The Skyway Express: Should We Keep Or Get Rid Of It?

 
KP: How does the JTA Skyway compare to other “People Mover Projects?” What successes or failures did it have over these other project? Why?

RS: No comment provided.

BM: It was originally supposed to be a people mover, but the technology changed to monorail around 2002. Typically people movers function more like moving sidewalks, a fluid, large capacity, very short trip that simply keeps coming. The change to monorail set us up for the potential of real transit use, as monorails function more like conventional trains, a clockwork system of scheduled, interconnecting, longer routes.  

ED: Both the JTA Skyway (4,100 daily riders) and Detroit Peoplemover (5,300 daily riders) have struggled partially because the downtowns they were meant to serve have dramatically declined over the last 30 years.  However, tThey have also struggled because they are representative of incomplete and poorly integrated transit networks.  On the other hand, Miami's Metromover has seen much higher ridership (+35,000 daily riders) and is a catalyst for infill transit oriented development because that community has heavy rail and commuter rail lines feeding the system with riders and support land use policies that encourage dense infill development around its stations.


The Miami Metromover: Omni Loop (blue), Downtown Loop (orange), Brickell Loop (purple), The Metromover has attracted higher usage due to connectivity with Metrorail (green), Tri-Rail (light blue) and supportive land use policies in and around downtown Miami.


Miami Metromover


The Detroit People Mover


 
KP: Ultimately, what do you think would be best to do with the monorail system?

RS: From an environmental perspective,  the best thing to do would be to shut it down.  It doesn’t need to be removed,  but it should stop operating.  8 million lbs. of CO2 per year is bad for the environment.
 
The internet and autonomous vehicles hold out the best hope for urban transportation.  The internet and video-conferencing can be used to reduce the need for people to travel downtown.  The more people shop by internet,  the less travel they will need.
 
Autonomous vehicles will be lighter,  faster, and have fewer accidents.  They are the future.

BM: Either modest expansion to the original goals of Stadium (area), UF Hospital, Forrest Street and San Marco; Change the system, remove the monorail beams and install streetcar tracks... In which case it might still make sense to continue the elevated portion as far east as the stadium district and over the FEC RY to San Marco.

ED: Keep it fare free, integrate the system with the existing transit network and coordinate downtown growth and redevelopment around its stations. This means, JTA bus routes should not duplicate the path of the Skyway or it's stations. This also means the City of Jacksonville should stop subsidizing parking with the downtown core. When the time comes, also consider salvaging as much existing infrastructure as possible and converting the technology into a different mode if such options prove to be more feasible then maintaining an increasing obsolete transit technology.
 
KP: The Skyway has been looked down upon frequently as unsuccessful. However, in 2012, the Skyway was named the nation's fastest growing fixed mass transit for the first three quarters of the year, based on average weekday ridership. How does this factor in to public disapproval of the Skyway?

RS: No comment provided.

BM: It doesn't, the public disapproval comes from a misunderstanding that the Skyway took money from 'schools, parks, port, roads...etc.' then failed. Of course that isn't true, the Skyway funding has nothing to do with those things. Frustration, people have erroneously believed that 'monorails are the trains of the future,' HARDLY, they have been around almost as long as regular railroads, if they were the train of the future we wouldn't have had a golden spike, it would have been the 'golden beam'. Add that misconception to the paralysis that has kept the little system from ever attaining any goals, and it adds up to a perception of failure of the Skyway rather then failure of JTA, COJ.


ED: I'm not sure the public disapproves of the Skyway or mass transit.  Public surveys conducted in recent years indicate that the public would like to see additional funds dedicated to transit, bicycle, and pedestrian projects at the expense of roadway projects. Instead, it can be argued the public disapproves of any mode of mobility or public investments that don't adequately meet their needs. Whether it's a Skyway, intercity rail, light rail, bus rapid transit, managed lanes, or new roads or modern streetcar, fixed transit our transportation investments needs to connect people to where they want to go and be efficient in getting them there.

 
KP: A proposal was recently put forward by JTA to expand and enhance the Skyway. Again, how does this factor into the public disapproval the project has received? Is this expansion a good idea?

RS: No comment provided.

BM: A case of too little, too late, they will either need to go for a useful base system, streetcar conversion or quit and count their losses.

ED: From what I can tell, there’s just as many people for expanding the Skyway to Brooklyn as those who may be against it. The proposed extension of the Skyway is just adding a station to their existing operations and maintenance facility on Riverside Avenue in Brooklyn.  Personally, I'd like JTA to look at a more cost effective and "no-frills" way of developing a station at that site.  We currently have 604 multi-family housing units and nearly 70,000 square feet of retail and entertainment options under development within a 1/4-mile radius of the Skyway's operations center in Brooklyn.  There's potential for additional development, including a YMCA and health-based boutique hotel. All of this development is severed from the rest of downtown by McCoys Creek, the Acosta Bridge, and the St. Johns River.  Our so-called downtown circulator already has track across the street, serves the Northbank, and crosses the river to access the Southbank.  It's a no-brainer, in my humble opinion, to have a "no-frills" station (to keep the capital costs down) at their Brooklyn site, which would connect downtown employees and residents to Brooklyn and vise versa.


The proposed Skyway extension would connect several infill development projects currently under construction in Brooklyn with the rest of downtown.

 
KP: What are your opinions on how this could factor into or effect the All Aboard Florida project proposal for Jacksonville?  

RS: No comment provided.

BM: The Skyway would be a much more effective component of the AAF connectivity if JTA/FDOT were not determined to build a JRTC with virtually no connectivity scattered all over LaVilla

ED: AAF will be an intercity rail system. Assuming the initial line between Miami and Orlando is a success, there's a chance that an extension to Jacksonville could come online as a future phase.  In the event that happens, it's important for our local transit network to connect riders from all over our region to a centralized intermodal point. That centralized point appears to be the old Jacksonville Terminal (Prime Osborn), which the Skyway already serves.  In essence, AAF is just as important to the Skyway and our local bus network as it would be to them. AAF would serve as a regional transit mode that would feed riders into the Skyway. Just as original advocates believed was needed 30 years ago.

 
KP: Lastly, do you think fixed mass transit is an essential need for linking downtown with adjacent pedestrian scale neighborhoods and spurring Transit Oriented Development (TOD)?

RS: No comment provided.

BM: It's not just essential, it's an absolute requirement.

ED: Yes. I do believe the fixed mass transit tying downtown to surrounding walkable urban core neighborhoods is essential for creating a market rate environment for pedestrian scaled transit oriented development. All the proof we need is evident in the majority of large cities across the country.  An overwhelming majority increased in density due to streetcar systems of the late 19th and early 20th centuries.  Similar patterns are also taking place in cities such as Washington, DC, Miami, Denver, Salt Lake City, Charlotte, and San Diego, that have invested in fixed transit with supportive land use policies over the last three decades.

Article by Kristen Pickrell