Sunrail ridership Up, Looks like an Epic Success!! (Orlando, Poinciana: taxes, prices)

[WithDisp]

Originally Posted by 0nyxStation

What should be Transit System of the Future? Where should rail be set up?

See post 321 an 322.

That said. The transit system of the future is more complex than that.

Needs change as time goes on.

Cities once built on waterways (for transit) now deal with them as effective walls to building.
The legacy cities density aren't as necessary in the advanced information age.
Limited resources may also make it valuable to fix transit in cities that were built to benefit it.

[DavieJ89]

Originally Posted by bmw335xi

Personally I think that is where we need to start. It does no good having something like Sunrail when once you get off at most stations you are then stuck there. If you could go to Sand Lake Station and then go to Florida Mall for $3 on UberX Pool, it makes the terrible locations of most Sunrail stations not as bad or if you could get off and take a $3 Uber to the office, it makes it a more viable alternative to sitting in traffic.

The terrible locations of the SunRail stations (at least the Sand Lake one) is not entirely the fault of Sunrail or whoever came up with where the stations should be. How long were those tracks used by CSX before SunRail came about? As long as I can remember

PS and I'm sure the cities of Ocala and Lakeland HATE Orlando now for rerouting the OUC coal trains through their respective (yet awful) communities

[bmw335xi]

Originally Posted by DavieJ89

The terrible locations of the SunRail stations (at least the Sand Lake one) is not entirely the fault of Sunrail or whoever came up with where the stations should be. How long were those tracks used by CSX before SunRail came about? As long as I can remember

PS and I'm sure the cities of Ocala and Lakeland HATE Orlando now for rerouting the OUC coal trains through their respective (yet awful) communities

I think if you are going to invest that kind of money, you should do it right from the start otherwise it will just be a giant money pit with little to offer to the community. An elevated system as to not disturb traffic would have been much nicer, especially if it ran along I-4. Heck, instead of express lanes on I-4, it would have been nice to see Sunrail tracks in the middle. The best thing to motivate people to use public transportation is for them to see it while sitting in traffic. I'm sure if people who commute on I-4 sitting in their cars would be intrigued to try Sunrail if they see it zooming by them.

[Arcenal813]

Originally Posted by bmw335xi

I think if you are going to invest that kind of money, you should do it right from the start otherwise it will just be a giant money pit with little to offer to the community. An elevated system as to not disturb traffic would have been much nicer, especially if it ran along I-4. Heck, instead of express lanes on I-4, it would have been nice to see Sunrail tracks in the middle. The best thing to motivate people to use public transportation is for them to see it while sitting in traffic. I'm sure if people who commute on I-4 sitting in their cars would be intrigued to try Sunrail if they see it zooming by them.

Yes. I've been saying this for the longest. Elevated tracks along or in the middle of I4 with stations at the major interchanges would have been ideal. With stops at 414, 436, 434, Lake Mary, Church, OBT, Millennia, (etc) along I4, this would have served a much better purpose than the idiotic system we currently have.

[HeartofFlorida]

Originally Posted by DavieJ89

The terrible locations of the SunRail stations (at least the Sand Lake one) is not entirely the fault of Sunrail or whoever came up with where the stations should be. How long were those tracks used by CSX before SunRail came about? As long as I can remember

PS and I'm sure the cities of Ocala and Lakeland HATE Orlando now for rerouting the OUC coal trains through their respective (yet awful) communities

Lakeland hates Winter Haven more for their role in selling out their neighbors to the west (cheap I might add). This allowed CSX to severely downplay the impact of additional trains and get the state to finance their expansion.

[kyle19125]

Originally Posted by Arcenal352

Yes. I've been saying this for the longest. Elevated tracks along or in the middle of I4 with stations at the major interchanges would have been ideal. With stops at 414, 436, 434, Lake Mary, Church, OBT, Millennia, (etc) along I4, this would have served a much better purpose than the idiotic system we currently have.

The powers that be fought tooth and nail against light rail saying it was going to take too long and be too expensive, thanks to our idiot Governor's refusal of federal infrastructure money offered by President Obama because he wanted to play hateful politics (as usual). As predicted SunRail is going to become this financial albatross play toy that serves as some kind of symbol to area leaders of Orlando's rise to "big boy status" that the rest of us will carry as part of our tax load....rather than some basic infrastructure improvements like increased road capacities and more state of the art traffic control that would have impacted traffic conditions and commute times far more than this hot mess. Instead we sit here in a bloating mass of suburban sprawl with a fixed route heavy rail transit system carrying a fraction of a percentage of our population to/from work or for a joy ride with the kiddies on the weekend.

[WithDisp]

Originally Posted by kyle19125

The powers that be fought tooth and nail against light rail saying it was going to take too long and be too expensive, thanks to our idiot Governor's refusal of federal infrastructure money offered by President Obama because he wanted to play hateful politics (as usual). As predicted SunRail is going to become this financial albatross play toy that serves as some kind of symbol to area leaders of Orlando's rise to "big boy status" that the rest of us will carry as part of our tax load....rather than some basic infrastructure improvements like increased road capacities and more state of the art traffic control that would have impacted traffic conditions and commute times far more than this hot mess. Instead we sit here in a bloating mass of suburban sprawl with a fixed route heavy rail transit system carrying a fraction of a percentage of our population to/from work or for a joy ride with the kiddies on the weekend.

The governor rejected federal money for SunRail and HSR. It wasn't until the 2nd push for SunRail it was begrudgingly accepted because it created short term (and possibly long term) jobs for Floridians with federal and state dollars. The fed should not have been so easy to put money into ridiculous infrastructure when much needed projects actually exist.

No one is visiting Central Florida or moving to Orlando because of the **** poor rail system.

We are not STUCK with it. Just make it clear come 2020 the taxpayers have no interest in keeping the system, bring it up for public vote amongst the counties and put the costs on the riders or shut it down.

[kyle19125]

Originally Posted by WithDisp

We are not STUCK with it. Just make it clear come 2020 the taxpayers have no interest in keeping the system, bring it up for public vote amongst the counties and put the costs on the riders or shut it down.

Hopefully there's enough support for pulling the plug in 2020 and not the usual apathetic mindset.

[HeartofFlorida]

Originally Posted by WithDisp

The governor rejected federal money for SunRail and HSR. It wasn't until the 2nd push for SunRail it was begrudgingly accepted because it created short term (and possibly long term) jobs for Floridians with federal and state dollars. The fed should not have been so easy to put money into ridiculous infrastructure when much needed projects actually exist.

No one is visiting Central Florida or moving to Orlando because of the **** poor rail system.

We are not STUCK with it. Just make it clear come 2020 the taxpayers have no interest in keeping the system, bring it up for public vote amongst the counties and put the costs on the riders or shut it down.

Let's be honest. Both HSR and SUNRAIL projects (from an infrastructure standpoint) were terrible.

Rick Scott played his role as Tea Party governor and went against a high profile project from President Obama. He LIED and stated that HSR was bad for Florida even thought it's documented that the federal government and private entities in the running had the deals structured to assume the risks of cost overruns, losses and operational costs (documented).

However the massive corporate welfare deal badly structured behind closed doors with CSX (with the aide of a top advisor that used to work for CSX) is approved and the byproduct is Sunrail gets the green light. The state pays for maintenance, construction, upkeep. CSX still uses the tracks that they sold and the state is liable if anything happens involving CSX trains on "state-owned" tracks. Who the hell thought that was a good idea!?

I really wish Sunrail ridership was higher but please don't fool yourself into thinking it's going anywhere. For Orlando it's prestigious to have a train regardless of how broken the system may be.

[WithDisp]

Originally Posted by HeartofFlorida

Let's be honest. Both HSR and SUNRAIL projects (from an infrastructure standpoint) were terrible.

Rick Scott played his role as Tea Party governor and went against a high profile project from President Obama. He LIED and stated that HSR was bad for Florida even thought it's documented that the federal government and private entities in the running had the deals structured to assume the risks of cost overruns, losses and operational costs (documented).

However the massive corporate welfare deal badly structured behind closed doors with CSX (with the aide of a top advisor that used to work for CSX) is approved and the byproduct is Sunrail gets the green light. The state pays for maintenance, construction, upkeep. CSX still uses the tracks that they sold and the state is liable if anything happens involving CSX trains on "state-owned" tracks. Who the hell thought that was a good idea!?

I really wish Sunrail ridership was higher but please don't fool yourself into thinking it's going anywhere. For Orlando it's prestigious to have a train regardless of how broken the system may be.

You hit the nail exactly on the head- and I've been preaching a similar tone for years.

With all that in mind though, don't forget that the residents of the counties operate the government and pay the expenses. SunRail funding has to come from somewhere. Reject additional income taxes, property taxes, and most importantly funneling money from the Toll Roads. The tourism taxes aren't benefiting from the rail so don't count on them to chip in.

If people are well informed to how much money the SunRail is costing everyone with absolutely no benefit- something may be done.