What we need in OP is a Ferry to Jax!

NavyGuyAN · February 16, 2012, 04:01:02 AM

Good idea but i dont think the city let alone the local tax payer's want to pay for the fuel to travel that far up and down the St. Johns.

JeffreyS · February 16, 2012, 07:25:13 AM

O.P. has double line train tracks running straight into the heart of Jax. The same line Orlando is using for commuter rail and will reduce that line's use in Jax.
Fixed rail has 100 years of proof that people like to use it and development likes to invest heavily along it's line. Let's not reinvent the wheel just go with rail simple proven winner.

mbwright · February 16, 2012, 10:04:14 AM

Get the rails running!!! It certainly works in southern california, and many other places. Too bad JTA can't see past the bus.

JayBird · May 09, 2012, 09:11:24 PM

Agreed ... both would be my ideal commute. I live on Fleming Island and would live to drive to a ferryport or train station to and go to work downtown that way. I've seen feasibility studies on both ferry and commuter rail from JTA's site, guess its just a matter of funding. I don't think any mass transit makes money, I guess it is just a matter of which portion will be paid by the rider and how much by the non-riding taxpayer.

Ocklawaha · May 09, 2012, 10:50:25 PM

The only way or place this would make any sense would be a connection between St. Mary's, Georgia and Fernandina Beach, Florida. A 45 minute to one hour cruise up the Nassau and St. Mary' River's with dozens of tourism sites scattered all along the way would guarantee some margin of success.

As for Orange Park? What demand is there? A commuter train could make the same trip in 1/4 of the time and at a tenth of the cost. Why would any sane person drive up on the ferry to avoid the commute to town when it would cost them much more money, to go SO much slower then our slowest roads?

Yeah, a ferry sound's all touchy-feelie, but there is really not a single location in Duval or Clay where it makes any economic sense, and we can toss in the economies of time, as well as fuel or dollars. Solving the commuter problem's isn't rocket science, but it sure as hell isn't a nautical panacea either.

OCKLAWAHA

Ralph W · May 10, 2012, 10:44:07 AM

I don't think we have enough people in our area to utilize a ferry of this size. I've made many crossings on that ferry in the distant past and the docking and staging areas are humongous. The Mayport ferry is really small potatoes compared to this.

exnewsman · May 10, 2012, 12:50:24 PM

Waer transit has been studied several times over the years - most recently a couple years ago. All of the studies have concluded there is not enough density to warrant a waterborne transit service. The daily average was around 800 people that would use the service regularly.

Atlas was looking at a cost of $10M for one of their hovercraft before they went belly up. So I wouldn't expect any company to come in and try to provide a service of that type any time soon. No profit in it. Like someone mentioned earlier in the thread - look at the Mayport Ferry and how much $$ it loses. And it only travels 3 minutes acrosss the SJR.

Ocklawaha · May 10, 2012, 01:05:22 PM

Quote from: exnewsman on May 10, 2012, 12:50:24 PM
Waer transit has been studied several times over the years - most recently a couple years ago. All of the studies have concluded there is not enough density to warrant a waterborne transit service. The daily average was around 800 people that would use the service regularly.

Atlas was looking at a cost of $10M for one of their hovercraft before they went belly up. So I wouldn't expect any company to come in and try to provide a service of that type any time soon. No profit in it. Like someone mentioned earlier in the thread - look at the Mayport Ferry and how much $$ it loses. And it only travels 3 minutes acrosss the SJR.

I don't buy the 'Jacksonville doesn't have enough density,' argument. There are dozens of similar sized cities with ferry or rail services. In fact on the railroad front, IE: Amtrak, commuter rail, heavy rail, light-rail, and streetcar, we are the largest city in the USA without any form of urban rail, but as I stated, there are many smaller places that already have it.

You are right about the size of the ferry not being scaled for Jacksonville, but its not density that prescribes the solution, it is traffic demand on any given corridor. As a city in the top 10 of freeway miles per capita, there is no place along the river where a ferry would be faster or cheaper. Boat's of this size guzzle huge quantities of fuel and rarely exceed the average speed of a city bus.

Everyone in town would ride that ferry...once. And as soon as the commuters realized the time and money spent per trip, they'd never come back.

OCKLAWAHA

fsujax · May 10, 2012, 02:35:59 PM

It isn't about density for water transit. It is about access to the river front for parking, or even docking a ferry and the manatees. It just isn't feasible and rail is the way to go. The rail lines are centered more around where people live and density exist.

NavyRet · June 22, 2012, 12:20:57 AM

In Japan you can take a train to anywhere. Most Japanese don't even own a car. The more populated our communties become, the more we will be forced to consider mass transportation alternatives...

ronchamblin · June 22, 2012, 02:00:24 AM

I have a house in Fleming Island. I used to drive the distance to work in town. It was a drive taking 20 minutes to 30 minutes usually, sometimes more if there was even a small accident. To escape the jams, I would leave home no later than 5:30 a.m. If I left home anytime between 6 and 8, I would waste fuel idling, and sit in the lines of traffic.

In other words, I would gladly take a train to and from work. I could read on the train too. Because I might need to do errands at work, I could have an auto parked always at work. And too, there would be a good feeling about the train....... it would be efficient and environmentally positive.

As it is, I now live downtown in my business, the house being vacant....... well, for the most part, while I ready it for sale. Anybody want a two story 3,200 sq. ft. house on the river, built in 2001? It has a 4,200 sq. ft., air-conditioned workshop 80 feet from the house, toward the road, on a piece of land 100' x 530' deep. The workshop is good for building airplanes, boats, autos, robots, or for storage. Woods on both sides, a good bulkhead, and a deep well. Five bedrooms and three baths. There's an apartment above the workshop for the uncle, aunt, or mother-in-law.

But yes, there seems to be a practical need for a train system between Fleming Island / Orange Park 17 / Orange Park Blanding, and downtown. I will guess that it would be used with a good volume during rush hours, and even moderately during other times. People could leave their vehicles at surface lots, each having a watchdog person, or at least cameras monitored by one individual. What's the delay JTA?