Ray LaHood Announces 568 Applications for TIGER Grants

[coredumped]

I've said it before and I'll say it again - does anyone watch FCN?

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Above the busy streets of Downtown Jacksonville, the Jacksonville Transportation Authority's Skyway is marketed as a convenient commute for downtown patrons.

Now the transit system that is constantly under scrutiny is putting together a $20 million expansion.

Joshua Hopper uses the monorail everyday getting to and from work, but as we hop on next to him for the 2.5 mile route we noticed something missing, other riders.

According to JTA officials, about 4,000 people use the Skyway on an average day, a ridership that has doubled over the last year.

"It fits a niche and there are a lot of people that use it including me," said Gilberto Rodriguez, a Skyway commuter.

JTA is hoping to take advantage of its forward momentum by moving into Riverside with its current infrastructure that is not  being used for passenger service.

The location of the new Skyway station would be adjacent to three construction sites including a planned apartment complex.

"I think it would be a lot more packed if it was going from Orange Park or the beaches," said Hector Rodriguez, a Skyway commuter.

JTA has estimated more than 1,200 people could be added to the daily number of riders if the project gets the green light.

Half of the funds would be coming from the Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery grant and the rest from JTA's $100 million reserve.

But is a $10 million investment really worth approximately 1,200 new riders?

"When the Skyway was planned you have to realize there were a lot more people downtown and five department stores, so we saw a lot of people leave and now we're seeing people come back," said Brad Thohurn, JTA's VP of long-range planning.

So with the Skwyay's success connected to the success of downtown, JTA's making a clear path towards construction and growth.

http://www.firstcoastnews.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=317034

[thelakelander]

I think we need more information.  What are we getting for the price and is the 1,200 extra riders from these three projects or after the area is built out?  Also, if JTA is sitting on $100 million in reserves, they can afford to fund a no-frills station themselves.

[thelakelander]

^Piggybacking off of this, there should also be weight given to this being a part of a plan to incrementally build a vibrant downtown.  Long term, you can't achieve vibrancy if you can't establish connectivity between existing and future nodes of activity.  However, I'm sure that may be over the head of whoever wrote that article.

[Ocklawaha]

It appears that FCN wrote this piece by doing a 45 second flip through past news story's on the Skyway. Outside of the fact that they were on the Skyway with another rider, there isn't a single bit of fresh or original 'news' in it. They apparently didn't want to invest the time to see (or much less understand) how the dynamics of the system have changed. The fact that the Skyway is America's fastest growing fixed rail transit system seems to have blown right past them. If this 'story' was from a 2003 broadcast, I wouldn't have a problem with it, but today, this is not only wrong, they are actively campaigning to prevent JTA from moving forward. The 'Beaches' or 'Orange Park' comment should be enough to certify the reporter as something short of 'Jurassic,' in cerebral evolution. The news stations don't have to be the city's friends, but they sure as hell shouldn't be it's enemies.

[Cheshire Cat]

Thanks for making readers aware Ock.  An update on the process as opposed to rehashing an old announcement would  have been preferable. 

[Josh]

I'd love to see a fresh coat of paint on the cars whenever the line is expanded. That 80's livery has got to go.

[exnewsman]

It appears that FCN wrote this piece by doing a 45 second flip through past news story's on the Skyway. Outside of the fact that they were on the Skyway with another rider, there isn't a single bit of fresh or original 'news' in it. They apparently didn't want to invest the time to see (or much less understand) how the dynamics of the system have changed. The fact that the Skyway is America's fastest growing fixed rail transit system seems to have blown right past them. If this 'story' was from a 2003 broadcast, I wouldn't have a problem with it, but today, this is not only wrong, they are actively campaigning to prevent JTA from moving forward. The 'Beaches' or 'Orange Park' comment should be enough to certify the reporter as something short of 'Jurassic,' in cerebral evolution. The news stations don't have to be the city's friends, but they sure as hell shouldn't be it's enemies.

+100

[dougskiles]

It appears that FCN wrote this piece by doing a 45 second flip through past news story's on the Skyway. Outside of the fact that they were on the Skyway with another rider, there isn't a single bit of fresh or original 'news' in it. They apparently didn't want to invest the time to see (or much less understand) how the dynamics of the system have changed. The fact that the Skyway is America's fastest growing fixed rail transit system seems to have blown right past them. If this 'story' was from a 2003 broadcast, I wouldn't have a problem with it, but today, this is not only wrong, they are actively campaigning to prevent JTA from moving forward. The 'Beaches' or 'Orange Park' comment should be enough to certify the reporter as something short of 'Jurassic,' in cerebral evolution. The news stations don't have to be the city's friends, but they sure as hell shouldn't be it's enemies.

Well stated, my friend.

This story would be similar to them setting up on I-95 at 5 am Sunday morning and claiming the road is a waste because clearly, looking around, nobody is driving on it.

[coredumped]

I'd love to see a fresh coat of paint on the cars whenever the line is expanded. That 80's livery has got to go.

Agreed, though, they need a marketing person JTA. They're so far behind in many things: logo appearance, website, mobile app (it's 2013!!!), google maps integration and so on. I guess I should be happy they have a twitter account 

[blizz01]

Black & Gold with a hint of Teal would look nice on the express route pulling into the sports complex.....just sayin'.

[JayBird]

^100