This is a copy of the report as posted in various forums, it is multi-posted because of it's importance to the Citizens of Jacksonville.
Warning, this piece is strictly my own opinon of the BRT meeting of Thursday Evening. It does NOT reflect the opinion of: Lakelander, Diane, JTA, JaxOutLoud, Metro-Jacksonville, MetJax, or the citizens present. It is written by a former 1960s-70s radical that is still tilting at the windmills... LEAD ON DON!
Thursday at 6pm "The Citizens Advisory committee" met at the JTA Board Room, to discuss, and be updated on the BRT, and other transit plans.
In short, here is the gist of the 2+ hour meeting:
JTA has a vision of not only being the JACKSONVILLE TRANSPORTATION AUTHORITY, but is now setting their eyes on RTA or "Regional Transportation Authority." Spell that a rogue State agency, that will ride roughshod over every transportation idea in the First Coast. As JTA said it, "All the way to Volusia County, we want to see how we might connect with what Orlando, is doing." Better buckle up for this because they plan to take all of us "for a ride..."
Water Transportation, They outlined a vague plan to introduce water transit to Jacksonville and, well, frankly most anywhere in NE Florida. Not that this is a bad idea, it's just they haven't a clue what they want and thus what they are going to study. Funny thing is, there is a prototype $50, Million dollar hovercraft, commuter boat being built in Green Cove Springs. Nobody said it was for JTA, but the implication was that someone at JTA has designs on this craft. No mention was made of fuel or speed, Manatees or No Wake Zones. They did touch on a lack of interest in Ferry Operations as opposed to "Pure Passenger Craft." It appeared to me, someone has a big boat to sell, and JTA wants to find a nice spot to float it. Time will tell what comes of this one.
Rail Transportation, JTA, introduced their new "Commuter Rail Study," which they say is about to be announced. Well damn! Guess I just did that, huh? Anyway, though the consultant scored some points with me, I have the gut feeling this is more smoke and mirrors, to prove the superiority of BRT and why Jacksonville is just too _______ (fill in the blank with your favorite excuse) for rail. I'm not sure the man in charge of this latest, supreme effort, to save us from our own excesses, is completely aware of what these boys and girls are capable of...
BRT, both the downtown, "blow a hole through the middle on Adams," and the incredible magic Super-Bus that will take a Billion Dollars and 20 years to complete, got rave reviews. The "Citizens Advisory Board" disintegrated into a mutual petting zoo of nodding heads and hyperbolic prose. These professionals had some fun with the old hippies and young planners from JaxOutLoud and Metro-Jacksonville. One (very) senior BRT consultant, spent his time listening to our comments, waving his thumbs down, slicing his fingers across his throat, and rudely shouting us down. I threw out the remark that railroad track is cheaper to build then highway lanes, to which "Mr. BRT" came out of his seat. At this point his degenerate behavior descended into a statement that amounted to calling me a liar. I asked him what it cost to build a highway in Jacksonville? He replied he didn't know! I asked everyone in the room what it cost? They didn't know. I told them Memphis, has built Light Rail for as little as $3 Million a mile, and asked if they can build a highway for that? "A lot cheaper then $26 Million a mile for BRT", I added. Sounding like a male impersonator of an old Margaret Hamilton script, he retorted, those numbers are wrong! He said it will cost only $300 Million, for the whole BRT, and the Costs are going DOWN by the day! My comments were thankfully shut down by the chairperson, just prior to me telling the aging comic, "You don't really want to get in a pissing contest with a man with a healthy prostate do you?" Just think, we pay his salary!
When Lakelander, and Diane, locked horns with the same cheering squad, a barely discernible Rodney Dangerfield like, lack of respect, filled the air. Though I didn't share it with anyone until now, I was ashamed of my people, as images of Selma, Alabama, flashed through my head. The Old Hippie was ready for one more riot when Diane, restored order and Lakelander, was given his due as a true professional and expert in his field.
Lakelander, and Diane, were quite up to the task of informing the minions present, that downtown businesses, and The City Of Jacksonville, was not enthralled over their designs. "We've been to the meetings...seen the letters of protest..." To which the Grand Potentate of BRT snarled, "We have the public's support."
Deluded as they are, JTA, is about to learn just how much support they really have. NOT! Perhaps the unstoppable force, has struck the immovable object? It might interest all of you to know that we will be built out "by 2030," though we have no traffic, no density, no infill, and no sprawl, according to these experts... we need the savings of BRT because Cowford loves a bus.
So was it all for naught? Not at all. We left the room and the JTA clown, spoke to me and said he knew that a single railroad track could handle the same number of commuters per hour as a 4 or 6 lane freeway! DUH! So what is the cost of that 4 or 6 lane freeway? LOL! The famed "Dragon of BRT" became friendly and wanted to exchange phone numbers. Several Transportation consultants and officials wanted to press the flesh with these extraterrestrials. It was as if we had invaded a strange and alien World. We left the meeting sure that JTA is keenly aware, it has met a resistant force, to the wholesale rubber-stamping of a very bad idea. They may "pull their heads out," yet. Or the cure may be administered manually by the Citizens of Jacksonville.
Good thing I am completely apathetic about opinions, or I might have tainted this piece...
Smile.
Ocklawaha
"The Abbie Hoffman of the Transit World..."
Interesting meeting indeed. Noticing that I was the only person that was a minority and under the age of 40 sitting on this citizen's board, it was easy to figure out why these types of things routinely are railroaded through Jacksonville. If anything, its time to install some new blood into this committees. I'm glad people volunteer to sit on these boards and are concerned about the community, but I have a serious problem with this type of demographic designing or railroading anything concerning transit into the Northside or Downtown.
Overall, I thought most meant well, but were completely ignorant of the different types of mass transit and the true costs and effects of BRT's flexibility and rubber wheels on transit oriented development. I even got in a shouting match with two who felt BRT should run roughshed through Adams Street, instead of State & Union. One lady even mentioned that we shouldn't be concerned about the effects of BRT on downtown and that we were there to push transit, not downtown development. Another fellow (who claimed to live on Church Street), questioned how involved I am in the downtown scene and flat out stated that downtown residents, businesses, DVI and the JEDC wanted BRT down Adams, Bay & Forsyth.
The funniest thing was Ed's claim that BRT's overall cost had fallen down to $300 million in the past year. If you remember our first meeting earlier this year, this is the same guy who claimed the S-Line could not be used because we would have to build a bridge over Evergreen Creek, but got called out when it was revealed that they would have to construct one 20 times as long over the MLK/I-95 cloverleaf for BRT. Maybe the folks on the board believe those tall tales, but any sane person in the construction and development industry knows the price of concrete, steel and land has doubled in recent years. Remember the courthouse has bloomed from $190 million a few years ago to $400 million earlier this year. Now all of a sudden the BRT number falls from $750 million, like two weeks ago or from $611 million in 2004, down to $300 million in August 2007? Anybody who truly believes that has been hanging out with Ricky Williams a little too long.
Anyway, I'm always up for a good debate, if it leads to a better Jacksonville for all of us and our children to enjoy. Imo, tonight, it felt that the committee would rather argue then listen to logic. If there are those out there who don't agree with the argument that this BRT proposal is a boondoggle, then put them up, cause we're not going anywhere.
Another negative is the lack of coordination or even the will to attempt to properly integrate this system in with it's surroundings. This is huge, because when properly coordinated and the right technology is used, transit can help stimulate economic development and make the surroundings better. In fact, many cities turn to fixed rail based investments for this exact reason. However, we're going about this in the opposite direction. In several areas, those in attendance saw no problem with potentially destroying recently revitalized areas like Kings Avenue (South of Prudential) and Adams/Bay/Forsyth in downtown. Some really believe that it's BRT first and our neighborhoods and private investment second, when it should be the other way around. Believe it or not, we can have our cake and eat it to. It shouldn't be JTA's way or the highway.
There's a huge question mark on pricing as well. The plans are to purchase land for transit stations first, then worry about connecting them level. When asked how large these stations were going to be, no one knows. They just assume stops will have to be between 1 to 5 acres. In the private sector, what sane person spends money on land without having an idea of how large their development will be or a range of it's costs? If this is the traditional approach towards transit planning on a governmental level, its easy to understand why costs spiral out of control, when reality strikes.
Ennis -
I take exception to a comment you made on the demographics. I don't turn 40 until October!
Sorry about that, I was just speaking in general to the gray haired group located around the table that have been sitting on the board for a while. I was originally going to say I was the only person under 30, but I hit that mark two months ago.
Looking over that crowd was like a seeing a fresh snow dusting the tops of the Andes... It's just a good thing I couldn't see my own hair or it might have really scared me!
Ocklawaha
No problem - I was just kidding (trying to get all the mileage I can out of the next month or two!).
Ok now...the boys have weighed in on the meeting. I guess it is my turn......
The guys had already gotten to the meeting and it had begun by the time I arrived.
(***I guess I should put a disclaimer in right now, before I continue. Those who know me will appreciate the humor that drives my views in some situations. For the new readers a simple heads up. I sometimes can sound irreverent and politically incorrect. This may be one of those times LOL.***)
I quietly entered the room, scanned the participants and those sitting at the table and a single phrase ran through my head...."Oh....my....Gawd!" I thought for a moment that I walked into the land of the living dead.
There was the voice of a single man droning low, making a presentation, while the folks sitting at the table sat immobile starring forward. Kind of reminded me of some of the campy old "zombie" movies my kids like.
My eyes then met the eyes of Ennis and Bob who were both wearing a look that is hard to describe really....I would perhaps say it was a combination of bewilderment...no shock...no, no....it was definitely a cross between what am I doing here and I think I am gonna throw up. They stood out like the proverbial sore thumb. Ennis, a bright, degreed, handsome young black planning professional, looking like he stepped out of an upscale urban publication and Bob, the published author and well read expert on trains, trolleys and transportation. The aging hippie.
I found an empty seat at the table, close to the guys and started listening.
While the fellow at the podium made his report, the people at the table ate "tater chips and drank sody pop"! One fellow had the tater chip fragments clinging to the front of his pullover. The guy one seat over had a nice pile of little empty chip bags stacked in front of him and a few soda cans...guess he missed lunch! There was a woman who looked like she may want to consider the fact that we do have a product these days called shampoo and another who kept a single face expression throughout, which made me think, this is what a woman might look like if she had overdosed on Botox. There was the rough looking old guy with a missing front tooth and another fellow dressed for success in shorts and a well worn shirt that threatened to expose his belly if he moved. I must admit I did focus a bit too long on one other man and I just could not help it. He had white nose and ear hairs so thick and long that I was sure they could be braided. I, who will turn 55 in two weeks, who looks into the mirror and says "what the hell happened" and "I am glad I went blond to cover the grey", felt like a youngster and knew that 50 is indeed the new 30.
Then there was the bald guy sitting on the side of the room, glaring out grimacing and smirking in the direction of Ennis and Bob. Please I thought....someone tell me the bald guy is not a JTA employee, please just tell me that, cause...well... cause it is just to scary to imagine that the old man engaged in the face making and dismissive monkey shines directed at Ennis and Bob can be a representative of JTA. But then Bob had to go and do it...he had to ask the woman from JTA if that guy was a JTA employee and the reality broke thought the silence. Yes, it screamed in my head, oh no..oh no...this is one of the people making plans for our cities future. Deciding issues of mass transit, deciding how to spend hundreds of millions, perhaps over a billion dollars. Oh noooooooooo!!!!
I looked behind me to see two other younger men who are helping to revitalize the city through their own efforts and had been at our last meeting, looking equally bewildered, confused and out of place and next to them, the suit guys who would be making the presentations. The next speaker got up started talking in the same low tones and I notices that the guy with the stacked tater chip bags was now sound asleep. Lord help us all. But then a new dynamic made itself known. As if on cue, the group woke up just enough to start interrupting the speaker over and over again, and they kept it up. Ennis, Bob and I looked at each other. Okay, now at least we know the rules. Leave your professionalism at the door and then jump in and say...oh..... I don't know...whatever pops into your head. Spout facts without validity, stand and stroll the room, talk with the bald guy, talk among yourselves, make the statement that Jacksonville has no traffic problems. Talk about the fact that you are buying land with the first hundred million but you do not know how much you need, it's exact use or how much it will actually cost, lord forbid anyone should know what it will really cost. Challenge people over statements they didn't make, mutter, whine, complain and don't forget to bob your heads up and down when the JTA rep says the special word....BRT. But most of all...and this is important...if anyone who looks professional, knows their facts or is under 75 years old and has the nerve to ask a question, look at them with disbelief and anger that clearly reflects that you do not like anyone asking questions when you have already decided what is best for the city. Get that straight, then bob heads and talk among yourselves.
So....what did we learn? We learned that our worst fears are infact a reality. That discussion of forward thinking and planning in Jacksonville includes things like a train a man rode on in Germany in the forties, a guy who lives on Church street so knows what is best for downtown and that Jacksonville does not have a traffic problem and a JTA guy who really believes that if he rode a bus as a kid, that bus riding is damn well good enough for everyone else and is the way to go in the future. (Not kidding here)
It was amazing and frightening all at the same time, in that it would appear this city is still operating with a mind set that should have been dropped decades ago yet is pushing ahead to 2025 with the same beliefs, attitudes and a death grip on the assertion that paying a billion dollars to put in a bus transport system that will run on the highway at an astounding "14 miles per hour" is the best thing since they canned sody pop.
There is south and there is Jacksonville south. Jacksonville south is really scary. But I must admit that when I got home, I did have to fight the impulse to drag my couch onto the front porch and kick back a couple of beers while writing a letter to the editor in support of the planned BRT. YeeHaw
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Cheshire Cat
JaxOutLoud
Quote... and another who kept a single face expression throughout, which made me think, this is what a woman might look like if she had overdosed on Botox.
That was genious! :D :D :D
Why thank you Jason. It was a strange evening. Kinda surreal...
LOL