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An Idea for Orlando Mass Transit


Niam

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Longtime lurker here. I wanted to get your guys' thoughts on this: a transit system for Orlando based on water taxis or something like them. Orlando has a high water table and the region is dotted by lakes. You could join the lakes and other canals, maybe make them a bit deeper and I think it would be viable to use them for local transportation, similar to how Disney and Universal use water taxis on their respective property. I think if Orlando had something like this it could also be an icon for the region.

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Welcome to the forum!

 

I think there was at one point discussion about linking Lake Eola and Lake Ivanhoe via a water taxi canal with stops and destinations along the way, similar to the San Antonio Riverwalk.  I'm not sure if this was ever a serious discussion or a pipedream on the forum.  Either way, it is an interesting concept to ponder, albeit unrealistic at this point given that it would require major road closures through downtown in order to implement.

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Thanks for the welcome! 

 

Would the fact that it requires major road closures really make it unrealistic though? Major transit developments elsewhere generally come with the expectation that there will be some detours and temporary inconveniencing of local residents. It's absurd the number of lakes we have in the greater downtown area, not to mention canals and other low lying land. Maybe not an Eola and Ivanhoe connection to start, nor a San Antonio Riverwalk type area, but I think a good first connection could be Lake Eola and Park Lake up Broadway Ave or somewhere south of the 408

 

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It is really tough to join all the lakes around downtown since it is kind of "built-out" in between the lakes. But it is a great idea if they can somehow joined Lake Underhill, Lake Baldwin and Lake Ivanhoe and make a downtown loop.

 

I think downtonw need a street car tram/trolley more than anything...and I am not talking about the kind in I-drive.

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I think downtonw need a street car tram/trolley more than anything...and I am not talking about the kind in I-drive.

Other than the shape of the actual unit you ride in, how is this not fulfilled by Lymmo?

Street cars are cutesy, but I think busses are better for the air conditioning and rain protection needed in Central Florida.

The 2nd Lymmo line is up and the 3rd is coming. I'm sure a 4th or more will come if there is a proven need.

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Other than the shape of the actual unit you ride in, how is this not fulfilled by Lymmo?

Street cars are cutesy, but I think busses are better for the air conditioning and rain protection needed in Central Florida.

The 2nd Lymmo line is up and the 3rd is coming. I'm sure a 4th or more will come if there is a proven need.

 

One reason street cars and light rail have higher ridership is because you notice them and you can tell where the route is. I've suggested for a while that they should paint a big thick line on the street where Lymmo runs with an arrow that points to the stops that says "FREE DOWNTOWN LYMMO." The lines could now be the color of the route.

 

 

Not as good as a street car or light rail but not as expensive either.

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sunshine, on 02 May 2014 - 10:28 AM, said:snapback.png

I think downtonw need a street car tram/trolley more than anything...and I am not talking about the kind in I-drive.

Other than the shape of the actual unit you ride in, how is this not fulfilled by Lymmo?

Street cars are cutesy, but I think busses are better for the air conditioning and rain protection needed in Central Florida.

The 2nd Lymmo line is up and the 3rd is coming. I'm sure a 4th or more will come if there is a proven need.

 

The Lymmo line was originally planned as a streetcar system with overhead lines & refurbished old trolley cars.

 

Turned out the cost was prohibitive so they went with buses instead.

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sunshine, on 02 May 2014 - 10:28 AM, said:snapback.png

 

The Lymmo line was originally planned as a streetcar system with overhead lines & refurbished old trolley cars.

 

Turned out the cost was prohibitive so they went with buses instead.

 

They even scaled down the second Lymmo line compared to the 1st one.  The first one did a lot more to separate traffic from the bus lines.

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They even scaled down the second Lymmo line compared to the 1st one.  The first one did a lot more to separate traffic from the bus lines.

 

In order to receive federal (New Starts) funding for BRT, there must be separated grade for BRT up to 40% of the line from street traffic, which is pretty much exactly what the Lymmo expansion covers.  Realistically, BRT separated grade works effectively at longer distances.  I've always thought that a separate BRT line on OBT from Colonial to CFP would be successful.

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^^

I had the canals idea and propounded it to a buddy working on DTO.  costs too much to carve out canals.  would be great though.   Ivanhoe, Eola, Lucerne, etc...

 

^^

Lymmo should begin charging fares so they get rid of homeless ridership.  Sunrail was partially clogged on Thursday b/c of homeless people joyriding and not debarking.  I prefer a railed system like Tampa's but if they cleaned up Lymmo I would take it more often.  Now its merely a way for homeless to spend the time instead of going to workforce.

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Are you seriously suggesting that you should remove a service for all to eliminate the homeless?

I've been on the Lymmo countless times and, while I always see homeless folks, they have never made it impossible to use.

There were a lot of non-homeless people joy riding the SunRail as well.

I'm firmly oppressed to segregation on public transportation. You don't need to prove your status in the community to use public services.

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Trying to prevent homeless people from using nice things is just another way of dodging the tough reality of the homeless problem -- we have a real lack of supporting systems for getting these people out of their life ditch. You can't pull yourself out of that hole if you don't have a supporting family, access to healthcare, vocational training, etc. In addition to that, many of these people have mental health issues and our nation as a whole is not doing enough to address these problems.

 

"Going to the workforce" is not just something you wake up and do one day when you have a multitude of mental and physical health problems including but not limited to substance abuse. Some of these people may be victims of themselves, but it affects all of us, and brushing the problem under the rug doesn't really help.

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Trying to prevent homeless people from using nice things is just another way of dodging the tough reality of the homeless problem -- we have a real lack of supporting systems for getting these people out of their life ditch. You can't pull yourself out of that hole if you don't have a supporting family, access to healthcare, vocational training, etc. In addition to that, many of these people have mental health issues and our nation as a whole is not doing enough to address these problems.

 

"Going to the workforce" is not just something you wake up and do one day when you have a multitude of mental and physical health problems including but not limited to substance abuse. Some of these people may be victims of themselves, but it affects all of us, and brushing the problem under the rug doesn't really help.

 

I chuckle when I think of that quote from Todd Wilemon.  "If you're poor, stop being poor."  Who knew it was that simple? 

 

 

Back on the subject of public transit, despite the homeless hate, the more public transportation options we in Orlando have, the better the town is overall.  SunRail is a simple first step that doesn't solve most of the issues.  HOWEVER, without a first step you can't have a second, third, etc.  Free options like Lymmo to move people around downtown are great.  SunRail from (soon) DeLand to Poinciana is great.  The bus system is ok, but could use some tweaking.  We need more options and people SEEM to be starting to realize that.

 

People like the OP (even if these ideas aren't viable) need to keep tossing out ideas and keep looking for answers.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Orange County comissioners is trying to extend half cents tax for 5 years for road works. That's about 900 millions in 5 years. If they can do that to fix road...which I think is double tax. They can raise 1 cents tax for mass transit or even museums. A streetcar system that run maybe from balwin park to college park and then Sodo..or dare i said a light rail from downtown to millenia to universal to disney

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Orange County comissioners is trying to extend half cents tax for 5 years for road works. That's about 900 millions in 5 years. If they can do that to fix road...which I think is double tax. They can raise 1 cents tax for mass transit or even museums. A streetcar system that run maybe from balwin park to college park and then Sodo..or dare i said a light rail from downtown to millenia to universal to disney

 

To UCF...

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  • 4 weeks later...

I chuckle when I think of that quote from Todd Wilemon.  "If you're poor, stop being poor."  Who knew it was that simple? 

 

 

Back on the subject of public transit, despite the homeless hate, the more public transportation options we in Orlando have, the better the town is overall.  SunRail is a simple first step that doesn't solve most of the issues.  HOWEVER, without a first step you can't have a second, third, etc.  Free options like Lymmo to move people around downtown are great.  SunRail from (soon) DeLand to Poinciana is great.  The bus system is ok, but could use some tweaking.  We need more options and people SEEM to be starting to realize that.

 

People like the OP (even if these ideas aren't viable) need to keep tossing out ideas and keep looking for answers.

There's no "homeless hate" going on here.  This is a development forum, isn't it?  Well, homeless are bad for development and for business.  It's a fact.  Go out and talk to people who have money burning holes in their collective wallets looking for a venue to spend it at.  They're the ones not coming back to downtown.  Direct your comments to them, not me, I actually work and play in downtown.

 

And what's bad for business is bad for downtown.  period.

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