Recent posts

#41

Transportation, Mass Transit & Infrastructure / Re: JTA meetings on the future...

Last post by Nmhatt - April 08, 2026, 07:42:17 AM

I asked someone about this at the feedback meetings when I was there, but how much weight do the community responses actually have? Could JTA just ignore the results and do what they always planned to (converting the track for NAVI), or are they bound in some way by the outcome of the feedback? Something tells me that even if the results are between larger vehicles and a walking track that neither of those will actually end up happening.

#42

Transportation, Mass Transit & Infrastructure / Re: JTA meetings on the future...

Last post by thelakelander - April 08, 2026, 12:53:31 AM

That leaves the options for Skyway vehicles being either rehabilitation of the aging vehicles...

Ford told the Duval DOGE Committee the Skyway structure has 14 years of useful life left and its vehicles have about two years of useful life remaining.

Rehabilitation of the existing vehicles (the cheapest option on the table) buys you another 15 years, which aligns with the structure's useful life. Seems like a no brainer to me.

#43

Science and Technology / Re: Wordle?

Last post by jaxlongtimer - April 07, 2026, 11:45:12 PM

Wordle 1,753 4/6

⬜⬜🟨🟨⬜
⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜
🟨⬜🟨🟨⬜
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

Connections
Puzzle #1031
🟩🟨🟨🟨
🟨🟨🟨🟨
🟩🟩🟩🟩
🟦🟦🟪🟪
🟪🟦🟦🟦
🟦🟦🟦🟦
🟪🟪🟪🟪
Squeaked by with less room that Charles  .

Strands #765
"Taking the helm"
🔵🔵🔵🔵
🟡🔵🔵

Pips #233 Easy 🟢
0:18 🍪
Pips #233 Medium 🟡
2:30
Pips #233 Hard 🔴
44:58 - I think this may be my longest pip solve ever  .  Determined to solve!

🙂 Daily Quordle 1534 - Total = 26
8️⃣4️⃣
5️⃣9️⃣
m-w.com/games/quordle/

[Bigger Skyway trains or conversion to walking trail get public support]

#44

Transportation, Mass Transit & Infrastructure / Re: JTA meetings on the future...

Last post by jaxlongtimer - April 07, 2026, 10:39:58 PM

Some interesting tidbits in this Florida Times Union article today...

Public votes leaning toward bigger trains but JTA says will require more investment to do.  Other leader is pedestrian/bicycle path. .  Seems U2C/Navi use isn't making the cut - yea!

Finally, JTA admits that Fed payback is "negotiable", something I have argued all along.  Has always been a red herring.  Should not be a factor in future outcomes.

Lastly, from his comments, I detect Ford starting to backpedal on his U2C plans.  Smelling the scent of failure?

Bigger Skyway trains or conversion to walking trail get public support

Public comments submitted so far on the future of the Skyway show the top choices are to either run bigger trains on the elevated structure or turn it into an above-ground path for walking and bicycling....

..."I said from the outset of this process that we as the JTA wanted to stay agnostic and the plans that were initially envisioned for the U2C and the Skyway need to be scrutinized along with all these other options and other possibilities," he said.

He said the next phase of the study will give a range of cost estimates for each alternative and have another round of public meetings with that information in the mix...

...The various alternatives do not include the possibility of purchasing new Skyway vehicles in a size that would work with the existing system.

JTA says the original manufacturer of the Skyway vehicles and its automated train control system "is no longer in business, and the technology was entirely proprietary. There is no manufacturer today that can produce new vehicles compatible with the existing system."

That leaves the options for Skyway vehicles being either rehabilitation of the aging vehicles or installing new trains that are heavier and would require "major updates" to the elevated guideway.

Depending on what alternative JTA chooses, the agency could be on the hook for payback of federal funding that helped build the Skyway system.

An April 2021 letter from the Federal Transit Administration said the federal government had invested about $100 million in the Skyway and as a condition of that grant, JTA must use the structure for "appropriate project purposes" for the life of the project.

Ford told the Duval DOGE Committee the Skyway structure has 14 years of useful life left and its vehicles have about two years of useful life remaining.

He said JTA recently reached out to the Federal Transit Administration about having negotiations on a reduced payback or transferring the remaining life of the Skyway onto other transportation-related assets owned by JTA.

"So we're very optimistic that we'll be able to reach something short of the up-to $100 million payback," Ford said...

https://www.jacksonville.com/story/news/local/2026/04/07/jta-hears-from-public-on-future-of-skyway-in-downtown-jacksonville/89217649007/?tbref=hp

#45

Dining / Re: Burrito Gallery in Brookly...

Last post by Ken_FSU - April 07, 2026, 01:37:30 PM

I wonder what's going on with Zunzibar?

Closing in o a year since they announced they were taking over the Burrito Gallery space. Their signs are up on the window as "coming soon." But zero buildout or activity yet.

#46

Science and Technology / Re: Artemis

Last post by marcuscnelson - April 07, 2026, 01:32:54 PM

Cool picture from Facebook of booster segments for the next Artemis mission passing through Jacksonville:

#47

Science and Technology / Re: Wordle?

Last post by Charles Hunter - April 07, 2026, 10:43:12 AM

ordle 1,753 4/6

🟨⬜⬜⬜🟩  33
⬜⬜⬜🟩🟩   3
⬜⬜🟨⬜⬜   2
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩


Connections
Puzzle #1031
🟨🟨🟨🟨
🟩🟩🟩🟩
🟦🟦🟪🟪
🟦🟪🟪🟦
🟦🟦🟦🟦
🟪🟪🟪🟪
Just squeaked by


Strands #765
"Taking the helm"
🔵🔵🟡🔵
🔵🔵🔵


PIPS
Pips #233 Easy 🟢
0:48

I gave up on Medium, and was so close!

#48

Science and Technology / Re: Wordle?

Last post by jaxlongtimer - April 06, 2026, 11:50:11 PM

Wordle 1,752 3/6

⬜⬜🟨⬜🟨
🟨⬜⬜⬜⬜
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

Connections - busted, almost but not quite.
Puzzle #1030
🟩🟩🟩🟩
🟦🟪🟨🟦
🟨🟨🟪🟨
🟨🟨🟨🟨
🟦🟪🟦🟦
🟦🟦🟪🟦

Strands #764
"Fringe group"
🟡🔵🔵🔵
🔵🔵🔵

Pips #232 Easy 🟢
0:29
Pips #232 Medium 🟡
1:41
Pips #232 Hard 🔴
13:32

🙂 Daily Quordle 1533 - Total = 27
4️⃣8️⃣
6️⃣9️⃣
m-w.com/games/quordle/

#49

Downtown / Re: New Ford on Bay RFP

Last post by marcuscnelson - April 06, 2026, 05:46:34 PM

^ In general this is something a lot of people seem to miss about how this work happens. I've talked to so many people who are shocked that the DR Hortons and Lennars of the world aren't generally in the business of urban infill. The key is almost always making the development environment affordable and accessible enough for smaller or upstart firms to enter the market, with the occasional participation by a Related or the like.

#50

History / Re: Alice Kilpatrick and the R...

Last post by Charles Hunter - April 06, 2026, 11:25:49 AM

A most interesting article. Thanks for sharing it.