TIGER II Grant Winners Announced; No Money for Jax

[Metro Jacksonville]

TIGER II Grant Winners Announced; No Money for Jax



Emphasizing limited investments in small and mid-sized communities, the U.S. Department of Transportation has finally revealed the list of projects that will be funded under the $600 million TIGER II grant program. Unfortunately, nothing in Jacksonville made the cut.


Full Article
http://www.metrojacksonville.com/article/2010-oct-tiger-ii-grant-winners-announced-no-money-for-jax

[Coolyfett]

What was Money NEEDED for in Jax?? They did try to get some money right?  Will there be a Tiger III?

[vicupstate]

With the GOP making big gains next week in Congress, we can expect a lot FEWER opportunities like TIGER grants in the future.  The window of opportunity is closing very fast.   

[tufsu1]

What was Money NEEDED for in Jax?? They did try to get some money right?  Will there be a Tiger III?

well as the article says, Jax. applied for several things...a planning grant for commuter rail and a construction grant for the transportation center among them....fact is Florida got 3 projects this time (none in the much larger first round of TIGEr grants)...

And no, there will not be a TIGER III...at least not with the stimulus funds....they've all been used up

[Coolyfett]

Yea I didnt read the article, just the heading. So Jax didnt get anything again....what else is new...

[duvaldude08]

Im not surprised. Nobody takes Jacksonville or our needs seriously. Its kinda depressing. If we want things done, we have to make them happen because nobody cares to assist us. Weve seen that time and time again.

[thelakelander]

I wonder how the information Jax submitted stacks up with some of the winners?  I've scanned through a few and many of the winning proposals look very far along.  If you're going to attempt to compete for limited federal money, you're going to have to bring your A-game.

Here are a few links to Salt Lake City's winning Sugar House streetcar project.  You can tell from the level of detail on this project, that SLC put their local money where their mouth is well in advance of this TIGER II stuff.  Thus, when the funding opportunity presented itself, they had a "shovel ready" project ready to go. 

http://www.rideuta.com/projects/sugarhouseTransitStudy/default.aspx

http://www.rideuta.com/files/Sugarhouse_Streetcar_Final_Plans.pdf

http://www.rideuta.com/files/DevelopmentPlansandRenderrings.pdf

http://www.rideuta.com/files/RidershipVMTandGHGMethodolog.pdf

http://www.rideuta.com/files/SugarHousefinanceplanUpdated2-10FINAL.pdf

[fsujax]

The Planning Grants didn't have to be "shovel ready" as far as I know the JRTC Phase I is at 90% design, it would have been "shovel ready".

[thelakelander]

Does anyone know if there is documentation on the quality of life benefits of the JRTC?  

For example...

1. What would be its economic impact?

2. How many people would it employ?

3. What would be the impact on greenhouse gas emissions or VMT?

4. What would be the average annual wage of those employed at the JRTC?

5. What type of ancillary businesses (indirect job creation) would the JRTC be expected to attract?

I assume if this information exist, it would have been packaged within the submittal to make the project better stand out amongst the competition?

Also, if it is out there, its something that would be a great marketing tool for this project to the local population and city leadership.

[Ocklawaha]

LAKE, the A game is 100% of our apparent failure. Bravo to JTA for applying for these grants, but who knew? Did Joe Lunch-Bucket even know we were planning a commuter rail study? Did anyone else? Application is not enough, a full press lobby effort is needed to push it over the top. The City Council should have been hounding the HELL out of our federal representatives. The Times-Union should have been  pushed and pulled by the city into running no less then a dozen or more articles, ditto the TV news stations. In short, these projects should have been the buzz of the city for months and months.  


OCKLAWAHA

[fsujax]

Ock has a great point. Many of these project awards are more political than anything. We have a pretty weak federal delegation. Who knows, it is disappointing non the less. I am still hoping the Amtrak project gets funded, no word on it.

[cline]

I wonder how the information Jax submitted stacks up with some of the winners?  I've scanned through a few and many of the winning proposals look very far along.  If you're going to attempt to compete for limited federal money, you're going to have to bring your A-game.

Agreed.  I looked at the TIGER I grant application for the Mercer Corridor Project in Seattle and it was very sharp.  It looked like it probably took months to put together.  I would like to see the applications that we submitted for the projects in Jax.  Does anyone have a copy of those?

[Ocklawaha]

Absolutely STEPHEN, but projects with such city making abilities MUST be bigger then the us-v-them mind set at some of the doors within JTA. The fact that someone within JTA did the job we hired them for, should be enough for a joint assault on the citadels of Washington. The leadership of JTA was legally complete when the Post Office hit a cancellation on the envelope containing the applications and the moral monkey was officially transferred to "we the people..."  MJ did a few pieces on these grants, but who else? What else? Did one single city councilman/woman pick up a phone or hit send on a message to DC? Did the TU call Mica, or Crenshaw, or Brown? How much better would this have turned out had the very people running for reelection seen a ground swell of support rising on an issue they could take credit for pushing over the top? Did ANYONE DO ANYTHING?

Time to call Mica, and work our way through the list all the way down to the janitors closet at channel 4. Certainly JTA could have buried the stupid axe and thrown a PR type into the fray to lobby for support but we didn't get that either, there is certainly enough blame to go around the whole room and a life lesson for the city.

OCKLAWAHA

[fsujax]

haha. Great pic Ock. The problem is, at least for JRTC, this has been a project dragging on for years and there seems to be no support, not even from the City or the State. So why should we expect our Washington delegation to support it. At least there is support and talk of commuter rail.

[Ocklawaha]

I thought one more of my infamous photos was appropriate. You are correct, however, not even the public is really talking of commuter rail, nobody seems to know. We can't allow this to happen again - ever... Picnics, shows, meet the public, sponsor kiddie events, demonstrate equipment, news, news, news, whatever it takes for that full court press. The reconstructed RDC builder would probably send us a car tomorrow if we wanted to show or demonstrate it...

OCKLAWAHA