Jacksonville Excluded From Funded Transit List

[Metro Jacksonville]

Jacksonville Excluded From Funded Transit List



Our peers continue to implement major transit based capital projects that are proven to stimulate economic development and sustainability. The Federal Transit Administration recently unveiled their list of capital projects recommended for major financing. Cities such as Orlando, Salt Lake City, Denver, Honolulu, Minneapolis and Houston are big winners. Not surprisingly, Jacksonville was no where to be found. Are we falling further behind in the economic development race?

Full Article
http://www.metrojacksonville.com/article/2010-feb-jacksonville-excluded-from-funded-transit-list

[CS Foltz]

Well, either our current Administration is asleep at the switch (like normal) or Tallahassee has gotten on that bus with them along with our Congressional representatives...........to me it sure seems like no one gives a damn other than a select few............I say get rid of all them and lets do it ourselves,because thats the only way something will happen in our life times (probably our next generation also!)

[rjp2008]

"Orlando, Salt Lake City, Denver, Honolulu, Minneapolis and Houston are big winners"

They have the population numbers and density to support it. Jacksonville does not. It may be chicken or egg, but Jax needs to draw more people before it can move in this direction.

[Lunican]

From the article:

As of 2008, Metropolitan Jacksonville (pop. 1,313,228) was estimated to have 197,599 more residents than Salt Lake City (pop. 1,115,629).

[thelakelander]

Chicken or egg?  I've come to the belief that this is not a chicken or egg situation and that this is an assumption based on bad information.  You don't grow to become dense enough for rail or sprawled enough for roads.  Can anyone here offer an example of a city growing into rail?  Nine times out of ten, the presence of good reliable mass transit was a major factor in the development of this country's densest areas in every major city. Mass transit (pedestrian oriented) builds density and roads (automobile oriented) enable sprawl.  Sprawling Salt Lake City got their first rail line back in 1999 and haven't looked back since.

[fsujax]

It's funny the question of which comes first is never asked about constructing a highway. JTB is the perfect example. There was nothing out there until JTB was built.

[rjp2008]

Salt Lake City hosted the Winter Olympics in 2002, which was probably a major reason and need for some rail into their system. Salt Lake also has a major tourism draw in mountains and skiing.

In terms of attracting national/federal attention, Jax has to up their game to compete for national funding because as it stands, there isn't much reason. 

[thelakelander]

Salt Lake City is building an impressive system.  No suprise...its getting high ridership and pedestrian oriented transit friendly development along the corridors.  I wonder why they aren't proposing an outer beltway?



Who knew big boxes like Dick's Sporting Goods could invest in pedestrian oriented projects?  In SLC, they do.

[thelakelander]

Salt Lake City hosted the Winter Olympics in 2002, which was probably a major reason and need for some rail into their system. Salt Lake also has a major tourism draw in mountains and skiing.

Houston used the 2004 Super Bowl to justify the construction of their 7.5 mile LRT starter line.  Jacksonville lit a few bridges, repaved some roads and set up a circus on Bay Street for the 2005 Super Bowl.  Today, Houston's LRT line averages 40,000 riders a day and its success has led to federal money for major LRT expansions throughout the city. On the other hand, we can't keep the Main Street Bridge's LED lights working properly.  Go figure.

In terms of attracting national/federal attention, Jax has to up their game to compete for national funding because as it stands, there isn't much reason.  

What's so special about Little Rock?  Some type of way they got the feds to help them fund a streetcar line in their community.  Maybe one day we can shrink to be just as significant as Little Rock.

[fsujax]

^^so true Lake....very sad. We can't even maintain lights properly.

[JeffreyS]

We voted to let our local government use 100 mil of our local taxes for transit and they still wouldn't do it.  Why would the feds look at us.  I wonder if any where else in the world if a cities population has done this and been balked at by the local government.

People that post here say all the time we do not have the funding and the people of Jax won't go for it. Both of those hurdles have already been jumped the leaders here just want us to forget about it.

The circle will now continue with see the feds won't fund it so we shouldn't do anything now and the feds saying they haven't done anything even with cash in had so we won't give them more money.

[JeffreyS]

Damn it.

[Johnny]

Seriously, would you trust Jacksonville with transit dollars after the skyway disaster?

[rjp2008]

Yes, but Houston is a near 6m MSA range city, so they had a lot more money and willpower to work with.

[thelakelander]

They had vision, but having 6m in a sprawling MSA had nothing to do with a 7.5 mile line that doesn't even stretch outside of the Inner loop.  In any event, for every excuse we can make with a Houston, there's a Memphis, Charlotte, Little Rock, Santa Fe, Tucson, Salt Lake City or Kenosha to take its place.  Point blank, if we can lobby for multi billion dollar expressways and $200 million dollar interchanges, we can lobby or scrape the funds together for a $30-$50 million mass transit project.  Its all about priorities.