The Role Of Mass Transit In Brooklyn's Renaissance

[duvaldude08]

There is no excuse not to extend it to Brooklyn at this point. The need is there.

[JeffreyS]

Yes if JTA would just announce a skyway platform now for when the projects are completed it would benefit everything going on in the area.

[JaxNole]

What are the current roadblocks and have they changed from 5 years ago? What's the largest roadblock and what can we do to obliterate it?

[thelakelander]

The original roadblock was said to be the recession, which killed Mile's Brooklyn Park project.  That has changed with the construction of 220 Riverside and pending development of Riverside Park.  Now, I assume money is the roadblock.

[Jdog]

So the Skyway would come down to ground level while making a tiny jog south / southwest to get it to Riverside Avenue? 

It's not like it would stop at Leila Street. 

[Ocklawaha]

Actually JDog the Skyway already has the stub switch that will become the Riverside Line eventually. Just as it comes into the Maintenance area there would be a single track switch which would take the track east and southeast to the corner of Lelia and Riverside.

[Jdog]

Thanks...

[simms3]

I'm probably the only one who doesn't believe Brooklyn needs the Skyway...not enough there, too expensive.

[Charles Hunter]

Take a look at an aerial image, it only requires a few feet of guide-beam and a passenger platform  The cost has to be pretty small, in transportation infrastructure terms (cf. Kernan/Atlantic or Kernan/Beach overpasses).  No one is talking about extending the elevated dual guideway down to Blue Cross (Forest Street).

[thelakelander]

I'm probably the only one who doesn't believe Brooklyn needs the Skyway...not enough there, too expensive.

Looking at the Riverside Park site plan, it appears there will probably be a grocery store and CVS style pharmacy literally across the street from the Skyway's operational center.  There's also a good chance a chunk of that retail ends up being pretty similar in style to restaurants/dining spots near the Riverside Publix.  While great for those living in Brooklyn, it basically means those living in the rest of downtown will still be driving cars to access this commercial area because I seriously doubt that cluster of specific uses is going to pop up anywhere in the North or Southbank anytime soon.  Thus, if you can put in a cheap ground level platform where the Skyway already is, directly tapping into those developments and connecting them with the rest of downtown's residents, why not?

[thelakelander]

It's really hard imagining extending a ground level guideway like this with a bus station style platform will break the bank.  Out of all the transit investments Jacksonville can make, with the pending development, this seems like something that will get the most bang for the public buck.  I don't know the logistics involved but if it were possible, I wouldn't mind them using the guideway in the image above as a make shift temporary solution.

[Ocklawaha]

Most railroad yards include storage tracks, a clean out track, a rip track (repairs in place) along with the various shop tracks themselves. For this reason and the fact that we actually have quite a few of these little trains, I'd stick with our original plan. Sending a line (single track) to the corner of Lelia and Riverside would be a very simple build.

Like the plan above, I wouldn't double track the line to Atlantic in San Marco either, trains could simply be scheduled to go down and back clearing any train holding at Kings Avenue.  Set the "hammerhead piers" in place for future double track and build the platforms at Atlantic, but I'd only construct one track at this time.

As soon as the San Marco branch clears the Florida East Coast Railway, I'd run right down the west side parallel to the railroad all the way to Atlantic. Between Landon Avenue and Atlantic we should bring it to ground level and once again produce a 'deep discount' station.

Lastly I'd address the one glaring weakness of the Skyway system, it doesn't serve all of downtown and to do that it should at least go as far as the Berkman/Police Station area as a phase one of a future stadium/East Jacksonville link. Again I'd place the "hammerhead piers" to handle an eventual double track but only build a single line of track at this time. When the phase two extension all the way to the stadiums and East Jacksonville took place we simply lay the double track to the Berkman/Police Station, and repeat the process to the end of the line at the stadiums. The major difference in the northern and east Jacksonville lines is that they would remain elevated stations.

As a final note, the Skyway needs to cross State Street and serve FSCJ/Bethel/Health Department with a station at Hogan and 1St Streets. Again, we could use this economy way of construction and it would get us many more passengers... SAFE PASSENGERS that don't have to play frogger with State and Union Streets.

[tufsu1]

Ock...once again I ask this...knowing you won't get both, would you rather see the skyway extended to the stadium area or a streetcar route to the area?

[dougskiles]

Single track and on the ground seems like it would be the best option for the San Marco extension after clearing the tracks.  I asked a high ranking JTA official about this once and was told it couldn't be done because the power comes from the track.  It seems like a security fence with an alarm sensor would solve that problem.  Having the station on the ground and accessible from either side would be far less expensive and less intrusive in the neighborhood.

[stephendare]

Ock...once again I ask this...knowing you won't get both, would you rather see the skyway extended to the stadium area or a streetcar route to the area?

The skyway.  The area has been so demolished that there isn't the need for a daily high usage transit line out there.