Is U2C serious? Help me make it make sense....

[thelakelander]

When are they supposed to break ground on the U2C again?

[Ken_FSU]

Speaking of which, has anyone heard anything about the Brooklyn no-frills Skyway extension?

[marcuscnelson]

From the article

It set off a minor arms race among automakers to produce a new class of autonomous EV people movers, however, imparting Level 4 autonomous capabilities has proven exceedingly difficult to date — in part due to technological shortcomings in the current generation of sensor and signal processing systems.

Asked about the quote, got this back:

I'm not sure who you're quoting but safety is always our concern with anything. JTA has also been clear that the service would not begin in L4. It would begin in L3 and eventually move to L4.

Personally, I think the knees of the word "eventually" are buckling from holding up the rest of the paragraph and perhaps this entire program.

[thelakelander]

I can only assume construction is not imminent. Whenever, some progress is made, they'll likely have to go through the DDRB for conceptual and final design approval. You won't get to that point before figuring out what vehicles you'll be using.

[Captain Zissou]

I believe they are already designing Bay Street/Gator Bowl Blvd to accommodate lanes for these vehicles.  Either that, or I have zero explanation for why they need so many lanes for a road that is never busy other than 12 days a year.

[jaxoNOLE]

At least dedicated transit lanes on Bay can be used by buses if AVs aren't ready to roll out. Pure madness would be taking any action to halt/reduce the operation or maintenance of the Skyway in preparation for AVs that haven't been selected, but I can't imagine they would take the risk of leaving the system inoperable and run the risk of triggering a federal payback. The big question is, how long will Council allow a $240M earmark to sit around when the AV can continues to get kicked down the road?  If we're still sitting here in 10 years with no viable AV option -- a real, even likely, possibility -- then what?

[acme54321]

I believe they are already designing Bay Street/Gator Bowl Blvd to accommodate lanes for these vehicles.  Either that, or I have zero explanation for why they need so many lanes for a road that is never busy other than 12 days a year.

I thought the same thing.  Apparently they think it's for capacity that for formerly on the ramps.  Which was also never that busy.  Has anyone missed them during construction? 

[icarus]

Granted I'm notorious for stating the obvious .. captain obvious perchance .... But, I feel completely self vindicated in simply stating ... "The Emperor has no clothes!"

[thelakelander]

I believe they are already designing Bay Street/Gator Bowl Blvd to accommodate lanes for these vehicles.  Either that, or I have zero explanation for why they need so many lanes for a road that is never busy other than 12 days a year.

There's some ROW on the south side of the street (specifically at Metropolitan Park) but whatever they are doing hasn't reached a stage of design or approval where construction is imminent. The bigger challenge is finding a logical way to retrofit streets in the heart of the Northbank in a way that doesn't negatively impact downtown businesses and property owners. This will need DIA approval and need to go through the DDRB process.

[jaxlongtimer]

Anyone on the Jaxson want to apply for this JTA "opportunity"?  LOL.  I also note there is no mention of the autonomous vehicle project here.  Wonder what's up with that.

JTA set to pick manager to oversee projects funded by gas tax expansion

The Jacksonville Transportation Authority is in the process of hiring a project manager to oversee the work that will be funded by Duval County's increased gas tax, which went into effect at the beginning of the year.

Thursday morning, the authority will begin the process of picking between AECOM, HTNB Corporation, Jacobs Project Management and Reynolds, Smith & Hill to oversee the projects, with a contractor expected to be selected on Jan. 27.

The projects include rehabilitating the Jacksonville Skyway vehicles at a cost of $6.87 million, providing a new $16.18 million boat for the St. Johns River Ferry and spending $34.71 million to bring JTA bus stops into compliance with the latest Americans with Disabilities Act standards. Bidding expected to kick off in spring.

Which projects will be tackled first remains to be seen: About eight months since the tax was approved by City Council, JTA is still in the process of creating a schedule for the work.

The expanded local option gas tax is expected to raise about $25 million a year for drainage, roadway and transit infrastructure projects, with the money split between JTA and the city. The former will handle roadway and transit projects, while the latter will primarily handle drainage projects.

The authority projects it will receive $12.5 million from the gas tax during the first 12 months of the levy....

https://www.bizjournals.com/jacksonville/news/2022/01/20/duval-county-begins-additional-gas-tax-collections.html?utm_source=st&utm_medium=en&utm_campaign=me&utm_content=ja&ana=e_ja_me&j=26440303&senddate=2022-01-21

[marcuscnelson]

I was looking at the RFP documents for this a few days ago. The U2C project is being managed by a different group (the Balfour Beatty V2R team that was selected last year), this project manager is only overseeing the other LOGT projects and doing some coordination with that team.

Interestingly the other projects include PD&E for somehow only the commuter rail station at the JRTC. I personally don't understand how you only do a PD&E for a single station on a commuter rail line that doesn't exist yet, but that seems to be the current plan.

And as an aside, did anyone know that the new ferry boat is supposed to be electric and autonomous? That's also in the RFP.

[acme54321]

An autonomous ferry boat crossing a shipping channel with a ripping tide...  Sounds about right LOL.

[tufsu1]

Interestingly the other projects include PD&E for somehow only the commuter rail station at the JRTC. I personally don't understand how you only do a PD&E for a single station on a commuter rail line that doesn't exist yet, but that seems to be the current plan.

It isn't uncommon to do a PD&E or federal NEPA document for a major transportation facility. So yes, they could do it for just the station.

As to the program management contract, my firm was considering it, but decided to focus on other opportunities.

[jaxlongtimer]

JTA loses one of its AV partners.  More evidence of the mighty mountain they need to climb.

Local Motors, involved with JTA autonomous vehicle program, ceases operations

Just months after its CEO declared a new stage of growth, Chandler, Arizona-based Local Motors has shut down.

Multiple employees have posted about the company closing on their LinkedIn pages, though the company has not yet put out an official statement.

The news was originally reported on Jan. 12 by The Drive, a website dedicated to automotive news. Representatives from Local Motors did not immediately return a request for comment.

Chris Stoner, formerly a VP at Local Motors, wrote on his LinkedIn page that the company would shut down on Jan. 21.

“I am disheartened to announce that Local Motors will cease to exist as of January 14,” Stoner wrote on Jan. 12. “The autonomous vehicle space is an exciting emerging market with plenty of opportunity. Experiencing first-hand the skill and dedication of the people I worked with, I have no doubt AVs (like Olli) are the future of transportation.”

Ivan Golubic, formerly the interim CFO, also wrote about the company shutting down on his LinkedIn page.

The Olli was one of three autonomous vehicles the Jacksonville Transportation Authority was testing for its Ultimate Urban Circulator program at its Armsdale Test & Learn center in northwest Jacksonville. An EV Star that is owned by the authority and The Autonom Shuttle by French-based NAVYA are the others.

"It doesn't affect our test and learn program because we remain vehicle agnostic with the Ultimate Urban Circulator program," JTA spokesman David Cawton told the Business Journal....

https://www.bizjournals.com/jacksonville/news/2022/01/24/local-motors-to-cease-operations.html?utm_source=st&utm_medium=en&utm_campaign=ae&utm_content=ja&ana=e_ja_ae&j=26471796&senddate=2022-01-24

[thelakelander]

"It doesn't affect our test and learn program because we remain vehicle agnostic with the Ultimate Urban Circulator program," JTA spokesman David Cawton told the Business Journal.

It should affect anyone's testing and learn program. If you are truly running a test and learn operation, you need to know what doesn't work as well. So, it would be good to learn why they are closing down and how might the product challenges (which led to the supplier's closure) impact the implementation of unproven dreams like the U2C. Getting a handle on the failures will only help you out in the long run.