Skyway expansion to Sport's Complex (arena, Baseball Grounds, & Everbank Field

[MusicMan]

Connect the SE to the stadium with one stop in between, then connect downtown via an expanded Riverside Trolley, and I could walk from
my house on Oak Street to Publix/Riverside Market Square and enjoy public transport all the way to the stadium area for any special event scheduled anywhere downtown. My 6 year old suggested this. Maybe I should take her down to the next City Council Meeting.

[Charles Hunter]

My 6 year old suggested this. Maybe I should take her down to the next City Council Meeting.

Nah, she'd be smarter than the room.  

[ChriswUfGator]

Its funny to read this topic, im on the Marta with all these LSU & Tarheel fans... CNN Dome Station is packed with people just hanging around on the platform. I dont Jax dont seem to want that sort of thing.

and even with all those fans riding, MARTA is in worse financial shape than JTA....makes you wonder why

From what I read in forums and AJC (atl news rag)...its the state that keeps Marta from doing well. Thats and the 28 counties in the Atlanta metro & only 2 counties contribute to funds..I dont know all the details but we all know how politics is.

that is true...for 3 major reasons

1. A fear of "urban" people being able to access the suburbs
2. Concerns that MARTA wants suburban $ to fund urban transit
3. Significant support of roads

You meantioned quality of life in a previous post...I don't think of 10-14 lane highways a the kind of quality of life I want....now I will admit that ATL has made soe serious strides toward urbanity in the last 15 years, the metro area is still sprwaling out a bunch.

btw Ock...I would submit that GA is not ahead of FL in terms of intercity rail...they have been trying to build a "brain train" from Athens to ATL for 20+ years, are nowhere near as far along as we re on HSR, and their Amtrak plans don't compare well with even our FEC proposal.  

Well you hit the MARTA funding problems on the head. I always find it so unfair that the cadre of suburbanites has noooooo trouble whatsoever with using the urban tax base to fund its infrastructure (as has happened since the very dawn of suburbia) but gets immediately horrified and teabagger-y...oops...I mean "tea party"...at the thought of any of their tax dollars funding anything at all beyond the end of their own driveway.

This viewpoint, as much as anything else, is responsible for our national sprawl problem...

[Coolyfett]

Its funny to read this topic, im on the Marta with all these LSU & Tarheel fans... CNN Dome Station is packed with people just hanging around on the platform. I dont Jax dont seem to want that sort of thing.

and even with all those fans riding, MARTA is in worse financial shape than JTA....makes you wonder why

From what I read in forums and AJC (atl news rag)...its the state that keeps Marta from doing well. Thats and the 28 counties in the Atlanta metro & only 2 counties contribute to funds..I dont know all the details but we all know how politics is.

that is true...for 3 major reasons

1. A fear of "urban" people being able to access the suburbs
2. Concerns that MARTA wants suburban $ to fund urban transit
3. Significant support of roads

You meantioned quality of life in a previous post...I don't think of 10-14 lane highways a the kind of quality of life I want....now I will admit that ATL has made soe serious strides toward urbanity in the last 15 years, the metro area is still sprwaling out a bunch.

btw Ock...I would submit that GA is not ahead of FL in terms of intercity rail...they have been trying to build a "brain train" from Athens to ATL for 20+ years, are nowhere near as far along as we re on HSR, and their Amtrak plans don't compare well with even our FEC proposal. 

Right On Hoss! Thats funny you say that, because Im an urban person and want no parts of the suburbs....it reminds me too much of my parents style. It may have something to do with being a Navy brat and grew up near Cecil & NAS Jax, but when I lived in Riverside that was like heaven. It was nice to walk to fuel or club 5 or even the shell station on Margaret & Post for stuff. Living off Normandy & 103rd was nothing like that. Why people like that style of living is beyond me.  Im not saying everyone should leave the sticks, but the urban option gets no love in America.

[Ocklawaha]

As you can see, Atlanta is a huge threat to our dominance of rail passenger service in the Southeast once we get Amtrak out of the Amshack and back downtown... NOT!

btw Ock...I would submit that GA is not ahead of FL in terms of intercity rail...they have been trying to build a "brain train" from Athens to ATL for 20+ years, are nowhere near as far along as we re on HSR, and their Amtrak plans don't compare well with even our FEC proposal. 

Uh TUFSU, go back and reread my SARCASM...  If we think FDOT and JTA are good then wow man, check out Georgia!  If those hollow headed conservative politicos eternally promising more tax relief and a trickle down economic boom based on DOING NOTHING don't catch on soon, Papua New Guinea will surpass the "New South." Lake and I will be able to take Florida and Georgia officials on a new high speed train over the Owen Stanley Mountains and post a "Learning from the Headhunters in Pidgin," on MJ.

At least we have a shot at bringing life back into the greatest grand old temple of the rails remaining in the South. Florida is AT LEAST helping to get Amtrak back as a player in our state, even though they are still blindly following the flashing neon of "HIGH SPEED RAIL" right over a cliff. Our commuter rail new starts are looking like the real deal in Tampa, Orlando, Jacksonville. Regional rail just might be returning to the SUN COAST with talk of reviving the old Lakeland-Ft.Myers-Naples connection on one of Amtrak's Tampa trains. The Sunset Limited is far from dead in Florida. Even non-official talk of regional trains between Jacksonville and Gainesville has already captured the imagination of Gainesville RTS, The City of Starke (home of the Sec of FDOT), and positive comments from our own JTA. The same sort of reception has been received from Ohio to Valdosta, as well as the movers and shakers down on the Treasure Coast over the idea of reviving the old ROYAL PALM ROUTE from (Chicago) (Detroit) (Cleveland) (Buffalo) Cincinnati-ATLANTA-Macon-Valdosta-Jacksonville-Miami via the FEC RY.

...and for all of their talk up in Georgia, they have accomplished...

drum roll please...

wait for it...

here it comes...

N O T H I N G !

For what it's worth Georgia is WAY AHEAD in moving the masses. Shortly after Amtrak started up in 1971 they immediately released a state rail plan that called for new state sponsored passenger trains:

Atlanta-Chattanooga
Atlanta-Augusta
Atlanta-Macon-Savannah
Atlanta-Macon-Albany
Macon-Valdosta
Atlanta-Columbus

They also started their own version of the JRTC (Jacksonville Terminal) which goes in the area of the razed Union Station and Terminal Station.

On high-speed rail, they jumped on the SEHSR plan to extend a line from Atlanta to DC, Atlanta to Jacksonville and Atlanta to New Orleans.

Atlanta Commuter Rail and corridor trains between Atlanta and Macon are "just about to start rolling."

1971-TO DATE, they have spent millions on study's and accomplished absolutely NONE of these things, but hey, don't sweat it, it will happen tomorrow!

OCKLAWAHA

OCKLAWAHA

[tufsu1]

guess I missed the sarcasm Ock...oops, my bad

[Coolyfett]

Atl is Jax with more people & no water.

[billy]

sad but true

[CS Foltz]

Atl is Jax with more people & no water.

well they are ahead on the amount of concrete for roads...........I would gues at the rate we are going we should catch up and surpass them in about 10 years or less...........imho!

[civil42806]

Whats the estimate cost of expanding the skyway out to the stadium/arena complex?  Who will be riding it?  The only way you'll get jaguar fans on it is if you do away with the bus service, and really its only 8 weekends a year.  What the max people it could transport in an hour and a half?    Lets face it after a couple hours of tailgating, then the game, the goal of most people is to get home.  Baseball games?  I doubt it, there is more than enough surface parking for those and most of the events in the arena.  Now the gator bowl and the fl-ga game I could see that working well.  But all that depends on the cost estimate.  I don't see expanding to the stadiums as being a panacea or even significantly increasing the ridership when taking the extra cost into account.

[tufsu1]

skyway extension to the stadium would cost at least $25 million

[thelakelander]

A commuter rail line to the burbs or a streetcar line to urban neighborhoods would be the best thing for the skyway.

[Coolyfett]

skyway extension to the stadium would cost at least $25 million

So that would be 3 stations to add to the 8. Not a bad price

[Coolyfett]

Atl is Jax with more people & no water.

well they are ahead on the amount of concrete for roads...........I would gues at the rate we are going we should catch up and surpass them in about 10 years or less...........imho!

You lose me...Explain what u mean by this.

[Coolyfett]

skyway extension to the stadium would cost at least $25 million

3 Stations

One for Sports Complex & Metro Park/Shipyards, One for Hyatt & Riverfront District & One for Landing, Omni Hotel & Laura Street. That would be perfect...no loses but taxi drivers lol...also when the old courthouse is empty that spot will also be served by the Hyatt/Riverfront station. It would set Jax 5 years ahead instantly!