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I am just thinking people on the second level will have trouble getting off the train when the whole thing was packed. They need a 2 levels station.

You make a great point, sunshine. If you look at the proposed timetable, from Lynx to Church St to Amtrak is only 4 minutes and that includes stops. Either their predictions are way off or those stops are going to be very quick.

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Did you all catch the short video from local 6 yesterday? http://www.local6.com/news/9617112/detail.html?taf=orlpn

I love the guy with the white beard: "Put a stop to this out of control growth." Yeah right, grab your banjo and go gran'pappy... it's people like this that have voted previous rail options out. They just don't understand that you cannot stop the growth, only prepare for it. Argh! :angry:

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I love the guy with the white beard: "Put a stop to this out of control growth." Yeah right, grab your banjo and go gran'pappy... it's people like this that have voted previous rail options out. They just don't understand that you cannot stop the growth, only prepare for it. Argh! :angry:

As if he wasn't growth at some point... hmmm... if he could only be aborted.

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The issue with the Southside stations is they are fine (Park & Ride) if people from those areas are heading in to downtown. I believe a large percentage of Poinciana residents work at Disney/Tourist related industries so they may not help much. But then again, in the past few years traffic has increased dramatically on the Turnpike heading north in the morning rush hour and opposite at night so maybe BVL, Meadow Woods, and Poinciana have increasing numbers of people working in the city. Poinciana is like the Deltona of the southside, more square footage for your $$. And all those new planned developments on the east side of Lake Toho seem pretty pricey and are supposed to greatly increase Osceola's population in the next 10 years so maybe the southside leg will work out!

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Well, maybe there is hope that the areas around the stations will become urban destinations. Check at the pics from the California (Frisco area) forum http://www.urbanplanet.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=27796

In and around San Francisco developers have created retail and residential "villages" around BART stations that have become destinations in their own right.

If Orlando emulates or adopts similar ideas, this could radically alter urban sprawl and growth in and around Orlando!

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Well, maybe there is hope that the areas around the stations will become urban destinations. Check at the pics from the California (Frisco area) forum http://www.urbanplanet.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=27796

In and around San Francisco developers have created retail and residential "villages" around BART stations that have become destinations in their own right.

If Orlando emulates or adopts similar ideas, this could radically alter urban sprawl and growth in and around Orlando!

That's a good idea DC Film Knight. I interviewed with the organization that built Fruitval Transit Village a few years ago. I visited the village while I was there and I have to say that it felt kind of manufactured. Even in those pictures there aren't many people walking around. It's kind of creepy. That can be said for all new developments, but I hope they gain more character over time.

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when this thread was first created, it seemed like one of those pipedream threads, ie, I don't think that anyone really expected commuter rail to get approved even though it looked promising. kind of like the Citymark project, which was on the MPB agenda a couple of days ago.

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I just caught up on this thread. Congratulations to the Orlando area as it is very very tough these days for a metro to get a transit system funded. To my knowledge this is only the 4th new rail system approved in the South in the last 5 years. (not counting historic trolleys)

New Systems since 2001:

  • Houston - LRT
  • Charlotte - LRT
  • Nashville - Starter CR
  • Orlando - CR

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Don't really pay much attention to this thread-so if this article is old news sorry......

http://jacksonville.com/tu-online/stories/...s_4213846.shtml

Thanks for this article. Although the deal is pretty solid, it sounds like there are still a few loose ends that need to be wrapped up.

I also live in LA, and I just learned of a rail proposal for Wilshire Blvd that just "makes sense". For those of you who aren't familiar with Wilshire blvd, i'll just describe it as I-4 if it was a 4-6 lane roadway. The proposal calls for wide body monorail trains that carry passengers AND CARS! I'm not sure how solid this proposal is, but if the right money and politicians were behind it, this could truly be the missing link between public and private transportation that works.

An excerpt from their website:

PARK and RIDE

The ultimate in public transportation is being able to take your car along on your monorail ride so that you can drive to other appointments once the monorail's reached its destination. Saves on time, gasoline and pollution.

Check out more info here!

http://www.wilshiremonorail.com/Park%20and%20Ride.html

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I just caught up on this thread. Congratulations to the Orlando area as it is very very tough these days for a metro to get a transit system funded. To my knowledge this is only the 4th new rail system approved in the South in the last 5 years. (not counting historic trolleys)

New Systems since 2001:

  • Houston - LRT
  • Charlotte - LRT
  • Nashville - Starter CR
  • Orlando - CR

From what I've heard, the feds haven't promised any money so far. The articles that I've read seem to imply it's going to happen, but hasn't quite yet...it is assumed the local represenative (Mica) can push it through.

Of course I've also read that the feds are pushing BRT and other solutions and aren't giving much money for transit anymore, so we'll see...

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From what I've heard, the feds haven't promised any money so far. The articles that I've read seem to imply it's going to happen, but hasn't quite yet...it is assumed the local represenative (Mica) can push it through.

Of course I've also read that the feds are pushing BRT and other solutions and aren't giving much money for transit anymore, so we'll see...

What is BRT?

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RAIL:

Someone please take a still of the google map of OIA from 417 to Orange avenue and post it here. Also, trace in red the rail line spur that connects to the CSX line near Taft-Vineland Road.

that rail spur goes to the airport property; due east from there. it services the power plant on Alafaya.

check it out, if Commuter Rail goes thru, they can use or add another line next to the easement already there and follow the path to OIA's property near the southern border. Then they can build a new extension up close to the terminal and WALA! a direct link to DT ORL from OIA!!!

then, they could always build a line that runs to the 528 median and take it out to Brevard. I doubt that rail line as it is now is all that busy-- I think it hauls coal to that power plant and that's it-- unless it uses a lot of coal, that is.

Edited by JRS1
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RAIL:

Someone please take a still of the google map of OIA from 417 to Orange avenue and post it here. Also, trace in red the rail line spur that connects to the CSX line near Taft-Vineland Road.

that rail spur goes to the airport property; due east from there. it services the power plant on Alafaya.

check it out, if Commuter Rail goes thru, they can use or add another line next to the easement already there and follow the path to OIA's property near the southern border. Then they can build a new extension up close to the terminal and WALA! a direct link to DT ORL from OIA!!!

then, they could always build a line that runs to the 528 median and take it out to Brevard. I doubt that rail line as it is now is all that busy-- I think it hauls coal to that power plant and that's it-- unless it uses a lot of coal, that is.

Hope it helps!

orl-oia_rail.jpg

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"Voila!" is right... but it's a matter of getting the tourists downtown or on the train to the attractions area. Hmm. It's not a bad observation. Plus, if they did build a hotel in Center Place it would be a great stop from the airport for business people heading downtown.

There is a lot of new development out this way as well.... I think that it could materialize in a few more years... definatley after 2013 because the main line from Downtown to Poinciana wont even be completed yet.

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I haven't seen any of the mass transit initiative plans talk mention a commuter rail link to the proposed OIA Intermodal Center, though it would make sense.. There are hundreds of pages of planning documents that show Light Rail and High Speed Rail making the connections instead. Here are a couple of images from a December 2005 Preliminary Engineering Report. The second image is just a zoomed-in version of the first so you can see the lines more clearly. For more info, click here.

oiaintermodal1on3.jpg

oiaintermodal2ej2.jpg

Edited by bic
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I spent an evening researching this a month ago. There is a study with four options that included a connection from the airport to the new commeter line at Sand Lake/Orange Ave. I have seen two different locations for this station though. One is north of Sand Lake and one is south. The line continues west to the tourist area. It would almost provide a direct connection to the airport if it weren't for the weird jog with connections in the Vista Centre area. This station would be key for downtown in my opinion. I still think the Central Connector is a necessity though. Driving in Managua style conditions up 436 to get downtown from the airport is crazy. This should not impress corporate types looking for a possible move here.

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I apologize, I have not made it much of a point to track this thread much but I have read everything in the past week or so concerning Jeb and his plan but still do have a question or 2

Based on the large sum of money being spent on this project, am I to assume the majority of this money to be spent will be done on building stations at the stops?

Will there be a need to build additional rail lines or is it to utilize existing lines only?

Based on the fact that CSX trains are being diverted, does anyone know where they're being diverted to?

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Now if someone could convince the I-Drive attractions to get on board (possibly offer a train service to I-drive from OIA that is the same idea as Disney's Magic service, but on a cool train as opposed to a bus) then I see this spur happening a lot sooner. European tourists would eat this up!

I haven't seen any of the mass transit initiative plans talk mention a commuter rail link to the proposed OIA Intermodal Center, though it would make sense.. There are hundreds of pages of planning documents that show Light Rail and High Speed Rail making the connections instead. Here are a couple of images from a December 2005 Preliminary Engineering Report. The second image is just a zoomed-in version of the first so you can see the lines more clearly. For more info, click here.

oiaintermodal1on3.jpg

oiaintermodal2ej2.jpg

BTW, not to go off topic, but is that the actual placement for the southern terminal? I was wondering how they were going to expand.

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