Per Florida Statute 336.025, the LOGT can only be used for “transportation expenditures," which the statute defines as the following:
Yes. The JTA always seeks to work with our state and federal partners to secure funding as part of its process to deliver services and infrastructure on behalf of the citizens of Jacksonville. Grant funding is highly competitive, often taking years to secure, and is not guaranteed. We will look to maximize opportunities at the federal level, but they have been adamant that projects like these require local support (through funding).
The federal government originally infused $100 million in the 1980s and ‘90s to build the elevated people mover in Jacksonville known as the Skyway. When it came time for the City to provide its investment to complete the original build-out plan, City leaders at that time made the decision to not invest. The two other communities, Miami and Detroit, followed through on their local commitment to build out their elevated people movers, both of which are thriving and successful Downtown circulators within those cities.
With regard to the planned federal infrastructure package, the proposed $2 trillion is divided into different modes (transit, roads, aviation, ports, and schools, among others), which then is divided into buckets (such as rehabilitation of roads, purchasing of buses, state of good repair), and these are focused on priorities (electrification, climate, equity, workforce, capital, operational, etc.). Opportunities will come through discretionary grants, which are mainly capped (ex. the RAISE grant, formerly BUILD, is capped at $25 million), but these require a local match. That is why if this project is fully funded, it will show the local commitment that we will be able to use to seek federal funding, then by offsetting local funds.
Yes. In 2015, the JTA and its Board of Directors convened a 15-member Skyway Advisory Committee to lead the effort in the exploration of the future of Downtown transportation and the current system. The committee looked at three options:
Ultimately, through this process of analysis, research, and public outreach and feedback, it was determined to keep the elevated structure, modernize the mode of transportation and expand the footprint of the system to the full 10-plus mile distance it was originally intended to go to take workers, residents and visitors to destinations they need and want to get to.
The JTA established a Skyway Advisory Committee in 2015 that comprised of three JTA Board Members and 15 members of the public, including current City Council President Tommy Hazouri. This group held a series of six public meetings with public comment, and two public forums to discuss different possible solutions for the Skyway.
The JTA also commissioned a public feedback survey with more than 1,600 responses.
Out of that public committee, they determined the best way forward was to keep, modernize and expand the Skyway through the use of autonomous vehicles (AVs) under a new project called the Ultimate Urban Circulator (U2C). The U2C would see the JTA replacing the outdated monorail trains with AVs and expanding that system from 2.5 miles to the full 10 miles city leaders envisioned it would be. That expansion would happen by connecting the existing elevated structures to the street, allowing us to expand into the urban core neighborhoods.
This decision won community support and JTA Board approval in 2015.
The Skyway Advisory Committee held six public meetings, two public forums and opportunities to engage with the JTA through its monthly Board of Directors meetings. Two surveys were also conducted to seek potential routes, stops and extensions. The surveys were available online and on paper during the public meetings and on the JTA’s website. The survey was also distributed via email through partner agency distribution lists.
During the subsequent Transit Concept and Alternatives Review (TCAR) process from 2018 through 2020, additional public meetings, community events and online surveys were made available to gather public input. During TCAR One – Skyway Conversion and Brooklyn Extension, there were 24 public outreach opportunities or events during project planning in 2018. During the TCAR Two – Skyway System Expansion, the project team participated in approximately 18 events, including community events, presentations to various stakeholder groups, test track tours and pop-up style public meetings including a final Open House Public Meeting on February 27, 2020 at the Museum of Contemporary Art. Additionally, from August 2019 through March 2020, a public survey was available at all events and online. Over 700 responses were tabulated. A copy of the Survey Summary Report is included in the appendices of the TCAR Two report.
Additionally, an online public engagement tool, PublicInput.com, was used as a platform for the recent U2C Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) Pilot project during 2020. Multiple public engagement events were held virtually in 2020 during the height of the lockdowns due to the COVID-19 concerns.
Before COVID-19 impacted Jacksonville, the JTA’s Automation & Innovation Division held 135 public events, with 1,493 people attending live demonstrations at the U2C Test & Learn Track in Downtown Jacksonville from 2017 to 2020.
The JTA Board of Directors is briefed monthly during the governing body’s meetings. City Council members held a Skyway Lunch and Learn in 2019, and have been briefed during individual and group meetings.
Not likely. Over the years, the JTA, at the request of certain officials, has made requests of the U.S. Department of Transportation to consider forgiveness of contract obligations of payback for federal investments. During the Trump Administration, and now the Biden Administration, USDOT is steadfast in not wasting any previous taxpayer invested infrastructure funds and are instead looking to communities to be good stewards of those investments through maintaining that infrastructure and bringing those systems into modern times through advancement of creative technology to meet the needs of people today.
Successful downtowns have integrated and multimodal transportation services that transport people in, out and within the downtown footprint.
The Skyway is a federally funded piece of infrastructure that has a useful life of approximately 50 years. As such, the JTA and the City of Jacksonville are required to perform state of good repair to ensure the system is maintained through its useful life, if not beyond. Different segments have different useful life expirations, as do the trains, parts and other elements that comprise the entire system.
Starting from scratch would involve repayment of approximately $45 million to the USDOT, incur a minimum of $50 million in demolition costs, and create a chilling effect on future federal funding opportunities. That is on top of any additional costs to implement a replacement service. Those costs do not account for the ancillary disruptions to business and residential developments that would be negatively impacted during any demolition.
One of the key concerns of the Skyway as it runs today is the lack of good origins and destinations due to its small footprint of 2.5 miles. Expanding the system to 10.5 miles will create those vital connections and serve as a distributor to future, regional mass transit services that could bring people to and from Downtown Jacksonville.
The funding proposed is approximately $246 million for Phase 2 which converts the current Skyway system to the Ultimate Urban Circulator (U²C), creating an elevated flat road surface and implementing autonomous vehicles to move people. The U2C neighborhood extensions from the elevated structure to street level and into the 10 miles of connectivity to destinations around Downtown is proposed to cost $130 million.
These figures were determined after multiple studies and analyses performed by JTA and its consultants, and included consideration of current construction costs, comparative analysis to similar systems, and industry feedback in two industry forums hosted by JTA, that attracted national and international guests.
Studies and related research can be found on our U2C documentation page.
Public transit in the U.S. is considered an essential service and requires a subsidy to operate. While the JTA does not charge a fare on the Skyway, we do anticipate charging fares on the U2C to offset a portion of the operating costs. Based on the economic analysis conducted by UNF, the conversion of the Skyway would create approximately 3,057 direct, indirect and induced jobs with a total economic impact of $651 million.
As disclosed at the time, the figure presented during the 2019 City Council meeting was an estimate. Project cost estimates are updated as a project advances through project development phases. The TCAR Two – Skyway System Expansion planning study, provided an analysis of potential neighborhood extensions and was completed in March 2020. The JTA continues to study and advance concepts into preliminary design, which provides more detail into the requirements of transforming the Skyway into a fully autonomous system both on the elevated structure and at the street level.
The JTA is committed to delivering the Ultimate Urban Circulator within the budget set forth within this legislation. The JTA will not seek additional local funds for this project other than the funds allocated from LOGT.
The entire four-phase U2C program is estimated at $423 million.
In a March 4, 2020 letter to the JTA, FDOT agreed to provide a State match of $13 million to support the project. FDOT agreed to fund the state’s share of the program through its New Starts program in the State FY21/22 budget. According to the letter, their funding "…will provide the state match of 50 percent of the non-federal share" for the project.
The JTA plans to engage a concessionaire in an alternative delivery model — Design, Build, Operate and Maintain (DBOM or P3) — which would include ongoing operations and maintenance through the duration of that agreement.
The $379 million comprises the remaining phases of the U2C program, including the rehabilitation and conversion of the existing Skyway superstructure, neighborhood expansions and other capital costs related to the project. Phase 1 – the Bay Street Innovation Corridor ($44 million) — is fully funded and not part of this proposal.
The JTA has studied the capital costs per mile for various modes in evaluating the U2C program. According to the updated JTA Skyway Life Cycle Cost Analysis developed by RS&H and Clary Consulting for the JTA, streetcar systems are estimated to cost $28 million per mile at minimum. Light rail is approximately $100-$200 million per mile, based on several conditions. These are at-grade costs and do not include the long-term costs associated with maintaining fixed infrastructure like rail, or the removal of the Skyway superstructure. The costs to maintain larger vehicles such as light rail or streetcars and the associated wayside systems that move them are higher — even at grade — than the flexible system being proposed through the U2C. The cost of building out the entire U2C system, including converting the existing superstructure, is $379 million or $37.15 million per mile. Fixed guideway systems with larger vehicles operating at grade will change the flow of street traffic as opposed to rubber tire vehicles (of any size) operating above or at grade. The existing Skyway superstructure offers a way to transport and move people above grade, without interrupting traffic in the core.
The JTA is already contributing to the Emerald Trail and is currently seeking to redirect $5 million in federal funds that were saved during the construction of our BRT network to assist in the building of the LaVilla phase of the trail network.
The JTA is also working with the DuPont Fund to identify future partnerships and funding opportunities.
Successful downtowns have integrated and multimodal transportation services that transport people in, out and within the downtown footprint.
The Skyway is a federally funded piece of infrastructure that has a useful life of approximately 50 years. As such, the JTA and the City of Jacksonville are required to perform state of good repair to ensure the system is maintained through its useful life, if not beyond. Different segments have different useful life expirations, as do the trains, parts and other elements that comprise the entire system.
Starting from scratch would involve repayment of approximately $45 million to the USDOT, incur a minimum of $50 million in demolition costs, and create a chilling effect on future federal funding opportunities. That is on top of any additional costs to implement a replacement service. Those costs do not account for the ancillary disruptions to business and residential developments that would be negatively impacted during any demolition.
One of the key concerns of the Skyway as it runs today is the lack of good origins and destinations due to its small footprint of 2.5 miles. Expanding the system to 10.5 miles will create those vital connections and serve as a distributor to future, regional mass transit services that could bring people to and from Downtown Jacksonville.
According to our TCAR process, we have estimated annual operating and maintenance costs for the 10-mile system through various alternatives for the conversion of the Skyway infrastructure and the operations of the neighborhood extensions. For a 20-year period, the Operating and Maintenance (O&M) costs will be $66-74 million for the Skyway conversion (depending on the method of conversion) and approximately $300 million for the neighborhood extensions operating in either dedicated lanes or mixed traffic. O&M costs will be factored into the negotiations with the concessionaire as part of an alternative delivery procurement model of a DBOM or P3.
Specific U2C stops along the routes for the initial neighborhood extensions will be solidified through a public input process which will provide better feedback and direction to the JTA on the proposed service expansion. Once the initial network is established, additional segments can be added to continue that expansion into the neighborhoods mentioned. The JTA is also conducting the companion U2C Transit-Oriented Development Pilot Study to evaluate TOD opportunities along the potential neighborhood extensions.
The U2C service will be in addition to the continued investment JTA makes today through bus routes, the First Coast Flyer Green Line BRT, multiple ReadiRide zones and paratransit options in these neighborhoods.
Some segments of the proposed system will need to operate in mixed traffic, like along Bay Street for Phase 1. Other segments can include dedicated lanes; work that will be solidified in the engineering and design of future phases. The vehicular LOS impact for affected segments would be analogous to bus service. The elevated sections will provide a dedicated roadway which will boost the overall system, by leveraging existing infrastructure and reducing congestion.
Segments that need to operate in mixed traffic are not preferred by the JTA, but are currently required by FDOT and Downtown Investment Authority (DIA). Public meetings and opportunities for public engagement were provided through the TCAR process and during public JTA Board meetings since the Skyway Advisory Committee completed its work in 2015. JTA has a repository of documents and information for the public to review, highlighting our work. More opportunities for public involvement will occur as the project advances.
The terminus of the U2C is the Jacksonville Regional Transportation Center (JRTC) at LaVilla, and Intercity Bus Terminal, so immediate connectivity and feed from our BRT, regular, regional, paratransit and intercity bus riders is the first feed, in and out to the neighborhood extensions.
The U2C extensions will have well-thought-out origins and destinations in established neighborhoods and public input will maximize synergies with exiting services.
These routes will connect UF Health (to the north) to the Southbank medical complex, connecting two important healthcare zones. The neighborhood extensions will better connect Brooklyn, Riverside, San Marco, LaVilla, Springfield and the Sports and Entertainment Complex. These are destinations that lack connectivity through the existing Skyway today and have growing populations. These are popular dining, retail, residential and office destinations for the growing number of people who call Downtown and the surrounding neighborhoods home. The U2C routes remain flexible and will take into consideration public input, new development and any opportunities to integrate into transit-oriented developments like the Rosa Parks Transit Station and the JRTC at LaVilla.
First, autonomous vehicles and autonomous vehicle technology are safe. There is a distinction between autonomous cars being developed by consumer automobile manufacturers like Ford and Tesla, and the autonomous vehicles (shuttles) under consideration for the U2C program. A personal vehicle is very different from a transit vehicle. Personal vehicles are at the care and supervision of their owner, including maintenance, fueling, etc. Transit vehicles are in constant inspection and review. Our fleet is cleaned and checked daily and a transit autonomous fleet would fall into that daily inspection as well.
Since full autonomy (SAE Level 5) is not yet expected, it is JTA’s intent to have an attendant on board, for safety purposes and to have a level of comfort for riders, when the first phase of the U2C program is launched. JTA’s U2C program is recognized for going above and beyond, taking into consideration the full business model of an autonomous transit network. A First Responders Council was formed in 2019 to introduce these essential stakeholders to autonomous vehicle operations and JTA has continued to train first responders on how to interact with this technology.
The neighborhood expansions were determined through a collaborative effort, by a mix of industry subject matter experts taking a look at Jacksonville Downtown growth (including presentations and reports from entities such as the Downtown Investment Authority, JAXChamber and other organizations) and, most importantly, by community feedback expressing interest in seeing a transportation network that would connect people from the Downtown neighborhoods of San Marco, Riverside, Brooklyn and Springfield to healthcare facilities, entertainment, art, retail and sports venues in the core. This work has continued from the initial Skyway Technology Assessment and Skyway Advisory Committee sessions to the TCAR and Transit-Oriented Development Pilot studies, even during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Current ridership numbers come from counts of our turnstiles and automated people counters at some of our stations. This process is audited and accepted as part of our route audit process and subsequently reported up as our accepted National Transit Database (NTD) numbers and reported to the Federal Transit Administration.
As part of the TCAR Two – Skyway System Expansion process, ridership forecasts for the U2C project were prepared using an advanced copy of v2.01 of the Federal Transit Administration’s (FTA) Simplified Trips-On-Project Software (STOPS). The modeling scope for this study was set to match the six-county area of the NERPMAB1, the local travel-demand model maintained by the North Florida Transportation Planning Organization. As part of the review, the Jacksonville Area STOPS model was used to compare various scenarios and corridors. The Jacksonville Area STOPS model is a combination of JTA’s existing bus, express bus, Bus Rapid Transit (BRT), Community Shuttle and Skyway services in Duval and Clay County, along with socioeconomic data to estimate (a) person travel volumes, (b) travel times, (c) mode share, and (d) ridership. Scenario ridership was estimated for 2015, 2022, 2035 and 2045 for three scenarios and two alternates:
Scenarios
Alternates
In the TCAR Two study, 12 scenarios were analyzed and ridership forecasts were developed. The scenario that equates to the U2C alternative – Scenario 1B - includes the existing Skyway lines running from the JRTC to Kings Ave and from the JRTC to Rosa Parks Transit Station as an elevated service. In addition, the Brooklyn to JRTC line (coming online in Fall 2021) was included in the analysis. The following neighborhood extensions were added in at-grade, mixed-traffic mode:
The scenario was analyzed with both a three-minute headway and a five-minute headway.
Yes. As part of the JTA’s due diligence process, future growth and development plans and studies were reviewed as mentioned in the previous question. As part of the federal and state process to secure funding support for the Bay Street Innovation Corridor, the JTA conducted a two-part TCAR study to determine overall project purpose, need and potential ridership into the future based on growth and development models. The studies can be found on the U2C Documentation page.
Research by the University of North Florida (UNF) estimates that the economic impact of the entire LOGT project is approximately $1.6 billion. The Tax Collectors Office estimates that this could yield approximately $280 million in tax revenue for the City of Jacksonville over 10 years.
According to ongoing research being conducted by WSP, the U2C project's potential TOD yield is approximately 15 million in gross square footage:
The U2C TOD Study is ongoing and will be completed this spring.
According to the UNF study, the indirect economic impact of the U2C projects included in the LOGT proposal is $174,582,123.66, while the induced economic impact is $97,914,774.42. This additional spending power as a result of the project will help support new jobs and businesses within our community. There are a number of factors that will drive economic development as a result of this investment in our community, including increased accessibility, leading to an increase in human capital, driving private investments through public investment, and business clustering or agglomeration around the system and stations. The JTA currently has TOD opportunities for joint development with Authority-owned properties like the Rosa Parks Transit Station and Johnson Street sites that tie directly into the U2C system. The JRTC at LaVilla is a TOD, and “Loft” housing properties are steps away from existing bus stops and Skyway stations.
Currently, no additional right-of-way is needed for Phase 1 of the Bay Street Innovation Corridor or the conversion of the elevated structure of Phase 2. At this time, JTA anticipates being able to use the existing right-of-way for the 10-mile extensions at the street level into the neighborhoods. Work will continue with our stakeholders as the project advances.
The JTA does not propose to eliminate any routes at this time. This is a project that stands to benefit each of the neighborhoods in which it is planned to go, creating a total economic impact of $651 million as a result of the U2C. The prioritization of the extensions will be coordinated with the City of Jacksonville, businesses and the citizens within each one of the proposed neighborhood extensions.
The two-step procurement for the Bay Street Innovation Corridor closes May 13, 2021. The JTA Board will follow its procedures for evaluation, selection and negotiations. We anticipate a contract award will be presented to the JTA Board at either the June or July 2021 Board Meeting.
Work on the Bay Street Innovation Corridor phase will begin by 2022. It is the JTA’s intention to complete the project by 2025.
The existing Skyway trains have a maximum capacity of 56 passengers for each two-car train. Currently, the Skyway operates from 6 a.m. until 9 p.m. for a total of 15 hours per day. For a fleet of six trains running at ten-minute headways, we account for 2,016 passengers per hour for both directions. If the Skyway is running 15 hours per day that is a daily capacity of 30,240 passengers. The Bay Street Innovation Corridor proposes to operate at five-minute headways with a fleet of 12 to 15 vehicles, 10 to 15 passengers per vehicle. The first phase, the Bay Street Innovation Corridor (BSIC), has the estimated maximum capacity of 1,440 to 2,700 passengers per hour for both directions. If operating 15 hours per day, the estimated maximum daily capacity could be 21,600 to 40,500 passengers per day. The study also estimates the full U2C will require 42 to 56 vehicles, although that number would likely increase. You can extrapolate those estimates based on what has been estimated for BSIC, however, more work will be completed as the project moves into additional phases. The U2C will have increased passenger capacity because it goes further into established neighborhoods with better origins and destinations than the current Skyway.
The U2C is proposed in four phases – the Bay Street Innovation Corridor is the first phase. Autonomous Avenue, which is the conversion of the Skyway guideway from the JRTC to Jefferson Station, would be next, followed by the full conversion of the remaining track and the neighborhood extensions. We intend to build out the entire system.
Yes, certain projects have gone over budget. This was due to a myriad of reasons. For example, the budget included in the 2014 project list was from estimates that had been done by the City many years before and sat on a shelf. Some of these projects had to be refined in scope, planning, design, etc. Over time, project cost estimates require updating during subsequent project phases. Also, construction costs differed from when the original budgets were produced. JTA made a promise to deliver on these projects and this is a promise we have kept. Through JTA’s strong financial management, being good stewards of taxpayers’ funds and having a strong bond rating, JTA was able to issue additional bonds to cover the difference and deliver the projects.
JTA is committed to the successful implementation of the Jobs for Jax program and the joint project list with the City of Jacksonville. The JTA Board of Directors approved the project list in April. We will follow the same City Council process we did when the last LOGT extension was approved in 2014. Since 2016, the JTA has successfully worked on approximately $175 million in roadway improvement and transit enhancement projects, with the remaining six road projects either under construction now or in the final pre-construction phases. We look forward to working with the City Council as they review the proposal and the project list in the coming weeks.
Autonomous vehicles have been successfully deployed in multiple cities across Europe and Asia. Several pilot programs in Las Vegas, Lake Nona, Gainesville and Michigan have also launched in recent years. Major automobile manufacturers have dedicated billions to research and investment. Also, please find a listing of AV projects around the world on our U2C Documentation page.
No. The infrastructure is intended to be used for public transportation and any other use would trigger a federal payback.