It might have been nice to be invited to the meeting last night, but JTA aparently doesn't consider someone with experience similar to their own - but without a powerful media forum, worthy of discussion. How odd?
Mike got a big laugh out of the my introduction at City Council as President of the re-established Jacksonville Traction Company, but it could be worse, I might be the Devil himself.
Some thoughts:
Sounds like Southside Blvd. is another BRT toy. Maybe LRT but one doubts it with their history of Subway pricing that even convinced half of MJ that LRT cost more. Has JTA or ANYONE ELSE noticed a JEA right-of-way that runs from Jax Beach, 1/2 way between Beach and Atlantic Blvd... Past FCCJ (*OMG), turns south along 9-A to a point just south of JTB, then West all the way through Bay Meadows, ending about a block from the FEC RofW by Bay Meadows Road... Why is this so important? Well, my Trolleyless City, it's a high power electrical RofW, with no buildings and flat as a pancake. High power that could be converted to 600 volt DC current for electric trains, or 1,500 volt AC..
Echo's of "We are doing a streetcar study"... circa 1980, 81, 82, 83... JTA, DDA, JCCI etc... Results, "only good for tourism (like we couldn't use some of that?), slow (the old movies must have been speeded up), and MUST - MUST - MUST compete with automobiles in traffic lanes. Even the super consultants they just brought in for the "RAIL STUDY", placed streetcar as slow, in traffic and below bus! You guys believe these nuts? When Mike Miller asked me what my proposed route would look like, when I mentioned Beaver, over Hogans creek and on to the stadium. He sat back, smiled and said, "You can't do that, there's no street where Beaver crosses Hogan!"... Was he right? YES! My point, Streetcars are TRAINS! RAILROADS! TRAIN CARS! They do not need to be slow, in traffic or any of the other goofy things we've been fed.
FTA, FTA, FTA, With $100 Million dollars, a private company could build the complete Northside starter lines and have it up and running... The City doesn't want to hear it, and JTA wants to ignore us.
Here's my challenge,
CITY... LISTEN TO THE JACKSONVILLE TRACTION COMPANY PLAN, then decide
JTA..... We could do this for you a hell of a lot cheaper and faster, then you could connect to it with buses.
I can't believe that 27 years after I started this fight, the political machine has taken a new approach, ignore the old one, and play the same game on the new ones... Don't be deluded!
Ocklawaha