Jacksonville Skyway

Planning and development Plans to build an automated people mover in Downtown Jacksonville were first proposed in 1972 to deal with traffic and parking issues in the urban core. In 1976, the city incorporated the system into its mobility plan, hoping to attract interest from the Urban Mass Transit Administration's Downtown Peoplemover Program. The initial study was undertaken by the Florida Department of Transportation and Jacksonville's planning department, who took the Skyway project to the Jacksonville Transportation Authority (JTA) in 1977 for further development. Early proposals recommended a comprehensive system over long that would connect into adjacent neighborhoods, but the project's route and scope were greatly reduced over the years to meet budget constraints and UMTA's parameters. After several stops and starts, UMTA selected Jacksonville as one of seven cities to receive federal funding for the "Automated Skyway Express" in 1985. Two other related projects are Miami's Metromover and Detroit's People Mover. UMTA's approved plan called for the construction of a Phase I system to be built in three segments; the agency awarded JTA $23.5 million for the initial Phase I-A segment. At its opening, the Skyway had two vehicles, serving three stations – Central, Jefferson, and Terminal – on its east-west route along Bay Street in downtown Jacksonville. In March 2009, a large electrical fire broke out at Riverplace station, causing significant damage that closed the station until that October. Fares and ridership Ridership on the Skyway has been significantly below initial projections; while JTA originally anticipated 100,000 riders monthly, it averaged less than a third of that by 2009. The primary reasons are the decline of the downtown workforce and lack of connections to other neighborhoods and modes of transit. The system became a major point of contention in Jacksonville, with critics considering it a "ride to nowhere" and a waste of resources. In 2010, after underperforming for over twenty years, The Florida Times-Union called it "a Jacksonville joke for a generation". However, others argued that expansion of the system and downtown revitalization could make it a success. The Skyway's fare was originally 35¢; it was raised to 50¢ on October 1, 2007. In February 2012, the Skyway was temporarily made free to ride until a new payment system was installed. Ridership jumped 61%—to 481,000 annually. Ridership in 2013 averaged nearly 4,000 on weekdays (the system is closed on weekends except for special events) and JTA renewed the fare-free policy through the end of 2016. , it continues to be free to ride. In light of this momentum, JTA Director Nat Ford has announced the agency will apply for grants to expand the system with a new station in the fast-growing Brooklyn neighborhood. Recent history and current status As part of the construction of the agency's Jacksonville Regional Transportation Center (JRTC), the Convention Center station closed for a period of time to allow for the dismantling of original station elements (such as the overhead station canopy) and construct the new facility partially over the existing tracks. The existing platform was kept but with modifications made in order to tie everything into the new facility. While the new JRTC opened on May 4, 2020, the Skyway did not commence service to the facility until July of that year due to a temporary pause in Skyway service caused by COVID-19. On March 3, 2021, JTA announced that it had approved plans to convert a portion of its Skyway maintenance facility property off Leila St in the Brooklyn neighborhood to the planned Brooklyn station, with construction to begin in September 2021 and completion projected for some time in early 2022. == Operations ==

, the Skyway is free to ride, and typically only operates on weekdays from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m., with weekend service limited to special events. It is internally designated route 605 by the JTA. Service is scheduled to operate every 15 minutes on two routes: one between Rosa Parks and LaVilla stations, and one between Kings Avenue and Central. Route The route is entirely elevated, and includes eight stations: five in the Downtown Core and LaVilla areas, and three across the St. Johns River on the Southbank. It begins at Rosa Parks station in the north, and continues south along Hogan Street, turning to continue west at Bay Street. West of Central station, the line follows Bay Street to the Jacksonville Regional Transportation Center at LaVilla, while a branch line breaks south, crossing the St. Johns River via the Acosta Bridge.The Skyway's guideway is an elevated two-way monorail track, with beams wide and tall, fixed on an wide guideway with parapet walls. Each vehicle has two passenger compartments, and a capacity of 56 passengers. At the time of the system's reopening in 1997, its fleet included 10 vehicles, though , only two remain in operational condition. == Future ==

The JTA considers the Skyway to be obsolete and near the end of its useful life. It was further stated in 2016 would be cost-prohibitive to expand the current system. , the JTA is seeking public input on six potential plans for the future of the Skyway: Since 2017, the JTA has pursued research and testing of autonomous shuttles from multiple manufacturers. The system would have some similarity to personal rapid transit or group rapid transit except at ground level it will either run in mixed traffic or its lanes will have grade crossings with other traffic. In December 2017, JTA launched the U2C AV Test and Learn track which serves as an outdoor classroom to test and evaluate multiple vehicles and their associated technologies from the AV shuttle industry. As of 2020 vehicles from three different suppliers have been trialed. In 2019, the JTA indicated an interim phase would involve the modification of one of the monorail beams to allow use by autonomous vehicles while the Skyway continues to run on the other side. JTA revealed more detailed plans in 2020 that the U2C network will have 10 route miles – elevated track and ground level roadways – also covering surrounding areas such as San Marco, Springfield, and Brooklyn/Riverside (with the future possibility of connecting it with the proposed First Coast Commuter Rail network). In May 2021, the Jacksonville City Council voted to remove $132 million from the budget for the U2C, leaving $240 million for the project. == See also ==