SFECC

"Month-Long Workshops, Held Throughout South Florida" by v. johns, 10/28/09 at 9:58 PM

The last time I attended an SFECC Study Group public workshop was in January of this year. The very first one was held in Jupiter, with the last one ending in Miami. It was the other way around this time. I’m glad I attended it. I didn’t realize that tonight’s meeting was the last one until I looked at the paper I printed off the internet. I’m not gonna go into detail about the meeting. There was just too much information to remember and absorb. But all my questions were certainly answered. Perhaps sometime in the future I can look at the plans being proposed, but for this post I’ll just look at some things that stuck out in my mind during the course of the two hours I was there…

VIDEO INTRODUCTION: The minute I walked into the Jupiter Community Center, I signed in a the table. I was directed to watch the introductory video. After the short video describing the project and the processes, half of those there were sent to view presentation boards, while others were sent to the noise level demonstration room. I went there first.

NOISE-LEVELS PRESENTATION: The noise levels of all the train technologies were compared at various speeds and decibels in relation to distance, walls and existing commercial freight trains running through the area. There was a large monitor in the middle with two high quality speakers on the outside simulating actual noise levels. The freight train sounded just like the ones that roll near where I live late at night. The presenter explained the relationships between perception and impact (noise and vibration) and assure us that with the technologies being proposed by SFECC a minimal number of people in the entire Tri-County Area would be significantly affected by noise. By law, conductors must blow their horns (2 long and 2 short) a quarter mile before crossings.

ALTERNATIVES: Out in the lobby hall, presentation boards were sectioned off into descriptive boards wrapping around four walls. The first boards I viewed describe the alternatives for transit technologies and routes. I can’t remember all the details, but in talking to Study Group representatives, I narrowed my top two choices down to options (C) which would combine Local Commuter Train With Regional Rail and option (D) an Integrated Network that would provide East-West service between FEC lines and Tri-Rail. Another option considered involved extending Miami’s Metrorail up to the Broward-Dade Line to connect to a different system between there and Jupiter. Metrorail, while carrying the most number of people of all the technologies proposed, is the most expensive option. There was another option called Urban Mobility that would integrate Bus Rapid Transit with Regional Rail. Another option called for BRT buses running along FEC tracks on concrete while stopping at major intersections. I also learned that the Northeast Corridor between New York and D.C. is only two miles longer than the FEC Corridor at 87 miles long and 85 miles long, respectively. I also learned that trains over time would be cheaper to maintain and that at crossings, trains have the right of way over cars, pedestrians and bikers. Still, the cheapest and option to build would be the TSM (Transportation Systems Management) that I was told was SFECC’s term for existing bus lines, such as Palm Tran, with improvements made to service the FEC Corridor more in depth. One couple there concerned about noise preferred the buses and was invited by the representative to fill out the questionnaire. I asked how the FEC system would work with the new Jacksonville-Miami Amtrak service being proposed and the representative said it would fit “perfectly” with that system. I was told by another presenter that a combination of any of the systems could be constructed.

STATIONS: I was shown boards listing the different types of stations such as: Event, Airport/Seaport, Town Center, Employment Center, City Center, Local Park-and-Ride. I was also shown a map closest to where I live and how a station would fit in along Dixie Highway in Jupiter. I live IN Indiantown up here in Martin, not ON Indiantown Road in Jupiter, but I do travel that area quite a bit and would be more than willing to use a station there if there was sufficient parking. I told the representative that the Local and Regional Park-and-Ride was my leas favorite type of station because of the idea that people should dump the cars and because, as I learned at the Palm Tran Service Board meeting in August, security and cars left behind only to be broken into could pose problems. An area considered near PGA for a station was of concern to one couple with regards to its relation to narrow Frederick Small Road. The presenter assured them that building a station at that point without a parking garage that would attract cars, would ease concerns there. He said that their main concern in the northern portion of Palm Beach County was the rail line’s connection to Scripps, now in Jupiter, but soon to be in their new headquarters across the road on the Briger property in Palm Beach Gardens.

CROSSINGS: This section illustrated the types of grade or “highway-transitway” crossings to be used at intersections where traffic may be of concern. The Road-Over-Rail option would move automobiles over crossings via elevated roadways. The second option, Rail-Over-Road would elevate the train tracks over a simple two-track bridge to allow automobile traffic underneath to continue to flow. While I initially favored the first option, I realized that the interruptions to traffic flow in constructing these overpasses that elevate ALL lanes in an intersection to a central point over FEC tracks, would be of concern to an area that’s already burned out with road construction. My only other observation was appearance. But now that I think about it, a low-key Rail-Over-Bridge option would look a lot better in a narrow and congested area like the FEC Corridor than would a big and bulky Road-Over-Rail overpass. Still, for some of the smaller communities that don’t wan the urban look and feel, either option may be of concern to these communities.

ENVIRONMENTAL: I didn’t spend much time here. I learned most of what I need to know, here, in an previous workshop held earlier this year. I walked up on the representative discussing items with another citizen. I learned that there were concerns in some of the minority communities about their areas having trains running by and making noise while not even being serviced with stations in their areas. The representative also said that he was happy to receive the input because it gave the communities direct say in what they wanted in their communities that would be taken into account in addition to what is being proposed. Before concluding my viewing, I told the presenter that I had no real concerns about environmental issues other than people littering up the stations.

QUESTIONNAIRE: I was given another questionnaire and asked to fill it out at the table in the center of the room. I filled out both questionnaires, mistakes and all, and handed them in to the presented who thanked myself and another lady, who was also there a long time, for staying and taking the time to give them our input. I thanked them for their work in helping to provide our region with more choices in mobility. Upon leaving I was thanked by the very same good people who welcomed me at the door.

SUMMARY: Upon leaving the meeting, I’ve concluded that the best option would be to combine the integrated network option linking Tri-rail and FEC lines with another option that combines express long-distance train service on one set of tracks with short-distance service on the other set of tracks. Buses are a waste of time in moving hordes of people at one time. The type of stations to be built are the prerogative of the communities in which they are built. I live north of these communities. No comment. Except that… I would prefer that Tri-Rail handle anything north of Scripps. This would protect its plans for northward extension beyond Jupiter and into the Treasure Coast. Elevated train tracks over intersections would be preferable to bulky roadway overpasses over train tracks. With the possibility of green technologies like solar panels and runoff water reused to water grass areas and with the clean technologies being proposed for use, the only real threat to the environment would be littering.

CONCLUSION: In conclusion, while I was, believe it or not, initially skeptical of how such a project would work in such a congested area as the FEC Corridor, certainly, I’m a believer now. These folks with the SFECC Study Group have really done a tremendous job in fleshing out what a variety of systems would look like. Their work is BEYOND professional and exemplary of the way that input should be gathered and implemented locally, throughout South Florida. I look forward to the charette scheduled to be held in January of next year…