SR 9B Costs!

[fieldafm]

That last image is the key.  9B would never exist without the presence of Flagler.

[tufsu1]

That comes out to roughly $27 million a mile, which puts the cost in the range of LRT.

Sometimes cheaper. Austin's cost $105 Million & is 32 miles long.

Austin's line is commuter rail, not LRT....LRT usually costs $25-$50 million a mile and commuter rail is closer to $10 million a mile...mainly because it doesn't involve new ROW and generally uses existing freight tracks

[vicupstate]

just imagine what sort of outcry there would be if we were spending that on a transit project!

To paraphrase President Kennedy:

Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, in order to assure the survival and the success of highway sprawl.     This much we pledgeâ€"and more.

[peestandingup]

That comes out to roughly $27 million a mile, which puts the cost in the range of LRT.

Sometimes cheaper. Austin's cost $105 Million & is 32 miles long.

Austin's line is commuter rail, not LRT....LRT usually costs $25-$50 million a mile and commuter rail is closer to $10 million a mile...mainly because it doesn't involve new ROW and generally uses existing freight tracks

Technically true. But they made it as "light" as possible & sorta replicated the "light rail look" (using smaller cars instead of big honking trains) that goes through the city streets. Something we could do here with current ROW couldn't we?

The point is, there's options. It doesn't have to strictly be LRT. It could be light commuter rail, streetcars using some of the current heavy ROW (like Memphis uses for theirs), etc. And a vintage streetcar line (from Avondale to town/Springfield) is def possible for the cost of this road's initial phase.

[thelakelander]

^You're correct.  Never get too caught up on the traditional terms and operating characteristics of various modes of fixed transit.  Cost can significantly range depending on how a system is set up to serve the environment it will operate in. 

[fsujax]

Which is why we can just call it a hybrid system that fits the needs of thier community. Our commuter rail will be the same.

[coredumped]

That's a shame. What happened to all the mayors talk about "leveraging our most valuable asset - the St Johns"? This was something that made us unique of many other cities.