JTA head Nat Ford seeks new direction for transit

[thelakelander]

JTA is applying for a federal grant in hopes of winning funding to extend the Skyway to Brooklyn.

The new CEO of JTA sees an opportunity to build a better transit system. One of first transit expansions could be short extension of Skyway.

full article: http://members.jacksonville.com/news/premium-news/2013-05-16/story/jta-head-nat-ford-seeks-new-direction-transit

This article is behind a pay wall, so for those without access, here are some key points:

- Ford was attracted to the JTA because it offered him the opportunity to construct a rapid transit system from the ground up.

- The first addition could be a short extension of the Skyway to serve the Brooklyn developments.

- JTA will be applying for a TIGER grant in June to fund the Skyway extension.

- Ford favors moving forward with BRT.

- Transit is now JTA's top priority instead of road building.

- Ford wants to rebuild community confidence in JTA by improving the speed, reliability and convenience of the existing bus system.

[Bill Hoff]

Would it remain elevated?

[thelakelander]

From the article, it sounds like it would be extended south of the operations center.  If that's the case, it would have to remain elevated or else people would not be able to access Riverside Avenue from the Brooklyn projects.

[Noone]

Street level-Isn't that the direction? $550,000 for another study. I'm warming to rail. In the TU the other front page headline has to do with the River Pilots. Our River and the skyway goes over it.

I'm wondering if Ford has any pull to get a Mayor Brown kayak logo at Sidney Geffen Park or a Pocket Pier at the Jim Love, Kevin Kuzel Berkman 26' floating dock compromise that was misrepresented by OGC to the Jacksonville Waterways Commission during the 2013 FIND grant application process.

[thelakelander]

You can't build the skyway at street level without closing every intersection along the corridor.  That would make Brooklyn inaccessible by car, foot and bike between Forest Street and the Acosta Bridge.

[Dapperdan]

Let me ask a  dumb question. Can it not be built at street level like a train track and when the skyway goes by, arms go down and you can't cross? Is it because of the electricity in the track? How do Streetcars avoid this issue?

[fsujax]

Streetcars are powered from overhead. The Skyway is powered from underneath, the power source runs along the guideway. I believe this is only a very short extension, very similar to what has been proposed here many times.

[Dapperdan]

Also, is it me, or would they be better off to put the second station at Unity Plaza Lake and just not go over Forerss for now? That would defintiely save some money.

[PeeJayEss]

Lake, is that pic the extension they are proposing or is that just picked from an old JTA presentation (and they are actually just looking to get it across Leila)?

[tufsu1]

from what I understand, the TIGER grant app will be for a short extension (not all the way to Forest)

[PeeJayEss]

Also, the power is not the only issue with the Skyway at street level. It runs on a large singletrack, with wheels on the side of the track, which the train surrounds. Either you'd have the track sticking out of the ground or two wells on either side of the track for the train sides to sit in. You couldn't drive a car over it.

[thelakelander]

Lake, is that pic the extension they are proposing or is that just picked from an old JTA presentation (and they are actually just looking to get it across Leila)?

That's from an old presentation.  I have no idea what the current proposal is.

[thelakelander]

Also, the power is not the only issue with the Skyway at street level. It runs on a large singletrack, with wheels on the side of the track, which the train surrounds. Either you'd have the track sticking out of the ground or two wells on either side of the track for the train sides to sit in. You couldn't drive a car over it.

Yes. Here's an image of the skyway at-grade.  That beam is much larger than a speed hump.  You're not getting your car or truck across it.

[simms3]

This goes back to why I'm against the Skyway in Brooklyn...Jax needs the federal money and support, not only for financial reasons, but also for political backup at home.  Are we seriously going to waste our one-time federal transit help (for the next foreseeable future) on this skyway extension?  Seems ill thought out.

And again, knowing our freebie condition at the Skyway, knowing ridership would drop without it, knowing the limitations of new development in Brooklyn, and knowing how incrementally small ridership would be with this extension, I'd be surprised if the feds want to feed it.  But if they do, it will never be held up as a success story and an example of why transit projects should be funded in Jax.

[Tacachale]

This would be a great move, definitely a top priority for transit. Hopefully if the federal money for the more elaborate station doesn't pan out, we can at least do the no-frills stop at the maintenance facility that's been talked about before.