LeAnna voting day plug here - she is correct in that the city/JTA shouldn't be raising taxes and taking our money to "expand" the Skyway. There are just too many better transit options out there that will actually spur economic development, result in increased tax base through real estate development, and be useful and actually ridden (for a typical charge, not for FREE) to more people.
Jax is all about pie in the sky ideas that no other city has implemented (for a reason). U2C is just the latest.
Personally I disagree to an extent. I think it's perfectly prudent as a city, especially one of the largest in the country, to invest in mass transportation. The TPO just noted at its last meeting that there is more than $5 billion being spent on transportation in Northeast Florida over the next five years. Nearly all of that is highway expansion, resurfacing, or bridge work, which is worrisome for a city that has any hope of growing sustainably in the future. I have no problem with the idea of using some of the money drivers spend on transportation alternatives. I even think that it's reasonable to spend some of that money on the Skyway. The original mantra in 2015 of "keep, modernize, and expand" made enough sense, especially when it's exactly what Miami is doing with their people mover. Ensuring that such a modernized and expanded system would be a competitive mobility option compared to driving would do a lot of the work in justifying a fare for riders.
Where I
do agree is that JTA has flagrantly abused the goodwill it created in 2015 by chasing experimental technology as a panacea for the challenges in modernizing and expanding the existing Skyway. The technology proposed in the U2C does have some promise, especially for suburbs where larger transit technologies might be difficult or unreasonable. But not for the heart of a city of our size, and not as the only major transit project under serious development over the next several years.
I'm well aware that LeAnna Cumber's husband is experienced in the development of large transportation projects, notably as an executive for Brightline's parent company. I would even hope that some of that experience is transparently leveraged in finding real transportation solutions for Jacksonville if she becomes Mayor. But I don't believe that trying to undo the LOGT is the direction we need to go in, or entirely stripping the Skyway of any funding. As I said two years ago, it'd be perfectly rational to spend even a couple tens of millions to overhaul the trains, get the system into a state of good repair for its remaining lifespan, and complete the promised extension to Brooklyn; before turning our attention to other options, whether that's commuter rail or even running more buses more frequently (we promised the FTA the First Coast Flyer would run every 10 minutes at peak).
I do think a mayor that gives even a little more well-considered attention to transportation will be good for Jacksonville, and if Cumber does win I would hope she does so with the goal of providing better mobility overall, not just spiking projects. Philadelphia, which is also dealing with a mayoral election, is a great example of this. Just last week, they canceled a poorly-thought-out, overly expensive transit project that the FTA would not support, and political leaders are starting to turn their attention to an alternative project with a much better value for citizens. That's the mindset we need here.
