SunRail

[bic]

SunRail Tour Starts Tuesday

[prahaboheme]

SunRail made it to the front page of the NY Times today:

A Congressman’s Pet Project; a Railroad’s Boon

[Pete C]

SunRail made it to the front page of the NY Times today:

A Congressman’s Pet Project; a Railroad’s Boon

Doesn't paint a very good picture of SunRail, that's for sure.

[alex]

I can't believe the highest rated comment was 100% about HSR. That, and most of the other comments, show that NYTimes commenters are just as dumb as Sentinel commenters.

I really expect more from such an important national newspaper. I feel like a lot of facts (job creation, development around stations, Florida Hospital, Creative Village, start of a larger network, improved freight movement) were pushed aside to make room for "facts" like cost overruns (has there been any evidence that this could happen?).

[alex]

Governor's SunRail decision could come this week

Same old information we've been hearing. However, I was pleased to see that in the "Should Gov. Rick Scott Give SunRail the Go-ahead?" poll, over 75% of people said Yes.

Also, Scott's dismal ratings made it onto the Colbert Report (starting at 1:50, via blutown).

Won't take my link, so here it is: www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/390704/june-27-2011/tip-wag---scented-razors---rick-scott-s-approval-rating

Edited June 30, 2011 by alex

[Ocityst]

FDOT Boss to Make SunRail Announcement at 11 a.m. Friday

[XpressEnterprise]

Sources say: Sunrail Back on Track

[prahaboheme]

Fantastic news for a Friday and holiday weekend!

[bulldogger]

Woohoo!!! I wanna see some dirt moving! I can't stop talking about this at work. I bring this up when other people want to talk about Casey Anthony.

[gibby]

I still can't find a time table for this. For example, I would like to know exactly how long it will take to go from Winter Park to Sand Lake Road. Also, what are some opinions on:

1. Orange Blossom Express

2. Connection to airport via OUC spur

3. Disney private money connection to Poinciana Station

[XpressEnterprise]

I still can't find a time table for this. For example, I would like to know exactly how long it will take to go from Winter Park to Sand Lake Road. Also, what are some opinions on:

1. Orange Blossom Express

2. Connection to airport via OUC spur

3. Disney private money connection to Poinciana Station

I remember seeing a time table at one point as well. I searched, but was unable to find it. I will keep looking .

1.) The orange blossom express can work, depending on the transit times. I can see people commuting all the way from Lake County to our CBD. Let's hope the sunrail will act as a boon to grow our downtown even further and hopefully see a small manhattanization.

2. & 3.) As far as the other two I cannot comment because I know to little about.

Do you think that the train will boost Sanford International Airport being that it is not as crowded at MCO?

Edited July 1, 2011 by XpressEnterprise

[prahaboheme]

I would ride the OBX for its namesake alone.

Poinciana to Disney: I don't see it. You do raise a valid point, though. Why isn't Disney providing express shuttle bus service for its cast members from Poinciana, Four Corners, etc?

[gibby]

I would ride the OBX for its namesake alone.

Poinciana to Disney: I don't see it. You do raise a valid point, though. Why isn't Disney providing express shuttle bus service for its cast members from Poinciana, Four Corners, etc?

World Drive actually dead-ends pretty close to the Poinciana station (see link). There would be some wetland issues but it does not seem too crazy. A rail spine running up and down World Drive seems ideal to me.

[bic]

You know how I know SunRail is going to be successful?

Even our d*ckhead governor believes in it.

[tm68]

Lol bic. After a period of relative quietness for obvious and understandable reasons, things are starting to pick up and are get exciting. Almost feels like 2003 and the start of our last big boom again

[klstorey]

So this means lots of new construction announcements in the next few years. Any word on that long forgotten about Church St Hilton? I think with Amway, the Performing Arts Center, and now SunRail coming makes this site all the better for a nice hotel.

Hopefully the Gertrude's Walk (by far the worst name of any project that I have ever heard!!) will be spurred on by the SunRail news. It would be nice for this to be finished around the same time.

Also let's not forget the Orange Blossom Express that Mica mentioned could be an easy second rail that could come online soon after SunRail.

Mica predicted government approvals will have the Orange Blossom Express running a close second to SunRail and possibly connect to it. He said the big sell to the public is that only a fraction of taxpayer money would be needed -- about $20 million for minor track improvements and a ridership study compared with the $1.2 billion SunRail project."That’s what I like about this. There’s not a lot of taxpayer money, but what we have is a cost-effective alternative," Mica said. "An existing private rail line to not only move passengers but also more freight more safely and economically."The Florida Department of Transportation has already agreed to pay three-quarters of the cost, so communities would split roughly $5 million in costs. Apopka will be deciding its share as soon as this month.

Read more: http://www.wesh.com/news/28160897/detail.html#ixzz1QuYXSft9

With SunRail and OBX Central Florida could easily have a 'almost' entire region connected by end of the decade. Let's hope that the OCCC/OIA link gets some funding soon, along with the briefly mentioned Avalon Park link. The Lake Nona/OIA system could easily link to Avalon and all the way up to UCF. Why can't the Lake Nona/OIA also be the OCCC system? I expect the Lake Nona system to happen sooner than later. Once Florida Hospital and ORMC starts getting all the attention from SunRail all those Lake Nona medical groups will want to be on the next big thing and the Lake Nona developers will drum up support and $ for this rail connection link.

Between all this possible rail, BRT expansion (is the BRT lanes still planned for Altamonte? and when will the Parramore expansion of Lymmo start, will it be done before SunRail gets its first riders?), the community spaces Orlando is in the midst of building (DPAC, redo of Church St, the improved Lake Eola, possible Lake Ivanhoe improvements, and the Creative Village) and the new developments in town that this will create by then end of this decade Orlando will be completely different. Welcome to the 21st Century Orlando.

[Ocityst]

I can live with this system.

[XpressEnterprise]

I can live with this system.

Great find Ocityst!!

Being a UCF student myself, living in windermere it is a heck of a drive to go to and from UCF. A train would definitely help students get there more efficiently.

[mrh3]

It's definitely a win for Central Florida progressives. Hopefully, this will open the eyes to so many that view commuter rail as a boondoggle. I for one am convinced that ridership estimates are conservative and will help to alleviate congestion on I-4 especially considering that growth will continue for at least the next 50 years. I hope that this will begin to create a dense urban spine that will attract the type of buildings and architecture that will help Orlando become Florida's preeminent city. Now, if we can just get that Federal Reserve Bank branch...

[DeepEyez]

I'm so excited that now, there will be critical mass development along I-4 in Downtown Orlando. This is AWESOME!!!!!

[Jernigan]

I really think ridership will be a slam dunk.

1) Commuters are already doing it from Clermont and Orange City on LYNX Express Buses into downtown Orlando. These have higher fares than the normal bus but are desirable because they run on the highways (Turnpike and 408 for Clermont and I-4 for Orange City) so they don't stop every block and get people to work in a reasonable amount of time......

.....That said, they are still buses which means they get stuck in traffic like everyone else. They are also very under marketed. Say what you want about SunRail, but everyone knows it's coming.

2) Aside from that Orange City commuter bus, Sunrail will be the only connection from Volusia County into the tri-county area. Even those 2 hour gaps in service during off-peak hours will be a lifesaver for anyone wanting to go from somewhere near the line to Orlando International Airport. Right now they would have to leave at 7AM even if their flight was afternoon or evening. There is a private company, DOTS (Daytona-Orlando-Transit-Service) that finds it profitable to move people on this route, so that's a good sign.

3) In what will possibly be viewed by critics as a self-serving move for SunRail ridership, there are plans to do a lot of work on I-4. Increased delays will help ridership. Any combination of traffic and toll increases on 417 will also help ridership.

4) I know they have a skeleton schedule right now for service....but there's no way this thing won't service Magic games.

^^ All of these scenarios/thoughts aren't taking into account future buildout around SunRail stations. Obviously that's where the long term paradigm shift will occur with possible car-optional living

[prahaboheme]

Downtown Kissimmee Transportation Intermodal Center (conceptual):

Connections for SunRail, Amtrak, Greyhound, and Lynx

[alex]

Games? Only if you are close to the train station, AND they run special game trains. Even then a lot of people are going to shy away from public transportation for late night games. And if trains are not at the ttop of many people's minds, getting around Orlando is so easy by car they will automatically just jump in and start driving.

I think running special events trains will be a must. Just this past 4th of July weekend I think many would have taken it, not to mention the potential for Magic games, Florida Music Festival, the parades, future DPAC events, and - with a special bus - Citrus Bowl events. It'll be tough to schedule, but I would imagine something like two trains before and two after an event would be a good start.

The fact is, most people I talk to about downtown seem afraid of it. They don't like one-way streets, they don't feel safe parking in random neighborhoods, and they think the only place to park is in the $20 Amway Center garage. I honestly think the average family might even enjoy parking their car at one of the stations outside of town (for free) and taking the train in. A lot of families (i.e. not regular train users) do it in places like Chicago and even on the more recent light rail in Minneapolis. It takes away the stress of driving downtown (which, believe me, a lot of people have) and adds a bit of out-of-the-ordinary to an already special event.

[XpressEnterprise]

SunRail's approval spurs talk of Orange Blossom Express link to Lake, northwest Orange

[kdub1]

The big picture is that SunRail is the likely precursor to a statewide intercity rail program. Its correct utilization will be key due to the likelihood that someone other than Amtrak will be used to run the commuter service (due to Amtrak holding the project up for almost a year on liability grounds). Hence, this other operator could be asked by the state to run a more marketable statewide Florida passenger system.