JTA making progress on transportation center

[Miss Fixit]

From what I've heard, the hotels are struggling.  They have a nice urban design but they are quite disconnected from the skyway, the Southbank and the rest of San Marco.  They would greatly benefit from an extension of the skyway to Atlantic Blvd., imo.

I have heard this (that the hotels are struggling) from a completely reliable source.  We drive by every day and the parking lot is always empty.  Completely agree that a skyway extension would help.

[fsujax]

Because from I-95 even a local can't really figure out how to get to them!

[Dashing Dan]

Given that it will include a new interchange at Atlantic, the I-95 project might help the hotels.

[thelakelander]

The I-95 project would not be completed for something like a decade from now and that is now in doubt after Scott's decision to raid the tranportation fund.  Those hotels will probably close up shop well before the I-95/Atlantic project becomes reality.

[Dashing Dan]

Oh well. 

What have other hotels done to liven up their surroundings?  I'm thinking South Beach.

[duvaldude08]

I agree. Those Hotels are cut off. I wouldnt doubt the are struggling a bit. They were only open for a year and then the whole ordeal with the colts fan flooding the hotel, they had to shut down for pretty much the entire football season. (almost a whole year) And im sure that was a big financial blow to them, on top of repairs.

[simms3]

^^Fortunately their insurance policies covered that damage and other losses.  Also the concept is not struggling because they are breaking ground on an even larger version here in Atlanta this year, but there is no denything that those hotels are pretty isolated.  I'm a native and even I have to pause and think how to get to the hotels, and that just isn't good for business.

[duvaldude08]

^^Fortunately their insurance policies covered that damage and other losses.  Also the concept is not struggling because they are breaking ground on an even larger version here in Atlanta this year, but there is no denything that those hotels are pretty isolated.  I'm a native and even I have to pause and think how to get to the hotels, and that just isn't good for business.

Yeah I forgot about the insurance part. But Im sure missing out on all that money during the football season put the squeeze on them. I actually noticed coming into to work that we have NO SIGNS coming into DT advising that there is a Hyatt, Omni, Wyndum, double tree, hitlon, or extended stay in the DT area. Thats a huge issue.

[Wacca Pilatka]

Yeah I forgot about the insurance part. But Im sure missing out on all that money during the football season put the squeeze on them. I actually noticed coming into to work that we have NO SIGNS coming into DT advising that there is a Hyatt, Omni, Wyndum, double tree, hitlon, or extended stay in the DT area. Thats a huge issue.

Do you mean billboards or the blue roadsigns that list the amenities off upcoming exits?  I think the lack of blue signs is actually pretty common along the downtown area portions of interstates.  I know there are no blue signs for the exits in downtown Richmond, meaning none of its hotels and restaurants are listed.

[duvaldude08]

Yeah I forgot about the insurance part. But Im sure missing out on all that money during the football season put the squeeze on them. I actually noticed coming into to work that we have NO SIGNS coming into DT advising that there is a Hyatt, Omni, Wyndum, double tree, hitlon, or extended stay in the DT area. Thats a huge issue.

Do you mean billboards or the blue roadsigns that list the amenities off upcoming exits?  I think the lack of blue signs is actually pretty common along the downtown area portions of interstates.  I know there are no blue signs for the exits in downtown Richmond, meaning none of its hotels and restaurants are listed.

Yeah the blue signs! It would be nice if we had atleast two leading into DT. And billboards would be nice, but thats solely up to the hotels to market themselves that way.

[Wacca Pilatka]

I wonder why there are no blue signs, not just in Jax but seemingly everywhere?  Because the more I think about downtown areas I've been through frequently, I can't remember seeing the blue signs on any interstate as it passes through a downtown area - not on 81 in Syracuse, not on 83 in Harrisburg, not on 95 in Baltimore or Richmond, not on 35 in Oklahoma City or Austin, not on 30 in Little Rock, not on 40 in Memphis or Nashville...

Maybe it's a concern for excessive visual "pollution" in a congested, sign-heavy area?  Or maybe concern for confusing drivers who might have to make multiple turns in an unfamiliar city rather than having straight-shot access to the hotels, or if the best exit to reach a particular hotel were a different exit northbound than southbound.

[Ocklawaha]

Just curious - what other cities have a successful "transportation center" design like that proposed for Jax? How long have they had it? Does it provide interlocking systems? Did new development spring up around it? What problems exist?
Or is this a MJ thread that I missed? 

I know Atlanta is trying to get a situation like this project. I think Philly may have an all in one terminal for Amtrak, greyhound & local rail.

nope...Amtrak and commuter rail go into 30th st station (with subway across the street) in Philly...commuter rail also goes into Market East (attached to convention center), with Greyhound across the street from that station

Here is just a small sampling of "Transportation" or "Intermodal Centers" around the country. Ours will not be the first or the last, but as you can see from the photos it will be the only one that packs every single mode into a different building, strung all the hell over LaVilla. In other words... We have it planned wrong and apparently neither understand the concept, or have any intention of learning it... Progress on the "JRTC?" Bull shit! More like regress as we plan a "Greyhound Station" on Adams Street and a serpentine walkway that will consume 7 city blocks between train and bus. JRTC is misnamed, as big as the Vatican City, and will achieve anything but what the cross-eyed visionaries had in mind.

Santa Ana


Milwaukee


Syracuse Transportation Center


New Orleans


Portland, ME


Ft. Worth


Rochester


Bakersfield


OCKLAWAHA

[Ralph W]

As a transportation committee member I think you should have this and the rest of the plans that have been shown on MJ packaged and presented to our new mayor.  Why else did he need a transition team but to cement his understanding of what is needed in JAX and not be saddled with the same old garbage and short- sighted thinking of the dinosaurs of the past?

There has been more clear thinking and vision developed and presented via MJ than what we have seen with ALL the various Authorities, including the city administration.

So THERE!!

[Ocklawaha]

It's a full court press on every committee we all serve on. Oh and those plans? Already done.


OCKLAWAHA

[iMarvin]

Jacksonville council approves land deal with JTA

The Jacksonville Transportation Authority was given enough city land Tuesday night to build a Greyhound station near the Prime Osborn Convention Center. But it will have to wait for a new mayor and City Council to approve the rest of the land it wants for a regional transportation hub.

In its final meeting with the current membership, the council unanimously agreed Tuesday night to give four city-owned parcels to JTA. The agency will have three years to build the station or the land will revert back to the city.

“We want to get the Greyhound station built as quickly as possible,” JTA Executive Director Michael Blaylock said. “But we plan to come back soon and seek the rest of the land.”

The Greyhound station will be built on three parcels between Houston and Adams streets. A fourth parcel on Houston Street be for a retention pond and parking, JTA spokeswoman Shannon Eller said.

JTA and Greyhound have an agreement to jointly seek $5 million from the federal government needed to build the station. It will include extra space in case other commercial bus companies want to come in.

Greyhound will move from its present location on North Pearl Street. Economic developers want Greyhound out of downtown so more businesses can be attracted to the area.

The regional transportation center would include JTA, the Florida Department of Transportation, a Florida Highway Patrol substation, retail stores, Amtrak and possibly commuter and high-speed rail.

Councilman Bill Bishop had refused to allow a vote on the entire land transfer in his Transportation, Energy and Utilities Committee last week. Tuesday night, he agreed to the Greyhound station transfer but said the council hadn’t reviewed regional transportation center hard enough.

Several council members wanted all 14 parcels approved.

Ronnie Fussell said the project should have stayed intact, but he was glad to see the Greyhound portion move forward. The project has been discussed for years, and there was no reason to delay, he said.

Denise Lee said opposed breaking up the project.

“I intend to support Greyhound,” Lee said. “But I don’t want the public to think there was a list of unanswered questions, because this was vetted.”

The Mayor’s office agreed to hand over the 14 parcels if the JTA waived a $5 million commitment the city had made to the regional transportation facility. The city is still on the hook for that $5 million until the other 10 land parcels are transferred, attorneys for the city said Tuesday.

Blaylock said JTA would ask Mayor-elect Alvin Brown to support transferring the other 10 parcels. Brown, who takes office Friday, hasn’t taken a position on the land transfer but has said he supports the regional transportation center.

Read more at: http://jacksonville.com/news/metro/2011-06-28/story/jacksonville-council-approves-land-deal-jta