MrJoshua

A nice point.... but I must ask a few questions. Your light rail, assumedly, will serve Amelia Island and Saint Augustine, primarily? On an existing train track? Is that really the path a commuter train needs to travel? Neither community contributes enough workers into Jacksonville proper to neccesitate a commuter train. Jackonsville is a SMALL metropolitan community. Clearly, those best served by mass transporation would be those in the Southern Duval / St.John's / Clay county suburbs. I agree, the idea of a "high tech bus" is ridiculous. But aside from the very tenuous idea that St. Augustine is a commuter neighborhood of JAX, the needs of these residents simply are not served with a Amelia Island to St. Augustine train. If it could be conducted very cheaply (less than $100 million) and sustain itself without city subsidies, it might make sense. I find that unlikely. In all reality, it will just be the latest incarnation of the Monorail, a silly mass transportation idea nobody uses for lack of sensible planning. Perhaps I am a bit jaded, but having lived in absurdly big cities with far worse traffic, I find it a bit entertaining how a city of less than 1 million can seriously look at commuter trains. The idea deserves some study, perhaps, but I find it impracticle. Sadly, I cannot offer a better solution.

I really think the idea is a non-starter. Yes, traffic in Jacksonville is bad (probably the worst I have seen in a city so small). However, a "commuter" line for a town of scarcely 1 million? Spread out over an entire county? I don't think JAcksonville really has the traffic patterns or volumes to neccesitate such a move. Cities I know with light railes or "commuter trains" are far larger than Jacksonville, and tend to have more centralized business districts. Unless somehow existing lines were acquired (doubtful), we are looking at a program that would cost BILLIONS and probably be about as useful as the monorail, another moronic transit idea. I'm all for taking drivers of the street who like to pass from the right lane while talking on the cell phone in their souped-up dodge. I really think a light rail is an idea that makes no sense for JAX, even as I take 45 minutes to drive 12 miles to work. This is not a big city, its spread out absurdly, and people like cars. Joshua