Do You Care About The Future Of Transit In Jax?

[Ocklawaha]

STREETCAR IS NEEDED, heritage streetcar is cheaper and attracts visitors: FROM LAURA & INDEPENDENCE:
To Newnan, to Beaver (run off the east end and through the woods over Hogans Creek) to Randolph, to Duval, to Lee, to Water, return to start.

FROM BAY AND LEE, west on Bay to Myrtle (center lane is old streetcar subway) to Forrest, to Riverside, to Post, to Oak, to King, to FSCJ, to Roosevelt, to San Juan to Fairfax.

FROM NEWNAN AND BEAVER: north on Newnan to Orange, to Main, to 8th, to Jefferson, north returning to Boulevard north to 'S LINE'

FROM BEAVER STREET ALIGNMENT UNDER ARLINGTON EXPRESSWAY AT UNION ST WAREHOUSE, north on former F & J railroad r of w to 21st to Gateway Plaza. RAPID STREETCAR!

Skyway to Forrest
Skyway to Farmers Market (direct line)*
Skyway to FSCJ to Health Dept to VA to UF Health*
Skyway on Bay to Randolph
Skyway south to Atlantic (west of railroad) in San Marco*
*indicates a at-grade end-point transfer terminal opportunity

SKYBRIDGE - a elevated pedestrian walk from current second deck of current San Marco station to Baptist and Aetna... 12,000 missed riders!

CONDENSE JRTC INTO SINGLE HISTORIC BUILDING sell 8 blocks to TOD Developers. (Flagler? AAF? Etc)

BRT (SILVER LEVEL) JRTC downtown-Arlington Expressway-Regency (switch to bronze level Regency) hence via Atlantic to Beach.

BRT (bronze level) Park St to King, to Post, to Cassat, to Blanding, to OP

NORTHWEST BRT AS PLANNED USING PEARL AND REACHING JIA

EXPRESS MOTOR COACHES W/WIFI restrooms etc running Downtown - Baymeadows (office parks) - Town Center - UNF - BEACHES in lieu of BRT SOUTHEAST

Similar service OP - Baymeadows etc

Commuter rail on A line to GREEN COVE using re manufactured RDC CARS for economy.

Also to St Augustine South

[jaxlore]

Lake
There needs to be three distinct core bike paths or lanes that connect downtown with San Marco, Riverside and Springfield. I believe in this town these paths\lanes need physical separation to truly be of benefit or people wont use them. Sharrow's wont work. Drivers ignore them.
- Riverside Ave or really any street the runs the length up until Roosevelt, it could be College and cut through the park and/or through the underpass park. 
-For San Marco San Jose to Hendrix is the easiest and most direct route
-Springfield not sure as I don't frequent as much but if you give people a safe

These could be tied into the Trolly service route planning it could kill two birds maybe?

[tufsu1]

^ The TPO did a regional bicycle master plan update last year.  This year, they are expected to start a more in-depth look at needs in the urban core and beaches areas.  I suspect that connectivity between the neighborhoods mentioned above will be a major focus of that effort.

That said, there are plans moving forward for better bicycle connectivity between downtown and San Marco, Riverside, and Springfield.  projects such as the reconstruction of Riverplace Blvd. or the idea of a cycle track on Liberty Street do just that.

[simms3]

The lack of bicycle infrastructure is ridiculous. how can they talk about bike share on one hand yet we still have the third most dangerous streets in the country for bike and pedestrians?

Agreed.

Also, usually when cities discuss putting in less optimal transit options, it's because the most optimal became infeasible, either financially or politically.  Jax hasn't even attempted to put in something optimal, and yet is already "discussing" very less-than-optimal options for transit.  That's a little weird.  A skyway to 5 Points?  Honestly, what are these people smoking?

I don't believe the S-Line should be commuter rail.  I get it, there are standard gauge tracks available to use via commuter rail trains/frequency, which in a way is what the area possibly can support, however, a curcvy short line through a neighborhood that is urban by relative standards and is adjacent to downtown, with stops every half mile to mile, is not really what commuter rail is.

The city should grow some balls and put in LRT from downtown going north and create a master plan for growth/TOD, put together some financial option for developers to be incentivized, and let things run their course.

Instead, what happens is a bunch of non-transit people are way overthinking all of these "master plans", getting them way wrong, and not actually implementing them anyway.  The city is not in emergency growth mode, and can actually curb emergency runaway growth by better land use plans in the suburbs (i.e. the Mobility Plan).  That would afford them time to devote all resources to getting something practical up and running, and THEN working on master plans for citywide growth/transit once there is some sort of direction and a viable option up and running to paint how implementation might work in Jax and what it would result in.

[Debbie Thompson]

Feeling red-faced, Lake.  I used to be better about checking the "unread" posts, as well as the Springfield forum, but I've been super busy the last couple of months, and haven't kept up on the other MJ topics as much as I had been in the past.   I totally missed all of these. MJ needs one of those red-faced embarrassed emoticons.

Not that the JTA pays any attention whatsoever to what the public wants, anyway, but at least we can tell them.

[Redbaron616]

Ah, yes, more government spending please. Let the poor smuck taxpayer take it on the chin. All these wonderful mass transit dreams never, ever pay for themselves so taxpayers just have to keep subsidizing everyone riding it. Robbing Peter to pay Paul is not a good plan unless you are into the politics of envy, divide and conquer.

[Jaxson]

I sent an email with my concerns and got a prompt response.  I was a bit snarky in my email, though, as I have grown tired of our area's lack of vision with regard to transit issues.  I was happy to get a quick reply but I am still not holding my breath anytime soon.  My fear is that the vast majority of Jacksonville people are content to be doomed to endless traffic problems and no real solutions to our problems...

[Debbie Thompson]

Apologize for being so late to the party, but have posted on FB and am attempting to drum up comments before the deadline.

[Debbie Thompson]

Ah, yes, more government spending please. Let the poor smuck taxpayer take it on the chin. All these wonderful mass transit dreams never, ever pay for themselves so taxpayers just have to keep subsidizing everyone riding it. Robbing Peter to pay Paul is not a good plan unless you are into the politics of envy, divide and conquer.

Hmmm......wonder who's paying for that new beltway to more urban sprawl?  Oh, wait!  That serves surburbanites in gas-guzzling SUV's who don't want to live in the urban core.  So we need that.  We just don't need to subsidize or provide bus service, street cars and other mass transit those others in the urban core would ride.  :-)

[thelakelander]

Ah, yes, more government spending please. Let the poor smuck taxpayer take it on the chin. All these wonderful mass transit dreams never, ever pay for themselves so taxpayers just have to keep subsidizing everyone riding it. Robbing Peter to pay Paul is not a good plan unless you are into the politics of envy, divide and conquer.

Money earmarked for the 2040 Cost Feasible Plan will be split between a mix of transit, roads, bike, pedestrian, freight, safety, etc. projects. If you don't feel your money should be spent on transit and instead spent on something else, tell the TPO.  If you think we should turn a blind eye on our entire infrastructure network and let it fall apart, you can tell them that too.  Either way, engage the people who make these decisions instead of complaining about things that you can possibly shape by simply getting involved.

[IrvAdams]

^^ +100%

Well put, Lake.

[brainstormer]

I just took their online survey and emailed them my thoughts.  It took all of 15 minutes.

[Debbie Thompson]

Great!  I can't find the survey, but I sent an email.

[brainstormer]

^
See if this link to the survey will work.
https://survey.co1.qualtrics.com/SE/?SID=SV_cvze9f9LWgdYfkh

[JeffreyS]

In 2007 I was optimistic about streetcar, commuter rail and modest skyway expansion. That has changed I do not believe we will see any of it. The politicians aren't interested and JTA has sold out to the fake BRT nonsense.

For what it's worth I think Jax should put all it's transit efforts into streetcar spreading out from the skyway. After a couple of core area lines are built connect them by converting the skyway into a raised streetcar line.