Sunrail 2014 (Orlando, Davie, Seminole: sales, school, sales tax)

[floridaUnBusiness]

Won't happen. I agree with tworent!

[firmbizzle]

Originally Posted by tworent

A big scam

Please explain.

[sean1the1]

I would also like to hear...

[adamosgp]

No scam. They're on track. The Lake Mary portion is continuously being worked on.

[kyle19125]

I think they're alleging that the development around the station isn't happening or won't be to the scale of what is planned. I tend to agree with the latter. Not sure how anyone can foresee huge ridership numbers in area where people are as allergic to tolls as Orlando is. Sunrail won't be free and one will more or less have to drive to/from the stations and then pay a fare. When you hear of so many who avoid the 417 for instance because of tolls and would rather spend twice the time driving, the expectation for anything good with Sunrail is unrealistic at best.

[Pocker14]

My company is considering opening a new office in downtown Orlando. Which means our finance/HR/CEO and other admin persons will have to relocated to this new downtown location. The construction for I-4 is scheduled to begin in 2014. Hopefully Sunrail is up and running by the time my office is ready to move. I'm only 2 miles from the nearest Sunrail station and will be one of those people that will park my car and ride the train. Anything to avoid the traffic mess that will happen once construction starts on I-4.

[OrlFlaUsa]

Originally Posted by kyle19125

I think they're alleging that the development around the station isn't happening or won't be to the scale of what is planned. I tend to agree with the latter. Not sure how anyone can foresee huge ridership numbers in area where people are as allergic to tolls as Orlando is. Sunrail won't be free and one will more or less have to drive to/from the stations and then pay a fare. When you hear of so many who avoid the 417 for instance because of tolls and would rather spend twice the time driving, the expectation for anything good with Sunrail is unrealistic at best.

Well since this is a commuter rail system like the Chicago Metra which I'm familiar with, it seems silly that you act as if it's not common for people to drive from their suburban homes to their local suburban station. That's the whole idea. You spend 5 minutes in your car from home in Deland to station in Deland and then hop a comfortable, single seat ride, into downtown Orlando where your office will be walk or bikeable. This happens in much larger metros like Chicago everyday and is exactly how it should be, these trains don't stop out front of everybody's house lol.

[cerveza]

Originally Posted by OrlFlaUsa

Well since this is a commuter rail system like the Chicago Metra which I'm familiar with, it seems silly that you act as if it's not common for people to drive from their suburban homes to their local suburban station. That's the whole idea. You spend 5 minutes in your car from home in Deland to station in Deland and then hop a comfortable, single seat ride, into downtown Orlando where your office will be walk or bikeable. This happens in much larger metros like Chicago everyday and is exactly how it should be, these trains don't stop out front of everybody's house lol.

the difference is that

In big cities the transit system has multiple stops which leaves you a block or two from work.

In this system you might wind up being a mile away..... which although walkable or bikeable is not so much so in the rain.

[cerveza]

the thing that messes up sunrail is that it only runs once every 2 hours after 6pm and doesnt run at all on the weekends.

in other words,

imagine living in seminole county and being able to go to the amway center or bars and clubs downtown or the florida mall without having to deal with traffic, parking or crazy high taxi costs. that could have been a reality with sunrail and many people would have used it for that alone

but

the people who run sunrail messed it up.

[kyle19125]

Originally Posted by OrlFlaUsa

Well since this is a commuter rail system like the Chicago Metra which I'm familiar with, it seems silly that you act as if it's not common for people to drive from their suburban homes to their local suburban station. That's the whole idea. You spend 5 minutes in your car from home in Deland to station in Deland and then hop a comfortable, single seat ride, into downtown Orlando where your office will be walk or bikeable. This happens in much larger metros like Chicago everyday and is exactly how it should be, these trains don't stop out front of everybody's house lol.

I'm actually quite familiar with rapid transit having lived carless in both Washington DC and Philadelphia for 12 years. My point is that Orlando area residents who have issues with paying $2.00 tolls aren't likely to drive to a SunRail station, then park and board a train to/from work which will cost four times that amount. Furthermore I'm pretty sure the average area resident isn't familiar with the concept and the potential benefits which is going to make it a tough sell overall.