The Ottawa Transitway: North America's largest busway system

[Metro Jacksonville]

The Ottawa Transitway: North America's largest busway system



You can't sell BRT to a community without showing residents what North America's largest BRT system, using dedicated bus lanes, looks like.  Metro Jacksonville introduces you to the Ottawa Transitway.

Full Article
http://www.metrojacksonville.com/content/view/625

[archiphreak]

Rail = 10,000 passengers per day @ $3 per round trip = $30,000 per day in revenue = a happy community

BRT = 3 city council members in favor of the system @ $.75 per trip per day = $2.25 per day in revenue = continued blighting of our neighborhoods to make way for large expensive unnecessary structures to deliver a system that no one in the voting public is for.

It's just too bad that in our city council 2 + 2 = $100,000,000 more often than not. 

[Jason]

Add another zero to that number archiphreak.

[longlunch]

You can't sell BRT to a community without showing residents what North America's largest BRT system, using dedicated bus lanes, looks like.

The funny thing is, they're not trying to "sell" anything to us. Instead, JTA and the city council are cramming this down our throats. When I send emails questioning the validity of this plan, responses to me from my councilman, Art Graham, are consistently, "We're pretty much sticking to this plan." No rhyme or reason. Nothing. It's embarrassing.

[thelakelander]

Can you forward some of these emails to metrojacksonville at metrojacksonville dot com?

[archiphreak]

LungLunch,
    Can you also post his email address so that we can all send him questions?

Also, should we send questions, comments and complaints to our own specific council members or is there a "team" within city council that is heading all of this up (besides the Mayor's office, obviously)?  Perhaps a barrage of questions from "concerned citizens" is in order.

[downtownparks]

http://www.coj.net/City+Council/City+Council+Members.htm

Clay@coj.net
WBishop@coj.net
RClark@coj.net
Redman@coj.net
AShad@coj.net
Webb@coj.net
Gaffney@coj.net
EDLee@coj.net
WAJones@coj.net
MJones@coj.net
Holt@coj.net
DDavis@coj.net
ArtG@coj.net
Corrigan@coj.net

District 1:  Clay Yarborough   
Phone: (904) 630-1389
Email: Clay@coj.net
Assistant: Angela Ryan

District 2:  William Bishop   
Phone: (904) 630-1392
Email: WBishop@coj.net
Assistant: Suzanne Warren

District 3:  Richard Clark   
Phone: (904) 630-1386
Email: RClark@coj.net
Assistant: Meghan Friel

District 4:  Don Redman   
Phone: (904) 630-1394
Email: Redman@coj.net
Assistant: Scott Wilson

District 5:  Art Shad   
Phone: (904) 630-1382
Email: AShad@coj.net
Assistant: Debbie Delgado

District 6:  Jack Webb   
Phone: (904) 630-1388
Email: Webb@coj.net
Assistant: Suzie Loving

District 7:  Dr. Johnny Gaffney   
Phone: (904) 630-1384
Email: Gaffney@coj.net
Assistant: Bridgette Green

District 8:  E. Denise Lee   
Phone: (904) 630-1385
Email: EDLee@coj.net
Assistant: Tiffany Clark

District 9:  Warren A. Jones   
Phone: (904) 630-1395
Email: WAJones@coj.net
Assistant: Rupel Wells

District 10:  Mia Jones   
Phone: (904) 630-1684
Email: MJones@coj.net
Assistant: Daphne Colbert

District 11:  Ray Holt   
Phone: (904) 630-1383
Email: Holt@coj.net
Assistant: Connie Holt

District 12:  Daniel Davis   
Phone: (904) 630-1380
Email: DDavis@coj.net
Assistant: Sarah Balme

District 13:  Arthur Graham   
Phone: (904) 630-1397
Email: ArtG@coj.net
Assistant: Stan Johnson

District 14:  Michael Corrigan   
Phone: (904) 630-1390
Email: Corrigan@coj.net
Assistant: Dianne Smith

At-Large Council Members

Group 1:  Ronnie Fussell   
Phone: (904) 630-1393
Email: RonnieF@coj.net
Assistant: Mina Hosseini

Group 2:  Jay Jabour   
Phone: (904) 630-1381
Email: Jabour@coj.net
Assistant: Jenny Huxford
Group 3:  Stephen C. Joost
   
Phone: (904) 630-1396
Email: Joost@coj.net
Assistant: Celeste Hicks

Group 4:  Kevin Hyde   
Phone: (904) 630-1398
Email: KHyde@coj.net
Assistant: Alison Miller

Group 5:  Glorious J. Johnson   
Phone: (904) 630-1387
Email: GloriousJ@coj.net
Assistant: Sandra Lane

[9a is my backyard]

thanks for posting the contact info downtownparks.  is there anything else we can do besides constantly emailing our city council members?

[downtownparks]

Contact JTA, Contact your neighbors, get involved, even if it is just passing info along, or spreading the word and getting the ball rolling.

[Ocklawaha]

We've already had a positive response from an attorney and CPA...Now we can start to GET REAL! Great photos of that busway, amazing when you see one up close and personal, it's the ugliest darn thing and seems to have STUPID written all over it, where ever it is!

Ocklawaha

[Matt]

in a democratic society, shouldnt we be able to vote on how they spend such a large sum of our money? unless,we have become a constitutional dictatorship, where we have rights, but they choose wether we recieve them or not.

[Westsider]

Last week-end I handed out information on the southwest corridor bus transit to some of the businesses located in the Cedar Hills and 103rd Shopping Center.   Yesterday I stopped to talk to a few of them.  Two businesses contacted COJ and were told that NO JTA was only putting in small bus stops and wouldn't effect their businesses or land acquistion. I directed them to the JTA website that shows a rapid bus system is being planned, also Metrojacksonville website.  Two other business (big box stores) said there was nothing they could do on their end, it was up to their corporate office and doubted they would do anything.  I have handed out flyers (50) and email addresses to surrounding neighbors, telling them to contact COJ, JTA and council persons.

Also, I sent an email to TU and Channel 4, asking why they aren't covering this issue.  No response from them.

If just 20 people tell 5 people, and those 5 people tell another 5, you get the picture and 30% email or call COJ and JTA hopefully our voices/concerns will be heard.

[downtownparks]

Good work Westside!!!

I also emailed City Council yesterday. CM Bishop responded VERY positively. He asked us not to give up on this issue.

I thanked him for his leadership.

[thelakelander]

I guess this system doesn't work well when it snows.  That's a bad thing considering this in Canada.

On December 16th, a storm which left 24 cm of snow on the ground in Ottawa left more than 100 busses inoperable as they jack-knifed and became stuck on the snow. The city has now been presented with a report recommending $800k be spent on CCTV cameras to monitor road conditions in key intersections of the transitway.

This leaves me troubled. Recent gang swarmings in and around bus property have had OC Transpo swearing by their security, stating that the transitway is monitered 24 hours per day, 7 days per week. Citing lack of funds, they said that additional security was too costly and not needed.

full story: http://splatto.net/blog/?p=123

[Lunican]

That's pretty pathetic. Obviously traveling by train in the snow is a much better way to go.

http://www.youtube.com/v/KhBgM0dDjBo