Amtrak on the Florida East Coast Moving Forward

[finehoe]

As for the Jax. location - Clifton Lane is less than 5 miles from downtown and pretty convenient to I-95....I would only consider driving to St. Augustine if I was heading south.

I tend to think in an automobile-oriented place like Jacksonville, if someone has to get in their car and drive on I-95, they'd just as soon drive to St. Augustine, whereas if the station was downtown, located on multiple transit lines, there would be more incentive to take the train.

[thelakelander]

Clustering uses in compact areas promotes vibrancy.  Moving Amtrak will most likely benefit Jacksonville more than it will Amtrak.  Right now we have thousands of people passing through our city that aren't being exposed to what this community offers.  We also have people making decent salaries that are isolated from complementing services.  Considering that trains will be broken down and reassembled in Jax, we would essentially become a regional rail hub.  Thus, you can have those activities taking place in suburbia or in downtown.  If downtown, the people visiting that station and working there become potential customers to downtown businesses, entertainment and recreational areas.  

[Jaxson]

I prefer to travel by train, and have taken Amtrak to New York, Los Angeles, Boston, Philadelphia, Chicago, Kansas City, Baltimore and other cities.  Compared to other cities' passenger rail stations, our Clifford Lane Amshack is very inconvenient.  It is isolated from lodging, dining and retail.  Furthermore, Clifford Lane is not a central location - in reality, many Jacksonville people do not even know that it exists.  This lack of visibility hurts train ridership.

[Jaxson]

Clustering uses in compact areas promotes vibrancy.  Moving Amtrak will most likely benefit Jacksonville more than it will Amtrak.  Right now we have thousands of people passing through our city that aren't being exposed to what this community offers.  We also have people making decent salaries that are isolated from complementing services.  Considering that trains will be broken down and reassembled in Jax, we would essentially become a regional rail hub.  Thus, you can have those activities taking place in suburbia or in downtown.  If downtown, the people visiting that station and working there become potential customers to downtown businesses, entertainment and recreational areas.  

Finally, someone in Jacksonville is saying what I have been saying all along!   

[Doctor_K]

Compared to other cities' passenger rail stations, our Clifford Lane Amshack is very inconvenient.  It is isolated from lodging, dining and retail.  Furthermore, Clifford Lane is not a central location - in reality, many Jacksonville people do not even know that it exists.  This lack of visibility hurts train ridership.

I am one of those who at least knows it exists (thanks to this site, incidentally), but have no idea where it is or how to get to it.  I admit that's my own fault, as I wallow in my naivety, but it's also because it's not centralized, advertised, or prioritized.

If the main facility was downtown, and we had some kind of commuter/regional rail in place, I'd be on it in a heartbeat. 

[Lunican]

Google Map of Jax Amtrak station

[tufsu1]

As for the Jax. location - Clifton Lane is less than 5 miles from downtown and pretty convenient to I-95....I would only consider driving to St. Augustine if I was heading south.

I tend to think in an automobile-oriented place like Jacksonville, if someone has to get in their car and drive on I-95, they'd just as soon drive to St. Augustine, whereas if the station was downtown, located on multiple transit lines, there would be more incentive to take the train.

in theory, this is true....

but in reality, very few people access downtown Jax. in anything other than a car today...and for those that use the bus, there is a JTA route serving the existing Amtrak station.

again, in the near future, the station can and should be moved...but as Lake puts it, that benefits the City far more than it does Amtrak

[Doctor_K]

Google Map of Jax Amtrak station

Well yes.

I think the point I was attempting and failing to make was that I'm certainly not going to want to drive to practically the other side of town to hop on a train to St. Augustine or other points south when I could do it faster in my car.  A Downtown location for the main station would be much more convenient for the entire Southside and Arlington/Regency area.

[Jaxson]

I agree finehoe...it isn't always true....

but as you noted, in cities with multiple airports, the decision on which to use is often made based on location (and price, flight times, etc.)....but the location doesn't have much effect on the decision top fly itself.

As for the Jax. location - Clifton Lane is less than 5 miles from downtown and pretty convenient to I-95....I would only consider driving to St. Augustine if I was heading south.

Clifford Lane is relatively easy to access via U.S. 1 from either I-295 or I-95.  The problem is that it is located in an area that is not ideal for an urban Amtrak station.  Other cities, like St. Louis, have fixed this problem.  The other problem is there is not much else in that area other than a mostly sketchy section of town which has little to offer for rail passengers.

[Jaxson]

Google Map of Jax Amtrak station

Well yes.

I think the point I was attempting and failing to make was that I'm certainly not going to want to drive to practically the other side of town to hop on a train to St. Augustine or other points south when I could do it faster in my car.  A Downtown location for the main station would be much more convenient for the entire Southside and Arlington/Regency area.

Amen!

[JeffreyS]

We have this wonderful grand old terminal downtown and we have the busiest Amtrak station in the state in a shack away from every amenity in this city. Let's have a little pride, a little ambition or just a little common sense.  I know the anti tax crowd will give our local government grief if they pay for anything but let's pony up and get this station moved now.

[tufsu1]

the problem is the anti-tax crowd is pretty vocal right now...just check out the support for Mike Hogan.

[thelakelander]

We don't need to raise taxes to get this done.  We just need to better utilize our existing assets and money already coming in.

[tufsu1]

not raising taxes is one thing....but those folks want to cut taxes an spning!

[Jaxson]

There is funding that is available for restoring the Union Terminal.  I notice that cities like Wilmington, Delaware are more assertive with getting the money for their Amtrak station.  I have been in touch with our city leaders - they are simply asleep at the switch...