has to wait for more things to develop to make a move, Counts said.
Love articles like this "a group" ummmm what does that mean 2, 4, 100, 1000. Hard hitting journalism
I'm familiar with that "group". Sans is a pretty good guy and their civic leaders are pretty visionary, when compared to some other places. I was a part of the initial meetings through my former firm. Daytona would be smart to pony up the cash.
1. Despite the talk, there's a snow ball's chance in hell that FDOT builds +30 miles of new track in the middle of wetlands to connect Daytona Beach with Sunrail in Deland. That will be DOA, when ridership, O&M, and capital expense numbers start to materialize.
2. How does AAF from Miami to Orlando make Amtrak along the FEC redundant? They won't even share the same station locations in Miami, Ft. Lauderdale, and West Palm Beach and AAF's current project will not serve the remaining five cities along the FEC between WPB and Jax.
3. The major thing that would make Amtrak on the FEC redundant would be AAF having success on their initial line and extending it to Jax, which is something they've mentioned is a possibility. If that happens, you can bet your firstborn kid that there will at least be stops in Daytona Beach and St. Augustine before reaching Jax. This alternative would be superior anyway because AAF would have trains running hourly as opposed to twice a day. So either way, securing that downtown Daytona piece of property while it's available, makes a ton a sense.
4. If rail never comes, that site (which should be developed with infill in mind anyway, is only about a block or two from Bethune Cookman in one direction and three or four blocks from the Halifax River and downtown's Beach Street in the other. Perfect location for mixed use multifamily that could cater to area college students.
Another factor in this Lake is AAF is NOT going to ticket or accept interchange passengers or cars from out of state. Keeping it an isolated intrastate railway. I expect that to change sometime after they are up and running but it eliminated a ton of red tape and kicked the feds out of the plan.
It would also be a shame if Greyhound moves out of their station in favor of something near the airport/I-95. The current terminal as-built was one of the nicest mini 'Grand Central Station' type bus terminals in the country.
The fact that Greyhound is across the street from the railroad station site ought to really be a no-brainer. Loop all of the Voltran buses on Ridgewood and International Speedway to make a one block jog at the stations and you'd really have a neighborhood capable of successful dense TOD.
(http://i196.photobucket.com/albums/aa111/Ocklawaha/RAILROAD%20Depots%20and%20Stations/ScreenShot2013-01-17at44748PM_zps2a8a9e68.png)
Damn shame the original station was torn down because it was beautiful. Its demolition came as a complete surprise to the local historical and news community, the city must have known but claimed they didn't. The FEC RY in one of their last 'Public Be Damned' moves before moving back into the Flagler family.
I always wondered what the station used to look like. So this image is Magnolia Avenue with the train station in the background?
I can't see it happening right now, but wouldn't it be funny if AAF does decide to include Daytona Beach in their plans, FECI buys up a bunch of land for a station and after they do, the city fathers buy the land across or down the tracks for a new Amtrak station?
Daytona would then become a preferred transfer point depending where AAF decides to put the Jacksonville terminus. (Obviously not next to the Amshack)
It's all speculation, but the thought occurred to me that Daytona could get TWO stations in the deal depending on the timing and funding.
FWIW: I just booked a flight to the west coast and MCO is still running $50-$90 cheaper each way than JAX for the same destinations. If AAF ever offers a one way directly into MCO from JAX!
^ If AAF ever offers service from MCO to Jacksonville, it would likely cost at least $50 each way....so there wouldn't be much savings in flying out of Orlando insetad of here
If anything, the connectivity would probably hurt Daytona Beach's airport and commercial flight dreams at St. Augustine instead of JAX.