Extending the Skyway and Bike Share in Jax's Future?

[Ocklawaha]

Considering the traffic flying off of the 'virtual Acosta Freeway,' and considering the greatly increased traffic entering and exiting Riverside Avenue at Lelia Street, we should either shove the station south just beyond Lelia, or plan to include an elevated walk from the station to the south side of Lelia. Even without the higher number of cars, the bridge abutment and the new Skyway Station itself will combine to create a somewhat blind condition for drivers coming off of the Acosta and making the right onto Lelia.

I could see this playing out easily:
Small crowd of people just coming out of the Skyway gate headed for the shopping center. Some will use the crosswalk and others will take a more direct path across Lelia. Car comes flying down the Acosta and finds the light about to turn at Lelia, so the driver brakes only lightly and tries to make the corner... SPLAT! splat, splat, splat, SQUISH, thump... We are pretty piss poor at thinking through our pedestrian and bike infrastructure.

[tufsu1]

2) Are TIGER grants ever partially funded or is it always all or nothing?

yes...that is most often the case.

[jaxlore]

speaking of safety concerns:
http://www.bizjournals.com/jacksonville/news/2014/05/20/jacksonville-ranks-number-3-for-most-dangerous.html

[Coolyfett]

In fact, a system planner from one of the bike share companies that recently visited Jax said quote "Jacksonville has one of the most impressive collections of urban neighborhoods in the entire southeast." 

I think this is taken for granted way too much by Jaxsons.

Truth!!!, people have no idea that in terms of scale Riverside stands alone in the USA for a historic neighborhood.  I think they get San Marco but are skeptical of Springfield and oblivious to St. Nicholas and Durkeeville.

Durkeeville should definitely be a priority. Many people actually still live there unlike Lavilla.

[thelakelander]

Durkeeville is still denser than Riverside, San Marco and Springfield, despite +50 years of population decline.

[ProjectMaximus]

2) Are TIGER grants ever partially funded or is it always all or nothing?

yes...that is most often the case.

Oh ok. So what generally happens then? Do the applicants have to find funding to make the difference or can they alter their project to match the lower funding amount?

[thelakelander]

Most applicants don't win anything. Most of those who win, only win partial funding. There's not enough cash to go around:

May 15, 2014: U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx announced that applications to the U.S. Department of Transportation for its sixth round of Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) grants totaled $9.5 billion, 15 times the $600 million set aside for the program, demonstrating the continued need for transportation investment nationwide.  The Department received 797 eligible applications, compared to 585 in 2013, from 49 states, U.S. territories and the District of Columbia.

http://www.dot.gov/tiger

[thelakelander]

I'm confused. What does a main hub for bike share look like? I'm assuming it has more bike racks than the typical bike share station? Also, is Unity Plaza purchasing the naming rights? Anyway, hopefully JTA's TIGER grant application to fund the Skyway extension and this bike share  program is successful.

Bike Share program in works to come to Jacksonville

The Unity Plaza bike share program is expecting updates later this summer as to whether it will receive a prestigious federal government TIGER Grant.

The proposal lists a cost of about $1.5 million for the bike share program. The Jacksonville Transportation Authority submitted the proposal.

Although finalization of plans is following the announcement of the TIGER Grant recipients, the prognosis looks good for Jacksonville's future in bike sharing. Jen Jones, executive director of Unity Plaza, said sources told her the federal government is looking favorably on Jacksonville's grant proposal.

full article: http://www.bizjournals.com/jacksonville/news/2014/07/08/bike-share-program-in-works-to-come-to.html

[RiversideLoki]

I can't wait to hear "Excuse me sir, excuse me, can I get a dollar to get a bike?"

[jaxlore]

I am pretty sure you will need some sort of debit or credit card to get a bike rental....

I love idea of bike share I would just like to hear more about addressing bike infrastructure before we just flood the streets with bikes. Case in point on the 4th of July riverside ave was a mad house people where driving like maniacs down riverside ave. So lets add a few hundred bikes to the mix and see what happens.

[tufsu1]

^ Cities that have added bike share have also added infrastructure (bike lanes and such) at the same time or shortly thereafter.  Data shows that more bikes on the road yields more safety.  Much of the problems Jax. has now can be traced back to drivers not expecting to see bicyclists (or pedestrians) so they aren't looking for them.  Having a few hundred brightly colored bikes on the streets of the urban core would help change driver behavior rapidly. 

[Josh]

Along those lines, I recently saw this video on Protected Intersections for Bikes and thought it was pretty cool.

https://vimeo.com/86721046

[ProjectMaximus]

I'm confused. What does a main hub for bike share look like? I'm assuming it has more bike racks than the typical bike share station? Also, is Unity Plaza purchasing the naming rights? Anyway, hopefully JTA's TIGER grant application to fund the Skyway extension and this bike share  program is successful.

I'm still not sure what a successful application is. If TIGER recipients only get partial funding what is the next step? Are they allowed to modify their plan or is the only recourse to secure more funding from another source?

[jaxlore]

^ Cities that have added bike share have also added infrastructure (bike lanes and such) at the same time or shortly thereafter.  Data shows that more bikes on the road yields more safety.  Much of the problems Jax. has now can be traced back to drivers not expecting to see bicyclists (or pedestrians) so they aren't looking for them.  Having a few hundred brightly colored bikes on the streets of the urban core would help change driver behavior rapidly. 

Tufsu1 I hope that is the case. It only took someone getting thrown off the Matthews bridge before they finally changed the horrible grating they had. I just hope this will be more proactive then reactive. That being said it doesn't stop me from riding but I definitely get the "are you crazy" look when I try and spread the good word of bicycle commuting downtown.

[thelakelander]

I'm confused. What does a main hub for bike share look like? I'm assuming it has more bike racks than the typical bike share station? Also, is Unity Plaza purchasing the naming rights? Anyway, hopefully JTA's TIGER grant application to fund the Skyway extension and this bike share  program is successful.

I'm still not sure what a successful application is. If TIGER recipients only get partial funding what is the next step? Are they allowed to modify their plan or is the only recourse to secure more funding from another source?

A successful application is one that results in some money being sent our way.  From my understanding, JTA is shooting for a portion of funding in the form of a TIGER Grant, which they'll use to match with their own money.