1. Why not State & Union?

Basically, because FDOT said so and they want to get their buses as close to the major office towers as possible.  So instead of following the downtown master plan (yes it addresses mass transit too) or giving the public and downtown property owners as much respect as the FDOT, JTA has cherry picked routes along the most critical commercial and residential oriented streets in downtown’s revitalization process….Adams, Bay & Forsyth.

2. Why select Adams over Bay/Forsyth?

Evidently, according to JTA, the JEDC does not believe that a bus transit way fits into their concept of the Bay Street Town Center being a stretch lined with restaurants, bars, and clubs.  Instead, the JEDC believes the trolleys would be a better fit for that corridor.

With this in mind, JTA has turned its eyes to Adams.  Unfortunately, planners likely have never taken a walk down Adams Street because one would have to be as blind as Stevie Wonder to notice that the stretch between Ocean and Julia is already lined with the things that everyone wishes were on Bay Street. This only provides more reason to force JTA to abandon the concept of BRT on these three streets and consider alternative options that fulfill the needs of all affected parties.

3. How does JTA believe BRT will benefit the Adams Street scene?

Consultants admit over half of the current parallel parking spaces along Adams would be lost forever and replaced with an eastbound bus only lane.  However, they claim this would not affect retail because office workers park in the spots anyway and feed the meters all day.  While it’s insane to make a blanket statement like that, a simple minded person would solve this problem with efficient parking enforcement.  Instead, JTA has a better plan… they’ll eliminate the problem by wiping out the parking stalls and putting bus lanes in their place.

4. How many city buses will run down Adams Street?

During peak hours, up to one bus for every one and a half minutes.  Imagine sitting outside or walking in that type of environment?  In Minneapolis, one of JTA’s “successful transit mall” examples, the city is completely relocating their buses to an alternative street after the pedestrian mall became locally known as the place to eat and inhale bus fumes.  Shouldn’t we be learning from other’s mistakes instead of trying to repeat them?

5. Why is JTA ignoring the skyway and existing trolleys in planning this system?

Because people don’t want to transfer, even though the $184 million people mover system’s ultimate success is based off of regional transit systems feeding riders into it.  Instead, planners believe everyone wants to be picked up from their driveway and dropped off at the front door of their workplace.  Unfortunately, in the real world, that’s pretty unrealistic and attempting to do so is about as foolish as it gets.  Even in mass transit oriented cities, like New York, transferring between mass transit systems is a must.  The key is being efficient and timely.

Instead of taking $20 million out of taxpayers pockets to throw at an issue that can’t be solved, why not dig deep, discover and address the reasons why riders hate to transfer locally?  Just a hunch, but it may have something to do with confusing routes with little to no route information at stops and unreliable stop/transfer times that can leave transferee's waiting at shelter-less bus stops next to eight lane highways for over 30 minutes.  Why not address those problems first before attempting to pull a Neil Armstrong and reach the moon?

6. Why JTA believes BRT is the best mass transit alternative out there?

Planner’s believe BRT enjoys all the benefits of rail with the only difference being that the it has rubber wheels.  It seems like somebody has been enrolled in one of Ricky Williams’ yoga classes.  Ever wonder why homebuilders don’t sell you the same line with laminate and granite countertops?  Simple, because you get what you pay for and one is clearly superior than the other for a valid reason. 

Nevertheless, that’s not what the downtown busway debate is about.  BRT definitely has its place in the region’s overall mass transit network, just not smack dab in the middle of the heart of downtown on Bay, Forsyth, and especially Adams Street.

7. What is the timeline for implementation?

If JTA successfully sticks the machete down downtown’s back, then the Adams Street line should be up and running by 2010.  Construction on ripping up the streets and sidewalks would coincide with the openings of One12, 218 Adams Lofts, and 122 Ocean.  The overall 29 mile system would be operation by 2025 and would be extended to the beaches and Orange Park by 2035.

8. Are there any successful examples of what JTA is proposing for downtown?

According to consultants, Orlando’s Lymmo, Denver’s 16th Street Mall, and Minneapolis’ Nicollet Mall.  Unfortunately, as mentioned by Metro Jacksonville on numerous occasions, Orlando and Denver’s systems are shuttle buses that are comparable to our downtown trolleys. 

Nicollet Mall is an example of a BRT transit mall, but residents and downtown businesses have finally successfully lobbied to get the diesel fuming buses off the street to restore its ambiance.  At this point, we don’t know what’s worse, the fact that transit planners can’t tell the difference between free shuttle bus loops and real regional bus rapid transitways or that years into the process they can’t find one successful example of what they are proposing.  Either way, it's bad for downtown.

9. Can JTA dance?

Like Michael Jackson at a choir boy’s convention.  When asked about considering alternative streets between State & Union and Adams, planners responded with doomsday predictions about downtown traffic concurrency and why BRT is needed.

Asked about the estimated BRT cost, planner’s did not know and could not even give a price range (I guess saying $1 billion would end up with a public flogging in Hemming Plaza) but made it clear that expanding the skyway would cost up to $50 million/mile.  When asked if this system was logical, officials made the point of saying that critics said the same thing about JTB and the Dames Point.  Too bad they conveinently left out the skyway.

10. What happens if the downtown BRT lanes aren’t built?

JTA claims that without mass transit improvements, new growth will not be allowed downtown. 

However, let's be real about this.  The proposed downtown BRT system is simply a consolidation of existing bus routes onto one primary thoroughfare.  All of the half empty buses you see running on downtown’s streets today will all be rerouted down Adams Street at the rate of 1 bus for every 1.5 minutes.  Nobody is fighting the notion that downtown’s mass transit options shouldn’t be improved.  The fallout is over the routes selected and JTA’s stubbornness to compromise by seriously considering alternative options.

Why should you give this plan, in it’s current state, the middle finger?

Asking a person who wants to live, that they can choose the option of getting in a knife dance with Orenthal "Da Juice" James Simpson or taking on Old Sparky, Ted Bundy-style, is a lose-lose situation.  That’s the predicament JTA has placed downtown advocates, residents, and business owners in.

Both options on the table clearly will have a negative effect on the revitalizing downtown retail scene, the parking situation, and will cost taxpayers $20 million.  All of this is being pushed by planners and consultants whose primary interest is force feeding buses down the same routes they selected years ago.  What makes the situation worse is that many don’t spend a lot of time downtown and continue to refuse to get creative and think outside of the box, which only consists of Adams, Bay and Forsyth.

Monroe Street as a compromise?  Why not?

Monroe Street is only one block north of Adams and covers the same general area, yet is lined with surface lots, garages and offices, as opposed to street level retail.

During the discussion, Oliver Barakat, a member of the Downtown Design Review Committee, suggested that JTA consider a compromise by seriously looking at an alternative east-west street, north of Adams and south of State & Union. 

Monroe Street, one block north of Adams, is one of those streets that could be a viable alternative that pleases both sides.  From JTA’s perspective, they want the buses as close to major places of employment as possible.  Well Monroe runs right through the heart of the city’s government square concept with immediate frontage to the Federal Courthouse, New County Courthouse, City Hall and the new public Library.  Its also only a short two block walk away from the office towers lining Forsyth and ties into the Skyway at Hemming Plaza.

Only one block north of Adams Street, Monroe Street sits completely empty. This street could accommodate bus only lanes in both directions if need be.

From an urbanite’s perspective, the city has already effectively killed any chance of retail happening on that street by bulldozing LaVilla, replacing restaurants with street level office space near Hemming Plaza, and wiping out that section of the Cathedral District with surface parking lots.  A new streetscape down Monroe would also tie in with the new and poorly planned pocket park being constructed on the intersection of Main & Monroe.  With this route in place, JTA would get what they want, both Adams and the Bay Street Town Center would be saved from disaster, and the bus line would begin to better complement the skyway as opposed to competing against it.

Making a stand

While things can look gloom from time to time when going through this process, public input is essential if we want to see the best mass transit system eventually constructed downtown.  JTA plans to make their final recommendation on route selection this fall.  In the meantime, lets continue to pound their email boxes with letters stating how you feel and what you think should be done to ensure Jacksonville has its cake and eats it too.  They say, united we stand, divided we fall.  Jacksonville has already shot itself in the foot on multiple occasions.  Quite frankly, we’re running out of toes.  Feel free to cut & paste the addresses below and send your response out today. 

John Peyton [removed]">jpeyton@coj.net;

Adam Hollingsworth [removed]">AdamH@coj.net;

Alan Mosley [removed]">Amosley@coj.net;

Ron Barton [removed]">barton@coj.net;

Paul Crawford [removed]">paulc@coj.net;

Suzanne Jenkins [removed]">SuzanneJ@coj.net;

Pat Lockett-Felder [removed]">PFelder@coj.net;

Ronnie Fussell [removed]">RonnieF@coj.net;

Elaine Brown [removed]">ElaineB@coj.net; [removed]">

Amy Harrell Amy@downtownjacksonville.org

Terry Lorince Terry@downtownjacksonville.org

Suraya Teeple [removed]">steeple@jtafla.com;

Winova Hart [removed]">whart@jtafla.com;