Groundbreaking for Jax's Bus Rapid Transit on Monday

[Metro Jacksonville]

Groundbreaking for Jax's Bus Rapid Transit on Monday



It's taken over a decade to reach this point. On Monday, November 17, 2014, U.S. Secretary of Transportation Anthony Foxx will be in town for the groundbreaking ceremony of the Jacksonville Transportation Authority's First Coast Flyer bus rapid transit (BRT) system.

Read More: http://www.metrojacksonville.com/article/2014-nov-groundbreaking-for-jaxs-bus-rapid-transit-on-monday

[vicupstate]

Did the mansions on Euclid survive to modern day or were they largely demolished just as the Riverside Ave. nes were here.

[thelakelander]

They were demolished.

[Charles Hunter]

non-sequitor? Did I miss something?  What do mansions on Euclid Avenue have to do with the BRT story? And what is "Riverside Ave. nes"?  (Please understand, this is pre-coffee, so it might make perfect sense once properly caffeinated.  )

JTA needs a proof-reader, several typos in the JTA materials reproduced in the article.

If my early morning arithmetic is working, they are talking about having 49 CNG buses in service (plus spares, I assume) by 2019.

[thelakelander]

And what is "Riverside Ave. nes"?  (Please understand, this is pre-coffee, so it might make perfect sense once properly caffeinated.  )

The two example BRT systems shown are the Kansas City Max and Cleveland HealthLine. Both are seen as being successful implementations of BRT but have had different results in stimulating TOD. While the Max has been highly unsuccessful, the HealthLine's story has been different. Thus, a few reasons for development along the HealthLine are provided.

Those reasons primarily start and end with existing land uses and context along Euclid that aren't present along corridors like Philips, Lem Turner, etc. Given the context and adjacent land uses, a thoroughfare like Riverside Avenue, between St. Vincents and DT (or combined with Broad/Jefferson to access UF Health Jax), would be the local equivalent of the HealthLine's Euclid Avenue. I'm not saying the corridor should be BRT. Instead, I'm just pointing out it's similar in terms of having a number of high employment anchors along a short stretch of roadway.

[cline]

So it looks only the East and the North corridors actually connect together downtown.  That means that for the other routes one would have to transfer on the downtown connector right?  For example, I live in Riverside and work near the Avenues.  I would have to take the Southwest route into downtown, get on the downtown route and take that over to San Marco and then get on the Southeast route to get to my final destination- 2 transfers.  I feel like it would be more beneficial to have the Southeast route go all the way into downtown.

[thelakelander]

I believe the Downtown project is infrastructure, moreso than anything else. When its all said and done, multiple BRT routes and regular buses will cross the Acosta and run on Broad and Jefferson through downtown.

[cline]

2 transfers would be a bummer.  I could deal with 1 though.  However if this actually does run on 10 minute peak headways 2 might not be that bad.  Definitely better that the regular service.  Currently it would take me 1 hour and 36 minutes to make the trip from where I live to the Avenues.  That is why I take my car, by myself, to work everyday.  Will be nice to have a more feasible option.

[thelakelander]

I believe in your case, you'd have one transfer to make at the JRTC.

[Ocklawaha]

$13,271,861+/-  19 CNG buses
$17,500.000 +/- 5 modern streetcars

Bus capacity 40 passengers
Streetcar capacity 170 passengers

Bus total capacity 19 vehicles = 760
With 19 drivers

Streetcar capacity 5 vehicles = 850
With 5 operators

Bus life expectancy = 12 years
Streetcar life expectancy = 30 years

Wow lake, I sure am glad that JTA is smarter then we are!

[vicupstate]

non-sequitor? Did I miss something?  What do mansions on Euclid Avenue have to do with the BRT story? And what is "Riverside Ave. nes"?  (Please understand, this is pre-coffee, so it might make perfect sense once properly caffeinated.  )

JTA needs a proof-reader, several typos in the JTA materials reproduced in the article.

If my early morning arithmetic is working, they are talking about having 49 CNG buses in service (plus spares, I assume) by 2019.

I've never been to Cleveland myself, but was familiar with the history of the row of mansions that use to line Riverside Ave.  Only two of them, out of 50, remain today.

The mansions don't have anything to do with BRT, but I was wondering if they had met a better fate than the 48 or so mansions that were leveled on Riverside Ave. in JAX.  I left the "o" off of the word 'ones that I intended to type. 

[GatorShane]

Went to Savannah over the weekend and saw the streetcars there! SIGH!!!

[tufsu1]

what...no thread on the exciting 2040 long-range transportation plan approved unanimously by the North Florida TPO Board today?

[Ocklawaha]

...Oh how exciting... YAWN!

[spuwho]

Glossy marketing and logos for what is essentially an express bus service. It will look nice. Glad they took the advice and called it "First Coast" something. I don't like the JTA logo for branding purposes. They can still use it as a corporate identity, just shrink it down and put it under the drivers window for something. Good idea to emphasize the Flyer logo instead.