Why Does Florida Need Amtrak?

[thelakelander]

^Perhaps to convince Tampa, Orlando and Miami of the plan.  If they come on board, Jax will win by default.  Other than that, we need to keep hitting our leaders over the head with sound ideas.  Eventually, they'll come around.  From what I been told, Tampa's mayor and the head of Amtrak were both impressed by some of the ideas floated around by Metro Jacksonville representatives.

[JaxNole]

So Metro Jacksonville has allies in high positions.  How do you strengthen the alliance and bring in stakeholders from Orlando and Miami?

Are Tampa and Orlando on the same page in terms of transportation modes?

What type of relationship exists between Tri-Rail and the I-4 corridor?

Now is the time to strike.

[Ocklawaha]

Charlotte had a lightly attended meeting on Amtrak and High Speed Rail. (This is a traveling dog and pony show by the Federal Railroad Administration with Amtrak's help).

Orlando's had an overflow crowd of maybe 300 in a room designed for 170. We packed the tables, closed the aisles and lined along all of the walls. Everybody that was anybody in Florida Transportation was there. Every Director, Planner, Supplier, Operator, Tri Rail, Sun Rail, HART, Tallahassee, FDOT, Doc Dockery, a great deal of the senate, Secretary of Transportation, vision, MPO's... Maybe Crist wasn't there but we couldn't have seen him if he was! Amazing Amtrak, FRA and $8 Billion dollars worth of "How do you want to spend it Florida?"

As the Chair of my workshop table, I had the pleasure to talk rail, face to face with Doc Dockery (Mr. High Speed Rail Florida). I also had Polk County, Lakeland, Hillsboro, HART, TriRail, and a traveling band of Amtrak/FRA folks.

We were given bland and open questions such as "What would be a successful system in 2 years? 10 years? and how would you measure it?"

We went into a hot discussion on education of the public coming from Amtrak, build traffic then HSR. Dockery locked horns with me on this one, wanting HSR first, "BUILD IT AND THEY WILL COME."  I argued that Amtrak expansion MUST be the training wheels for HSR... Then we moved to sprawl, "We're all anti sprawl - transit type people here at this table," I said, "Then WHY do we want to build our first HSR line down the middle of I-4, from inaccessible airport to airport? Who do you know in Orlando that wants to ride to the Tampa Airport? Moreover who do you know that wants to drive to the Orlando Airport from urban Orlando? Who lives on I-4?"  Dockery countered with, "our ridership projections show we have the numbers to support it with tourism." To which, with some sarcasm, I started singing the M - I - C - K - E - Y   M - O - U - S - E theme. Everyone laughed and Dockery agreed with me, Amtrak first. Our table spokes person told the crowd that Robert Mann and Doc Dockery actually agreed on something... LOL's.

Amtrak with the FRA is about to launch a whole new fleet of cars to reequip the trains for anyone that asks.

Florida East Coast, had a guy who came to me and said, "Why doesn't Jacksonville come to us? Our door is wide open!"


"Why is Jacksonville off the map I asked?" I got two answers:

1. "They haven't asked!"

2. "It's on the FLORIDA HSR VISION map, you'll just catch the train in Gainesville or Lake City..." WTF? "Yes folks, so it can go to Atlanta! AROUND Jacksonville."

The worst part of attending, was silence from Jacksonville, not a soul, no sound, no representative, no JTA, no Mayor, no JAA, no JPA, no Duval, no St. Johns, no MPO, no Clay, no Vision, no Baker, no Nassau, NOTHING! NADA! Holy Hell y'all, we are not there, we don't exist, we are a non-city, a non-player, a non-place, no brain, no leadership, no animation, no spark, no life.

As many of you know I have a desert cabin near 29 Palms, California. About a quarter of a mile down grade is an escarpment known as the Eamon's Fault. Yeah as in Earthquake. As in Landers 7.4 that busted the place up real good a few years ago. But in that dry place, there is movement, every few years the rocks move. They move more often and with more animation then my hometown. More action then I have seen from ANYONE that is ANYBODY in JACKSONVILLE! Out performed by ROCKS!

Talking to the Secretary of Transportation and the Amtrak and FEC people, they would all support and attend a rail summit in Jacksonville to consider MORE AMTRAK plus improvements.

The reality check is when the Amtrak boys jumped in with "Oh the Jacksonville Transportation Center?? Yeah, we've been told it's pretty dead, in fact we were working with Steve Arrington of your JTA and..." ENOUGH SAID folks, Steve is the same JTA planner that brought you the Skyway, he and I have done battle before. Now does anyone still believe JTA is serious about streetcars? commuter rail? Amtrak? Do you REALLY think they've given up the Billion Dollar Bus Ride? Partner, Jacksonville isn't even on the map. "THEY" don't even know where Jacksonville is.

FOR GODS SAKES PEOPLE, PULL YOUR HEADS OUT!

Maybe a bottle of SOCO and a cold shower and I can write something a bit more focused, God I'm Pissed!

OCKLAWAHA

[JaxNole]

Ock, is it silly to organize workshops without JTA's buy-in, but still invite them?  Maybe if they see organization is happening without them, they may wake up.

[Ocklawaha]

No, I think it's a great idea, not only is JTA NOT the sole player, there are other "Amtrak" clones out there too!
ANYONE can apply for these funds, hell if JTA doesn't want them, I'd be more then happy to get in on this.

Until tomorrow, I'm checking out y'all. 4 hours in my daughters Honda with her lead foot, and Stephendare singing in the back seat is enough for one day... (actually Stephen CAN sing!) Everything hurts... including our local pride. Nothing a cup full of poppy seeds, 5 Lortabs, 2 Somas and a couple shots of SOCO won't fix!  YEE HAW! (SMILE Y'ALL!)

OCKLAWAHA

[Ocklawaha]

While Crist was here, talking the big bucks... I mean who can pass up another 100 square miles of new home builders? Got to be a few Million floating around between the builders associations and Tallahassee.

Meanwhile down in Orlando, the National High Speed Rail, Federal Railroad Administration and Amtrak, were laying out plans to bankroll $8 Billion in new money for rail. They said the meeting in Charlotte was something of a disappointment with few attending, but Orlando busted out the walls. Everybody in Florida that holds any sort of development dream for mass transportation was in Orlando. That speaks volumes to Crist, Peyton, JTA, COJ and Company.

Stephendare and Myself were the ONLY voices for Jacksonville. They hung a huge map on the wall that showed the "National Vision" and the "Florida Vision"... Well guess who ISN'T Coming To Dinner? These vile people want a high speed line from Orlando to Lake City, via Gainesville, more then they want the 1.3 Million persons in Jacksonville to play a role.

LAKE CITY? Oh the humanity... We couldn't have screwed this up any better if the City would have issued orders to "Stay Away From Rail." The FACT that no one else from Jacksonville or Northeast Florida even bothered to show up at this packed work shop says a couple of things about JTA, and Jax in general.

1. We are NOT serious about rail of ANY type, not streetcar, not commuter rail, not Amtrak, not Light Rail.
2. JTA could have sent somebody to learn how to get their hands on a piece of the Billion dollar pie.
3. Jacksonville is such a joke to the other Florida cities that people laugh at the city in an open forum!
4. Get ready for the BILLION DOLLAR BUS, I no longer think there is any plan for rail, simply window dressing.

This should be headlines, "Federal Government wants to hand Florida Billions for Rail". In fact it probably is headlines in the rest of the State, God knows they were all there. It won't make the cut in Jacksonville,
not even the TU, Journal Record, Business Journal, Folio or anyone else. I still see this as beyond belief.

So here we go again, "We don't do business with carnival people..." (Jacksonville's Ed Ball to Walt Disney) Another sickening thud, we're giving our 1919 train station away, our hub status is moving south. So while the rest of the State is finding ways to mate with the FRA and AMTRAK, we're all about Sodomy in Memorial Park.

F**King Idiots.

OCKLAWAHA

[BridgeTroll]

Your 100% correct Ock... every resident should be angry.  It is their job to attend these events and at least participate and represent this city...

[JaxNole]

So, Ock, how do we spearhead workshops with key stakeholders from the state and bring them here?

If the City and other entities are unwilling to jump on such a tremendous opportunity, let's bring the opportunity to our front yard and leave the door open for them.

[Ocklawaha]

For credibility we need someone with a city, state or national handle to be in on the sponsorship. Bishop? Johnson? or maybe Mica? Brown?

No doubt we should do this in the grand waiting room of the Jacksonville Terminal. Graphics of an expanded and revised Transportation Center would go a long way too, even if WE have to draw them.

OCKLAWAHA

[JaxNole]

We know they are champions and support these efforts.  What is the most effective way to engage them?

The workshop could be titled "Rail Uprising: Jacksonville".  Maybe not. 

Still, to JTA's credit, we have a commuter rail study in progress, but that is still not enough.

We need to abandon regional thinking and, as Lake suggested, obtain statewide buy-ins.

What can I do to help you?

[stjr]

Hey, Ock.  Maybe we need to emulate the Outer Beltway folks and PRIVATIZE this with State and Federal tax incentives.  Let's create a private passenger railroad, swipe some Federal and State transit subsidy dollars and tax incentives, and show 'em how its done. 

Hearken back to the good ol' days of private rail service.  "The Sunshine State Railroad Company".... or, "Florida Arterial Rail Transit" (FART - "Replace your gas with ours!" -  )

[Ocklawaha]

Virgin Trains, is already looking into entering the field on this side of the pond. If they do, I can't see them missing Florida's market.

It could be done with tax incentives.

OCKLAWAHA

[mtraininjax]

So Metro Jacksonville has allies in high positions.

Now that is funny. Politicians love to speak out of BOTH sides of their mouthes. Sounds good to both sides that way. Who knows what the jax leaders were doing, perhaps Adam and John were displaying their new vision of the week. Who knows.

The fact for rail in NE Florida is that Amtrak offers the best chance for any rail development, as rail is not needed to alleviate any form of congestion in terms of highway congestion. The City has no money for it, The state is cutting back its funds for this year and next year. So the feds are the only salvation. If the metrojax people are the reason we get hsr in Jax, I will go down and stage a hug-in of the Bostwick building, so that we don't tear it down for the pocket park that we all know is coming.

[mtraininjax]

I can't resist this, I found this in an old TRAINS magazine article on the new policy that AMTRAK has on people taking pictures of Amtrak trains. It is very funny!

http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/217341/february-02-2009/nailed--em---amtrak-photographer

[JeffreyS]

Colbert is a funny man.