Rail funding is coming – is Jax paying attention?

[thelakelander]

Jacksonville's entry into the federal rail corridor program is a chance for the city to seize a role in its transportation future. Local leaders must step up to deliver on this longtime goal – will they get on board?

Read More: https://photos.moderncities.com/Transportation/Brightline/i-x5Tr8n9/0/537872e0/L/27913094_1788743561431505_6181920312200492145_o-L.jpg

[Captain Zissou]

BuT wHaT aBoUt ThE U2C?

I hate to be a negative nancy, but this sounds too logical for the city to actually get behind it. Jacksonville needs to be all over this.  We can only widen 95 so much to combat traffic.  We need alternative methods of moving people to and through our city. This would be a fantastic alternative.  Great research, Marcus.

[marcuscnelson]

It happened after the article went out, but last week Stuart and Fort Pierce submitted their bids to Brightline of proposals for an infill station on the Treasure Coast. Obviously there's no RFP for North Florida yet, but this is exactly the kind of commitment we have to be showing to rail stations here. Identifying the sites (we really already know this!), laying out the future land uses and transportation connections, demonstrating the public support, and indicating funding or the plans to secure it.

FDOT at least claims to know they can only widen I-95 so much (they're currently insisting that this billion dollar round they're preparing to start is the last expansion planned), but that's money they don't seem to want used for alternatives. Nonetheless, as I've said, this is all about whether leadership in this city wants to take advantage of this opportunity or let FDOT spend time playing around with the FRA until the feds move on.

[thelakelander]

It happened after the article went out, but last week Stuart and Fort Pierce submitted their bids to Brightline of proposals for an infill station on the Treasure Coast. Obviously there's no RFP for North Florida yet, but this is exactly the kind of commitment we have to be showing to rail stations here. Identifying the sites (we really already know this!), laying out the future land uses and transportation connections, demonstrating the public support, and indicating funding or the plans to secure it.

Bingo. Can't wait for FDOT to lead. Running and planning transit for local communities isn't their core purpose. They can support, but they aren't going to lead. The local communities have to put their money where their mouths are at. When that comes to things like train stations, commuter rail and intercity rail, local transit agencies aren't necessarily the lead on those either. Lakeland wasn't led by the Citrus Connection when they relocated their Amtrak Station back to downtown. LYNX wasn't the lead or local funding mechanism for SunRail. These successful projects were led by the local municipal and county governments. The path to the proper process is there. All the City of Jacksonville needs to do is follow it.

[jaxlongtimer]

I would be concerned that the emphasis on the U2C is not only a fiasco but will also take away from our chances of funding regional mass transit such as rail.  If I were a funder, I would not be interested in seeing both projects go forward... just one or the other.  Unfortunately, once again, it seems Jax is chasing the wrong pot of gold.  I would suggest this is also the legacy of the Skyway over the last 30 years.. a distraction from what we really should be focusing on.  Its curse continues in berthing the U2C plan and is why we should just kill it once and for all so we are free to focus on what is truly the better way to go.

[thelakelander]

That (the U2C) is a big concern of mine for future local and regional mass transit projects, as well as JTA's ability to operate something like commuter rail.

Intercity rail is a bit of a different animal, where potential partnerships with other experienced operators may be feasible in spite of. With returning Amtrak back to the Prime Osborn, one could argue that JTA has already done its job with the opening of the JRTC, which brings all local modes of mass transit within walking distance of potential rail platforms.

Going back to the Lakeland example, that city didn't need a new rail system or tons of federal grant money to relocate its downtown Amtrak station. Intercity rail was already an existing service.

[Charles Hunter]

Intercity rail is a bit of a different animal, where potential partnerships with other experienced operators may be feasible in spite of. With returning Amtrak back to the Prime Osborn, one could argue that JTA has already done its job with the opening of the JRTC, which brings all local modes of mass transit within walking distance of potential rail platforms.

When is this happening? All I've seen are studies and proposals for the track and signal work needed to get trains back to the Prime.

[thelakelander]

Nothing happening at this point. Locally, we haven't necessarily made the investments to move forward. That track and signal work need to be done before we can have a serious conversation about Amtrak coming back.

[Charles Hunter]

Ah, thanks for the clarification. I read "With returning Amtrak back to the Prime Osborn, one could argue that JTA has already done the job of opening the JRTC" as either "done" or "committed" instead of aspirational. Perhaps that would be a better expenditure of local funds than the U2C.

[thelakelander]

^It would 100% be a better use of local funds than the U2C. It would be significantly cheaper and serve a greater cross section of the regional population, while strengthening downtown's intercity statewide accessibility and feasibility for future increased intercity (and potentially commuter) rail services. Now this is where the U2C does negatively impact the timeline of projects like this. Quite frankly, if bringing Amtrak back downtown were as big of a local priority as the U2C, it would have happened 10 years ago.

[marcuscnelson]

It happened after the article went out, but last week Stuart and Fort Pierce submitted their bids to Brightline of proposals for an infill station on the Treasure Coast. Obviously there's no RFP for North Florida yet, but this is exactly the kind of commitment we have to be showing to rail stations here. Identifying the sites (we really already know this!), laying out the future land uses and transportation connections, demonstrating the public support, and indicating funding or the plans to secure it.

Bingo. Can't wait for FDOT to lead. Running and planning transit for local communities isn't their core purpose. They can support, but they aren't going to lead. The local communities have to put their money where their mouths are at. When that comes to things like train stations, commuter rail and intercity rail, local transit agencies aren't necessarily the lead on those either. Lakeland wasn't led by the Citrus Connection when they relocated their Amtrak Station back to downtown. LYNX wasn't the lead or local funding mechanism for SunRail. These successful projects were led by the local municipal and county governments. The path to the proper process is there. All the City of Jacksonville needs to do is follow it.

Brightline helpfully made their RFP publicly available, so between that and the proposals we know exactly what they're looking for.

The City owns the Prime Osborn site. JTA owns the Avenues Walk site (for a long-term infill station). The developer of the site on King Street in St. Augustine is basically begging for the opportunity if it's at all tangible.

FDOT estimated that 5.3 million people a year would ride hourly trains between Jacksonville and Miami. The puzzle pieces are all here to put together.

[thelakelander]

The key here with the Prime Osborn is for COJ to not give up the property to UF or anyone else with a grand idea there. It's perfect for a train station.....because it was built to be one!

[Ken_FSU]

It happened after the article went out, but last week Stuart and Fort Pierce submitted their bids to Brightline of proposals for an infill station on the Treasure Coast. Obviously there's no RFP for North Florida yet, but this is exactly the kind of commitment we have to be showing to rail stations here. Identifying the sites (we really already know this!), laying out the future land uses and transportation connections, demonstrating the public support, and indicating funding or the plans to secure it.

Preach!!!

Really fantastic stuff, Marcus.

Shared out with like two dozen people.

[CityLife]

I've posted this before, but Brightline's Treasure Coast situation is unique. Indian River County (Vero Beach) and Martin County (Stuart) each had multi-million dollar lawsuits against Brightline that were ultimately settled, with terms that required Brightline to make enhanced safety improvements to at grade crossings and construct a station in Martin or St. Lucie County (Ft. Pierce) in the next few years. Ft. Pierce is widely considered the favorite because they are a lot more pro development, and Brightline is part real estate development company/part rail operator. The station there will be more like Boca, with stops every 2 hours or more, not every hour like the rest of the main stops.

It has been widely speculated that there will also be a stop somewhere in Brevard County. Like Boca, Treasure Coast, and Aventura; this is an easy stop for Brightline to add. It's right along the existing corridor and is a relatively cheap investment. If Brightline is successful long term, we will probably see several stops like this added, imo.

Jacksonville on the other hand, is a VERY expensive expansion for Brightline. The cost to retrofit the existing rail line is high and there is a lot of political maneuvering that has to happen in every county the expansion goes through (due to safety, noise, and traffic concerns). Jacksonville, St. Johns County, and Volusia County should have formed a task force five or more years ago to work towards getting Brightline to expand north. It will probably take a combination of federal, state, and local dollars to get Brightline to extend to North Florida, but Jacksonville also REALLY needs to stick the landing on it's park projects and downtown redevelopment. As it currently stands, there is virtually zero percent reason for anyone along the current Brightline path to take a train to Downtown Jacksonville. St. Augustine is appealing, but Downtown Jacksonville is widely thought of as a ghost town. That needs to change. It doesn't mean BS reports and marketing from the Downtown cheerleaders. It means results.

Task Force Tasks:

1. Identify locations for stations, as well as adjacent infill/TOD opportunities
2. Work with Brightline to determine expansion costs. Then identify and secure funding sources that will make it cost effective for Brightline to expand north.
3. Push local municipalities (i.e. Jax) to make necessary improvements that would make each station a viable location to visit
4. Work on identifying multi-modal transportation offerings from each proposed stop
5. Ensure there will be political support from various counties and municipalities that the expansion will go through
6. Find and identify local leaders/champions that will push the public and local leaders to support expansion
7. Reallocate all funding, staff time, and local resources away from the U2C to Brightline (should have been done years ago)
8. ?

[marcuscnelson]

^ As I mention in the article, FDOT themselves both acknowledges the challenge of a North Florida expansion for Brightline and indicates a willingness to provide capital (not operating) support for making it happen. We already see with the stations in Miami, Aventura, Boca Raton, Orlando, and now the Treasure Coast and likely any future stations in Brevard County or North Florida that public partnership is part of that formula. Of course it would have been ideal to say what's being said now five years ago but what's done is done there, what we have is what's now.

Task Force Tasks:

1. Identify locations for stations, as well as adjacent infill/TOD opportunities One of the few benefits of JTA's millions spent on studies is that between Jacksonville, Avenues Walk (later), and St. Augustine, this has already been determined. The question is really of Daytona Beach, but even then we know a station would likely be adjacent to International Speedway Boulevard, so they just need to pick exactly where.
2. Work with Brightline to determine expansion costs. Then identify and secure funding sources that will make it cost effective for Brightline to expand north. The great news is that Corridor ID now means we have access to 80-90% federal funding to do exactly this.
3. Push local municipalities (i.e. Jax) to make necessary improvements that would make each station a viable location to visit This is probably easier to do now than it would have been five years ago! St. Augustine has already made a TOD (MOD) category, and we have multiple studies about the JRTC. The harder part is things like the future of the Prime Osborn and our overall commitment to improving Downtown, which again is more likely to be addressed now than it would have been before.
4. Work on identifying multi-modal transportation offerings from each proposed stop Basically all identified station sites either are, will be, or are adjacent to mobility hubs.
5. Ensure there will be political support from various counties and municipalities that the expansion will go through Once again, more likely now than would have been before.
6. Find and identify local leaders/champions that will push the public and local leaders to support expansion Isn't this where we come in? 
7. Reallocate all funding, staff time, and local resources away from the U2C to Brightline (should have been done years ago) I hate to say it, but I'm not sure this happens unless city leaders are ready to both ask Nat Ford to leave and commit to cleaning up the mess that the U2C has become. This probably has to happen, but it's a question of political will that I don't think many have grappled with yet. The board certainly doesn't seem ready now.
8. ? I'll answer. Using Corridor ID, complete the Service Development Plan, conduct the Environmental Assessment and get a Finding of No Significant Impact, receive a Federal-State Partnership grant for our inventory of projects, have Brightline construct the facilities, track, and signal systems, order new trains, and start service.
9. Profit!