This just in folks, read it and weep... IF we just had City leadership. If we just had an involved Chamber. If we just would take a first step. If we just allowed that $100 Million for BRT right-of-way go for REAL transit. Oh "IF WE ONLY HAD A BRAIN."
Just how bad is it for Jacksonville? Get this folks, JTA IS READY, but City Hall fiddles while the oil burns. QuoteWaco planners to use federal funds to explore trolley linking downtown and Baylor
Sunday, March 29, 2009
By J.B. Smith
Tribune-Herald staff writer
The city of Waco will use $300,000 in federal funds on an engineering study for a proposed fixed-line trolley connecting downtown with Baylor University.
Waco Transit proposed funding the study through a portion of the federal economic stimulus money it received for public transit. The policy board of the Waco Metropolitan Planning Organization, which plans transportation countywide, voted last week to include the study in its plan. Waco City Manager Larry Groth made the motion.
“Part of this is to study the feasibility of doing a trolley,†Waco MPO director Chris Evilia said. “The route is the other part of the study. We do have two nodes â€" downtown and Baylor â€" that could be connected. We may also be looking at trying to connect other areas, such as East Waco. . . . It may be decided early on that it’s not feasible short-term, and it may be a long-term recommendation.â€
The study could begin late this summer and wrap up early next year, Waco Transit officials said. They said the length, route and cost of the electric streetcar system would be difficult to estimate until the study is done.
Developers and proponents of downtown redevelopment have advocated a fixed-line trolley as a way to encourage private investment along the route. They point to development that has followed streetcar lines in cities such as Portland, Ore.; Little Rock, Ark.; and Tampa, Fla.
“Fixed guideway transit is a tremendous development driver,†said Chris McGowan, urban development director for the Greater Waco Chamber of Commerce. “I think the first step is connecting major activity centers, which right now are downtown and the university. I also think it would be logical to have an extension connecting both sides of downtown across the river and to connect the park and Cameron Park Zoo with downtown. Over the course of three or four phases, I could see a system of six to eight to 10 miles.â€
McGowan said the cost of streetcar systems in other cities has varied widely, from $5 million to more than $20 million.
He said he believes Waco could build a system in the low end of that range because it could be built in the existing right-of-way without major geographical obstacles. For the first phase, he envisions a loop of two or three miles, perhaps including University-Parks Drive and Fourth Street.
Rick Sheldon, a developer who has proposed a huge development along the Brazos River, has been a strong proponent of a trolley system that could run along University-Parks. Sheldon was unavailable for comment Friday.
Funding for the trolley system has not been identified, but McGowan and other streetcar advocates hope some federal money will become available. The city also has a Tax Increment Financing Zone that funds capital improvements within downtown and the Brazos River corridor.
Michael Wray, managing partner for the Heritage Square loft and retail development, said he believes investment in a streetcar system would pay off in economic development.
“There’s a good chance fixed rail will be a reality in the next five years,†he said
Sing along CITY HALL...
I could while away the hours, conferrin' with the flowers
Consultin' with the rain.
And my head I'd be scratchin' while
my thoughts were busy hatchin'
If I only had a brain.
I'd unravel every riddle for any individ'le,
In trouble or in pain.
With the thoughts you'll be thinkin'
you could be another Lincoln
If you only had a brain.
Oh, I could tell you why The ocean's near the shore.
I could think of things I never thunk before.
And then I'd sit, and think some more.
I would not be just a nothin' my head all full of stuffin'
My heart all full of pain.
I would dance and be merry, life would be a ding-a-derry,
If I only had a brain. OCKLAWAHA
I spent about an hour exploring Waco in July 2006 (I'll see if I can dig up a few images from my archives). Other than an interesting warehouse district filled with a few clubs and restuarants, its pretty far behind DT Jax's current scene. If rail works in Waco, it can work anywhere.
Quote from: thelakelander on March 30, 2009, 02:13:47 PM
I spent about an hour exploring Waco in July 2006 (I'll see if I can dig up a few images from my archives). Other than an interesting warehouse district filled with a few clubs and restuarants, its pretty far behind DT Jax's current scene. If rail works in Waco, it can work anywhere.
Interesting you say that. I always thought that the area in NE Springfield (warehouse district?) would be a neat area for residential lofts with some pubs/micro breweries/etc wth a trolley running through there back into the DT area.
Springfield's warehouse district has a ton of potential. If JTA is successful at implementing the north commuter rail corridor, its quite possible that a station would be located in the heart of the district.
There was once an Atlanta developer who had grandiose plans for Springfield's Warehouse district.....that has since fallen to the wayside.
He had a decent project, but like developments all across the city, it may have been affected by market conditions.
(http://i196.photobucket.com/albums/aa111/Ocklawaha/TRANSIT%20Heritage%20Trolleys/FortSmithWarehouseDistrict.jpg)
Fort Smith Warehouse District, about 1/3 mile from Oklahoma State Line in Arkansas, on a former freight railroad branchline...Just like ours "could" be.
I love to see the GATEWAY STREETCAR LINE run either from the Beaver Street easement at Arlington Expy/Hogans Creek/Union Warehouse or from A. Phillip Randolph, North to a jog west, hence north on the old Fernandina and Jacksonville Railroad Grade. Straight North through the heart of the Warehouse District, cross the "S" line at the North end of Springfield Yard, and turn Northwest on the old ACL Grade right into Gateway at The Norwood Railroad Crossing. There is even an old Bank at Norwood and the Railroad that might be recycled into a fantastic multi-modal transfer center.
Shame if JTA can't figure out how to lobby the city for direct use of the $100 Million BJP funds for rail, maybe they could purchase this property, then leverage that to lay in the streetcar line with FTA grant funds. The fact that the city could transfer ownership of the right-of-way to JTA might also count toward any matching grants. While it might not be the most photogenic route in the city, it sure would carry some folks on Game day and set off a building boom in the east side.
OCKLAWAHA