Sunrail: Redefining Orlando

[thelakelander]

Time flies.  April's start up date is coming pretty fast:









More pics here: http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=1020951&page=29

[spuwho]

Flew out of Sanford over the holidays. Saw the Lake Mary Station work. Looking forward to taking a ride.

[Tacachale]

It will be interested to see how this pans out. A lot of folks I've talked to in Orlando are skeptical - not necessarily of the overall concept, but because of the layout and where some of the stations have been put. Orlando doesn't have a great record with transportation planning. But best of luck to them, I hope it works out and eventually we see well-designed rail in Jax in the future.

[spuwho]

It will be interested to see how this pans out. A lot of folks I've talked to in Orlando are skeptical - not necessarily of the overall concept, but because of the layout and where some of the stations have been put. Orlando doesn't have a great record with transportation planning. But best of luck to them, I hope it works out and eventually we see well-designed rail in Jax in the future.

I would say come back in 20-30 years and see how much TOD Orlando was able to zone around the stations. At least its built. Meanwhile we still sit on our hands waiting for the second coming of Henry Flagler.

[prahaboheme]

SunRail ridership tops 95,000 during first nine days

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/sunrail/os-sunrail-ridership-numbers-20140514,0,143813.story

"SunRail has carried more than 95,000 passengers through Metro Orlando during its first nine days of operations.

No one paid for the rides, which remain free through Friday. The base one-way fare of $2 goes into effect Monday.

The $1.2 billion commuter train has averaged more than 10,500 riders a day, more than double the 4,300 SunRail officials had anticipated."

[thelakelander]

Infill TOD around Sunrail's Florida Hospital station, as of a week ago:

[spuwho]

There may be infill on the inside, but this came out today which I take as the voice of the commercial development crowd. I find it difficult to imagine Orlando having a real estate problem.

Per the Orlando Business Journal:

C. Fla.'s looming office dilemma: How a lack of big spaces could keep us from growing the local economy

http://www.bizjournals.com/orlando/print-edition/2014/06/20/c-fla-s-looming-office-dilemma-how-a-lack-of-big.html

Central Florida has a real estate problem on the horizon — but if we act now, we may be able to head it off.

We don't have enough large, modern contiguous office spaces available with plenty of amenities to lure major companies looking to relocate. And that means we're missing out on opportunities to snag "corporate immigrants," who would bring high-wage jobs and an economic boost.

In fact, the region earlier this year lost a potential deal when Cancer Centers of America moved from Schaumburg, Ill., to a 75,000-square-foot facility in Boca Raton.

[thelakelander]

Florida Hospital Station almost a full year from my previous post in this thread:

[thelakelander]

TOD next to LYNX Central Station in DT Orlando as of 6/13/15:

[FSBA]

https://www.youtube.com/watch/v/sZBPoRwog00

[FlaBoy]

Looks like Orlando may be in the same position Jax was with the Skyway...it may be cheaper just to go free because collecting money is more expensive than the actual money collected...

It might be awhile before commuter rail gets to Jax with these results in a metro a third larger than Jax with similar demos 

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/sunrail/os-sunrail-fares-lose-money-20170224-story.html

[thelakelander]

I've been saying for a while now, that it will be years before limited service commuter rail is viable in Jax. Outside of the Skyway (which has higher ridership than Sunrail, despite being 2.5 miles in length), Jax's best bet at additional rail is Brightline.

[FlaBoy]

I've been saying for a while now, that it will be years before limited service commuter rail is viable in Jax. Outside of the Skyway (which has higher ridership than Sunrail, despite being 2.5 miles in length), Jax's best bet at additional rail is Brightline.

Should they move to free rides as well? Try to get people using it again. The area took a big hit losing Rep. Mica because he was the Chair of the House Transportation Committee.

[exnewsman]

I've been saying for a while now, that it will be years before limited service commuter rail is viable in Jax. Outside of the Skyway (which has higher ridership than Sunrail, despite being 2.5 miles in length), Jax's best bet at additional rail is Brightline.

Should they move to free rides as well? Try to get people using it again. The area took a big hit losing Rep. Mica because he was the Chair of the House Transportation Committee.

Once you go free its had to go back to making people pay unless something significant changes about the service or the destinations.

[thelakelander]

Imo, the problem isn't the fare, it's the service and how it fits with the corridor it serves. It needs reduced headways, more infill, an airport connection and more coordination with local bus routes to grow ridership. However, this will take more money.