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prahaboheme City

prahaboheme

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This is surprisingly, especially now that SunRail is exceeding daily ridership expectations.  Does this mean that the Deland extension will not move forward with the southern phase 2 route to Poinciana?  Could the OIA intermodal hub expansion have anything to do with a shift in local funds for transportation projects? 

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HankStrong
HankStrong

Agreed.  I hate that people make things for PEOPLE about politics.  There is no partisan divide on things that help all of us.  I don't care if you're rich and never ride a SunRail train.  The pe

Jernigan
Jernigan

Just heard Downtown Kissimmee to Downtown Orlando will be shorter than a 30 minute trip.    That’s fantastic!

Naqiy90
Naqiy90

https://www.transit.dot.gov/ntd/ntd-data The FTA released their monthly update of transit ridership for August, the first month the southern expansion was open. Sunrail ridership increased 70% fr

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FLClarkKent Hamlet

FLClarkKent

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I think Rep. Mica would be able to successfully push forward funding for the Debary to DeLand stretch of SunRail, as Volusia County leaders recently agreed to put up their portion of the funding for that phase. Also, there's interest in extending SunRail to Daytona Beach. I believe a study is in the works for that.

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FLClarkKent Hamlet

FLClarkKent

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I could see some positives to delaying te northern extension. The alignment isn't great - would be better if it spurred over to downtown

 

It would be much, much better. The DeLand Amtrak station is way on the western edge of town. While it might become a popular commuter stop (like the DeBary station), just imagine if there were a downtown DeLand SunRail station. It would provide SunRail with one more "destination" stop (like Winter Park and Church Street, which seem to be attracting non-commuters to SunRail).

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jrs2 Metropolis

jrs2

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^^

I totally agree.  That Deland station should be able to follow existing spurs into Deland's downtown somehow.  The Amtrak station is kindof in BFE.

 

^^

On Deland station in Phase II being excluded in Obama's budget:  If it was a pick 'em between Deland station and OIA, for funding, then that's a no brainer.  But OIA is supposed to be a "Phase III" link I thought.  Meanwhile for Phase II, SLR to Poinciana will bring huge ridership, except for the fact that the Poinciana station is not in Poinciana, its 4-5 miles or more north of the heart of that area- but that's where the rail line is, so...

 

^^

Sunrail to Daytona.  I just don't get it.  It would have to be a dedicated train going up and down US 92 I think or its own system.  And where would it end, the Speedway?  Because there is no easement at all from that point due east to Downtown Daytona and especially the beachside.

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prahaboheme City

prahaboheme

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^^

I totally agree.  That Deland station should be able to follow existing spurs into Deland's downtown somehow.  The Amtrak station is kindof in BFE.

 

^^

On Deland station in Phase II being excluded in Obama's budget:  If it was a pick 'em between Deland station and OIA, for funding, then that's a no brainer.  But OIA is supposed to be a "Phase III" link I thought.  Meanwhile for Phase II, SLR to Poinciana will bring huge ridership, except for the fact that the Poinciana station is not in Poinciana, its 4-5 miles or more north of the heart of that area- but that's where the rail line is, so...

 

^^

Sunrail to Daytona.  I just don't get it.  It would have to be a dedicated train going up and down US 92 I think or its own system.  And where would it end, the Speedway?  Because there is no easement at all from that point due east to Downtown Daytona and especially the beachside.

 

Poinciana will be a true park n ride station.  Kissimmee is positioning itself well at becoming a destination, with the recently relocated Lynx terminal adjacent to the Kissimmee train station in the downtown area.  Hopefully this will translate into increased pedestrian activity and small business investment there.

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Jernigan Town

Jernigan

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I love that there will be service for the Winter Park Arts Festival and the City game - but I hate that it is free.  Why not charge normal fares and have the sponsors pay the difference?   These are home run events for train ridership (unlike the BWW Bowl) and an opportunity for SunRail to shine.  Instead, it is likely that the system will be bogged down by freeloaders who are just looking to ride from end to end for free which could cause major delays, it will also sabotage the opportunity to provide meaningful weekend ridership data since the rides were free and without tickets, all numbers will be estimates.  Lastly, these aren't truly private sponsors.  Orlando Venues = City dollars; Winter Park CRA = Winter Park dollars.  

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aent Burg

aent

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I love that there will be service for the Winter Park Arts Festival and the City game - but I hate that it is free.  Why not charge normal fares and have the sponsors pay the difference?   These are home run events for train ridership (unlike the BWW Bowl) and an opportunity for SunRail to shine.  Instead, it is likely that the system will be bogged down by freeloaders who are just looking to ride from end to end for free which could cause major delays, it will also sabotage the opportunity to provide meaningful weekend ridership data since the rides were free and without tickets, all numbers will be estimates.  Lastly, these aren't truly private sponsors.  Orlando Venues = City dollars; Winter Park CRA = Winter Park dollars.  

its not clear service will be free for the orlando venues events... schedule/price TBA

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cwetteland Burg

cwetteland

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Good marketing I think. Putting the train on sale for people to try with the new apps and smoother operations than the initial try-us-out promotion. Especially with station upgrades and a mindful public thinking about I-4 delay

That may well be the effect, but it's not marketing, and the credit doesn't go to SunRail. This is all being funded by the City of Winter Park, the Winter Park Art Festival, the Winter Park Development agency and FL Hospital. It's not a SunRail promotion. I find it great but a bit ironic that Winter Park, which helped kill light rail with their fears that it'd bring in rif-raf, is now funding SunRail specifically to bring in folks to the Art Festival.

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HankStrong Town

HankStrong

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That may well be the effect, but it's not marketing, and the credit doesn't go to SunRail. This is all being funded by the City of Winter Park, the Winter Park Art Festival, the Winter Park Development agency and FL Hospital. It's not a SunRail promotion. I find it great but a bit ironic that Winter Park, which helped kill light rail with their fears that it'd bring in rif-raf, is now funding SunRail specifically to bring in folks to the Art Festival.

 

Which is about as close to an "Oops, we were so, so wrong" as you're going to get.

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FLClarkKent Hamlet

FLClarkKent

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Which is about as close to an "Oops, we were so, so wrong" as you're going to get.

 

There is indeed a touch of irony here. There were quite a few folks in Winter Park who did not want SunRail to even stop at the WP train station. They really have been singing a different tune these days.

 

And I really believe we'll be seeing weekend service sooner rather than later because SunRail has been such a boon for business in Winter Park and downtown. While designed as a commuter rail, the prime locations of the Winter Park and downtown stations (Church Street especially) have made SunRail a viable option for leisure travelers. I'd wager there are a significant number of leisure travelers who would take advantage of SunRail on the weekends, enough to boost overall ridership numbers.

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Pete C Whistle-Stop

Pete C

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Oh man...the Sunday SunRail service is going to be a disaster. Three major events downtown all happening around the same time, and only TWO trains scheduled for each northbound and southbound for the evening after those events! 90 minutes apart mind you. What the heck are they thinking? There will be thousands of people at Church St station trying to get home on those first trains. I used to take Marta to games in Atlanta, and those trains would run every 20 minutes or so and would be completely packed to the gills for big games with mobs of people waiting to get on them.

 

The max SunRail train is 3 passenger cars with a capacity of "more than 150 people" each (from the SunRail site). So, "more than 450" people officially. So, between the two first trains after those events they can only handle about 1,000 or so people. With 60,000 people going to the Orlando City game, at least 12,000 for the Magic, and then another few thousand for the ballet, I think there just might be more than 1,000 taking the free train.

 

Of course, people will pack in like sardines, ruining everyone's experience. Then you will have the rest stranded on the platform for 90 minutes until the next train comes. I think Uber is going to get a lot of business on Sunday.

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Jernigan Town

Jernigan

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My guess is that the price tag reflects staffing one train - so it runs back and forth all day. Only logical reason I can see for running it 5 hours before the game but not having more frequent service around game time.

Not excusing it - labor is a cost but what's the point if the whole thing is a negative experience.

Parking is free downtown on Sunday, I'm going to grab a spot near Lake Eola and walk or take the LYMMO

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Jernigan Town

Jernigan

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Interesting.  Took a look at the map: http://orlando-mp7static.mlsdigital.net/elfinderimages/Community/CitrusBowl_SpecialEventsMap_Soccer%20%286%29.pdf

 

The Grapefruit line isn't being extended to the Citrus Bowl after all.  Seems like a missed opportunity to get new people to try the LYMMO. 

 

Instead, it really serves no purpose in the connection from Sunrail to the Citrus Bowl Connector (a 1-2 block work). 

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