Top Ten Lame Reasons to Delay Mass Transit in Jax
TOP TEN LAME REASONS TO DELAY MASS TRANSIT IN JAX
10. Everything has been said, but not everyone has said it. A two-year delay will enable us to hear more from the experts who predict that Bus Rapid Transit is still the next big thing.
9. True, the 15-year 'Better Jacksonville Transit Plan' would add light rail, commuter rail and more efficient bus routes. If we wait two years, though, it might include hydrogen-powered, personal hovercrafts, and lots of Bus Rapid Transit. That'd be cool.
8. Local media need an infusion of advertising cash from the developer of St. Johns Town Center, Markets at the Town Center, and any additional lobbying from the residents of Ponte Vedra Beach, who want another two years to tell you that freeways are still the best transportation for the region. No matter what.
7. More debate will give us more information. There's so much more to discuss, it just seems premature to have a vibrant light-rail system after only 40 years of talking about it. And it will allow people to learn more about Bus Rapid Transit!
6. There is so much room for new highways, it just makes sense to build new lanes. I-95 through downtown Jacksonville seems like it is ripe for a little *more* widening, even though it's still in the process of a much-needed widening anyway. And still bigger and better flyovers connecting it to I-10. And Bayard, the International Golf Village, and all points south are dying for that new 9B/I-795 spur right? Right???
5. Mass transit is popular. So popular, you may not have a seat on the bus. If you can ever find one conveniently to catch and thus ride on. But standing all the way home improves your calf muscles and physical stamina. It also allows you to experience first-hand members of lower socio-economic classes that already ride on the buses. You know, JTA's 'target demographic.'
4. You can worry more about climate change. Need an extra two years to get your head around species collapse and widespread global drought? Waiting for mass transit will give you time to bone up on the latest news about how our indecision and bad habits are torching the planet. And it'll make you have a deeper desire for Bus Rapid Transit!
3. By waiting two years, we can do the same project but spend more than $1 billion more. With the price of everything going up — steel, concrete, gas — a delay will cost big bucks. But indecision The Better Jacksonville Transit Plan is worth it. Isn't it?
2. Congestion will only get worse. That leaves more time in the car to listen to talk-radio hosts jawbone about the conspiracy by the lefties to get everyone out of their cars and into mass transit; not on their own timetables, but on the government's.
And the No. 1 reason why we should wait for mass transit ...
1. Pumping the car with $70 of gasoline feels more special when there isn't an alternative. Let's face it — gas prices aren't coming down. Why ruin gas-station heartburn by giving people a way out of their cars and into light rail? Better still, why not continue to support the family legacy of everyone's favorite darling-boy mayor??
Written by Metro Jacksonville Dicussion Board Member Doctor K