Fed transit chief tells FL Senate to 'get act together'

[Migman]

Dan Tracy
Sentinel Staff Writer

3:16 PM EDT, October 5, 2009

U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood had a simple message Monday for the Florida Senate: Get behind the planned SunRail commuter train in Central Florida, or forget about the state winning $2.5billion in federal money for a high-speed train linking Orlando with Tampa.

"You've got to get your act together," LaHood told the Orlando Sentinel about the Senate, which twice has failed to approve SunRail.

"If they don't," he said moments later to a Florida official, "there's going to be a lot of disappointed people."

LaHood gave two speeches, plus a short interview, during a visit to Central Florida. The first was to a transportation convention at the J.W. Marriott hotel in south Orange County and the second to more than 100 elected and area leaders in downtown Orlando.

He left little doubt that the $8billion allocated by the Obama administration and Congress for high-speed rail would go to the communities that support all forms of transit, from buses to commuter trains to bicycle paths — not just roads.

And he wants the systems to connect, allowing alternatives to people who want to get out of their cars, reducing congestion and pollution.

"It [high-speed rail] is the next step," LaHood said, "the next level of transportation. ... It means you are forward thinking."

Miss out on trains capable of going at least 110 mph, he said, and "you are going to be stuck on the highway."

Forty states, including Florida, have filed 287 preliminary applications for high-speed rail projects. The winners won't be announced until the end of the year, and there will be plenty of losers. If all the projects were built, it would cost $103 billion.

"Everybody is not going to get their own stop, in simple terms," LaHood said.

Despite his strong words about SunRail, LaHood stopped short of saying Florida would get high-speed rail money if the Senate passes a liability agreement necessary for the 61.5-mile commuter-rail system that would stretch from Volusia to Osceola counties.

But that did not stop U.S. Reps. Corrine Brown, D-Jacksonville, and John Mica, R- Winter Park, from promising success. They shared the speaking dais with LaHood.

"We're going to have it, and it can't be a bridge to nowhere," Brown said, meaning that SunRail could provide passengers to the would-be high-speed train.

Also complicating the picture is the situation with the Tri-Rail commuter train in South Florida. It needs more state or local money or layoffs and service reductions are likely.

That could force the federal government to seek repayment of some of the $500 million it has invested in the system running along Interstate 95 in Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties.

"We are hearing noises that distress us greatly," said Peter Rogoff, who runs the Federal Transit Administration and traveled with LaHood.

SunRail supporters have long seen Tri-Rail as a key to winning Senate approval.

The Central Florida delegation twice has offered to vote for a $2 daily surcharge on rental cars in South Florida to cover Tri-Rail operating expenses. But South Florida senators generally have balked at the deal.

Legislators in both the Senate and House, where there are enough votes to pass SunRail, were in Tallahassee for committee meetings Monday.

Two of SunRail's leading proponents, Republican Sens. Lee Constantine of Altamonte Springs and Andy Gardiner of Orlando, have been pushing for a special session for a third run at the $1.2billion project but have not been able to muster enough support to schedule one.

They said LaHood's words should be helpful, but work remains to be done. The last SunRail vote went down 23-16.

"It's all there for the taking, if we just do it," Constantine said.

Added Gardiner: "We have to come up with something to show the federal government we're in the game."

Opponents have argued that SunRail is too expensive, could lead to the loss of union jobs and places too much financial risk on the state if there is an accident.

Winter Park Commissioner Beth Dillaha, who attended LaHood's Orlando meeting, said she cannot back SunRail because she fears it will attract so few passengers that local governments will bust their budgets making up the train's deficits.

"Washington might have a printing press up there," she said, "but we don't."

---
http://tinyurl.com/y87wqpd

[Ordie]

What the local counties is trying to convey is there's always money to build a railroad, but not enough money to operate a train to justify the projected ridership.

If I were the county, I would tell Disney et all.. that I will not approve any expansion plan unless they can demonstrate a net zero increase of auto traffic. That will force Disney and company in getting people on board the train.

If you don't have demand, create demand.

[Zoomie]

There's no reason to do the train at all. There'd be more demand for a commuter train in Orlando itself, as the Lynx Bus System sucks, and is always behind schedule.

[Migman]

There's already justifiable demand in central FL for both systems. I would know, I wrote a comprehensive paper in my fiscal policy class at UCF. There's a ton of people commuting via I-4 that would use both SunRail and the proposed HSR between Tampa and Orlando. That in and of itself is enough demand to get both built.

[Zoomie]

There's already justifiable demand in central FL for both systems. I would know, I wrote a comprehensive paper in my fiscal policy class at UCF. There's a ton of people commuting via I-4 that would use both SunRail and the proposed HSR between Tampa and Orlando. That in and of itself is enough demand to get both built.
Agreed, but they should start of small with the intracity commuter rail for Orlando, where they're pretty much guaranteed a success from day one. I think that going big right away for Orlando to Tampa would be self-defeating, as I know it wouldn't see any positive revenue, and I know all of the politicians are looking for that to happen.

[Ordie]

There's already justifiable demand in central FL for both systems. I would know, I wrote a comprehensive paper in my fiscal policy class at UCF. There's a ton of people commuting via I-4 that would use both SunRail and the proposed HSR between Tampa and Orlando. That in and of itself is enough demand to get both built.





Projects included in the 2030 Long Range Transportation Plan must be cost feasible based on currently available funding sources or new funding sources. Draft project lists in this informational packet (highway, transit, bicycle and pedestrian, management and operations, freight movement) are based on the future availability of new funding sources, including Local Option Rental Car Surcharge and Charter County Transportation Surtax. Both are voter-referendum based funding sources.

Source:http://www.metroplanorlando.com/site/upload/documents/2030LRTP_DraftPacket_Aug09.pdf

I can see the politics in this.

Orlando is a major tourist destination where retal car companies and charter bus companies depend on this trade. They are going to fight tooth and nail not to be taxed with the potential of losing business to any future rail project.

The reason why the ridership modeling shows low ridership is the lack of population density. This is why Orlando needs to restrict growth and build higher densities along the corridors. (including Disney & company)

Based the linked document, half of the report is dedicated on widening highways and a single page dedicated to transit and commuter rail. It's no wonder why La Hood is pissed off.

The key in developing commuter rail is to start a 'turnkey' corridor. Then the 'me toos' will demand for an extension and seek funding. That's how the San Diego Trolley devloped.

[Zoomie]

Source:http://www.metroplanorlando.com/site/upload/documents/2030LRTP_DraftPacket_Aug09.pdf

I can see the politics in this.

Orlando is a major tourist destination where retal car companies and charter bus companies depend on this trade. They are going to fight tooth and nail not to be taxed with the potential of losing business to any future rail project.
They won't lose any business, as the same thing has happened with Atlanta from what I recall with MARTA, and they still rent out cars.



The reason why the ridership modeling shows low ridership is the lack of population density. This is why Orlando needs to restrict growth and build higher densities along the corridors. (including Disney & company)


LMAO, obviously you've not been to Orlando. Orlando and the outskirts of it contain a population 2 million people, I'd say that there's high population density. Low ridership is due to poor service, high prices, and poorly planned routes.

[Ordie]

LMAO, obviously you've not been to Orlando. Orlando and the outskirts of it contain a population 2 million people, I'd say that there's high population density. Low ridership is due to poor service, high prices, and poorly planned routes.


What about the political priority and public pressure for public transit?

[Zoomie]

What about the political priority and public pressure for public transit?
Public pressure has dissapated because public transit is a black hole for money, tons of it gets dumped into it, and little to no improvement comes out of it.

[Migman]

The reason why the ridership modeling shows low ridership is the lack of population density. This is why Orlando needs to restrict growth and build higher densities along the corridors. (including Disney & company)


Orlando will never get a handle on its growth. SunRail and other mass transit projects will go a long way in curtailing the highly toxic sprawl that has become a facet of development in FL by having dense development occur around the train stations, aka Transit Oriented Development (TOD).

[bobunio]

While I agree that central florida needs some sort of commuter rail, the SunRail project in its current form is bad. The route proposed could not have possibly been worse. Riders would have been non-existent. If they want to do it right, while building support to expand it, they should plan the first leg to go from the airport, to I-Drive, Universal, Sea World, Disney and perhaps a spur to downtown (even though there is really no reason to go downtown). Couple that with a connection to the proposed Orlando-Tampa HSPR and you have a viable base to start with.

[Migman]

While I agree that central florida needs some sort of commuter rail, the SunRail project in its current form is bad. The route proposed could not have possibly been worse. Riders would have been non-existent. If they want to do it right, while building support to expand it, they should plan the first leg to go from the airport, to I-Drive, Universal, Sea World, Disney and perhaps a spur to downtown (even though there is really no reason to go downtown). Couple that with a connection to the proposed Orlando-Tampa HSP and you have a viable base to start with.

The first phase already involves a connection to both downtown (a whopping 4 stops if you count uptown) and the airport via an intermodal transit center off Sand Lake with connections to Lynx and the proposed Orlando-Tampa HSR. I'll argue that downtown is not at all dead, and there's plenty of things to do, unless you're a senior citizen restricted to watching reruns of I Love Lucy in your country club home. Further, a connection to I-Drive is virtually impossible because there are currently no rail tracks that go through that area. The whole point of commuter rail is to utilize existing rail corridors to cut down on time and money. I can tell you that the I-Drive corridor is included in phase two of the light rail that is currently being planned to go through UCF, Lake Nona, and MCO.

[bobunio]

That's the problem. The OIA connector is not even part of the initial planning or funding request--it should have been the main part of the initial plan, and not an afterthought. If you are a tourist coming to Orlando, do you want to get on a train directly at the airport, or lug your family and bags on and off a bus in 90 degree weather, just to get to where you can grab a train? Its stupid to build a light rail from Deland to Poinciana just because that's where the tracks are. You need to build it where people actually want to go, where it would make the most sense, and where the ridership will actually sustain and justify it.

In 1992, the Regional Rail Study estimated 7,300 riders in the year 2010. In 1994, the study predicted 4,350 riders. In 2003, during a Joint Work Session between MetroPlan Orlando and LYNX, the 2025 daily ridership for the north/south commuter rail system was 3,800. Later, during that same meeting, the ridership number for the year 2025 was 11,700. Clearly they have no credibility on this issue, and it appears the current planned ridership will not be able to sustain it-- and we will be forced to subsidize it. As far as downtown not being dead, take a look at retail vacancy rates. I have a study at work which shows even higher vacancy rates for condos/residential.

http://www.woolbright.net/uploads/research/Orlando%20Retail%20Market%20Overview%202009.pdf

I'm downtown at night twice a week and its definitely not like it used to be.

I'm all for SunRail, but they need a better plan.


The first phase already involves a connection to both downtown (a whopping 4 stops if you count uptown) and the airport via an intermodal transit center off Sand Lake with connections to Lynx and the proposed Orlando-Tampa HSR. I'll argue that downtown is not at all dead, and there's plenty of things to do, unless you're a senior citizen restricted to watching reruns of I Love Lucy in your country club home. Further, a connection to I-Drive is virtually impossible because there are currently no rail tracks that go through that area. The whole point of commuter rail is to utilize existing rail corridors to cut down on time and money. I can tell you that the I-Drive corridor is included in phase two of the light rail that is currently being planned to go through UCF, Lake Nona, and MCO.

[Migman]

The key in developing commuter rail is to start a 'turnkey' corridor. Then the 'me toos' will demand for an extension and seek funding. That's how the San Diego Trolley devloped.

I must have overlooked this gem, so I'll throw in my dos pesos now. While the Trolley was widely touted as "ahead of its time" back in the 80s when it was built, and continues to fuel transit oriented development throughout San Diego county, it is a far from ideal system that still needs major work done to it. Let's talk about major faults:

1. There's no connection to Balboa Park, and consequently the world famous zoo. This is mind-boggling considering how popular San Diego is with the tourists.

2. Linbergh Field doesn't have a connection to the Trolley either. Again, transit planning 101. If you're lucky enough to have LRT in the vicinity of your international airport, a connection should be your number 1 priority. The Red Line practically hugs the the eastern side of the airport, just build an elevated spur to the terminal, and you're set.

3. The Red Line should be expanded north to UCSD, and University City. I-5 between downtown and UC is absolutely disgusting. The lack of a connection with the Trolley and the absence of a Coaster stop is one of the greatest errors committed by transit planners. I'm glad they've heard the call over in SANDAG and are in fact planning a "Mid-Coast Extension" to hook up to UTC, and apparently Coaster will be doing extensive tunneling in order to build a stop by UCSD. But, this should have been done way back in the day. Way.

4. Headways for the Trolley can get ridiculous. I remember perfectly times when I've had to wait up to 30 minutes for a train to show. This is completely uncalled for, and while such headways might be ok for buses in the 'burbs, it is unacceptable for a city of San Diego's caliber.

I apologize in advance for the tone of this post (read: rant), but I grew up in San Diego and always felt that mass transit had so much more potential over there.

[Migman]

That's the problem. The OIA connector is not even part of the initial planning or funding request--it should have been the main part of the initial plan, and not an afterthought. If you are a tourist coming to Orlando, do you want to get on a train directly at the airport, or lug your family and bags on and off a bus in 90 degree weather, just to get to where you can grab a train? Its stupid to build a light rail from Deland to Poinciana just because that's where the tracks are. You need to build it where people actually want to go, where it would make the most sense, and where the ridership will actually sustain and justify it.

I agree that an MCO connection should be the first priority, but if you're dealing with commuter rail you have to deal with what you have. I must again reiterate that the first phase of SunRail WILL CONNECT WITH MCO. And if you really want to get to area hotels you can always transfer to Lynx. The current SunRail route is plenty in demand. It connects Orlando's suburbs with downtown, MCO, and major area employers like ORMC.

Also, the notion that SunRail goes from nowhere to nowhere is laughable at best. A commuter rail line doesn't need to go anywhere, it just needs to go THROUGH somewhere. In our case, SunRail would be going through downtown Orlando, connecting various metro Orlando communities in the process. Besides, if the high speed rail get approved and built, SunRail will be going somewhere... all the way to metro Tampa.



I'm downtown at night twice a week and its definitely not like it used to be.


"Not like it used to be" a few years back when the economy was thriving? Or, "Not like it used to be" in the 90s when Orlando was the ecstasy capital of the nation?

[Ordie]

Here's an idea worth considering.

In the end, frequency trumps mode everytime.




'Bus Rapid Transit' a Commuter Rail Alternative in Madison



Posted: October 7th, 2009 09:42 AM GMT-05:00
By Kristin Czubkowski
The Capital Times (Madison, Wisconsin)

WISCONSIN - When people in Dane County hear the words "regional transit authority," what usually comes to mind is the area's hot debate over installing a $250 million, 16-mile commuter rail line running from Middleton to the town of Burke near Sun Prairie.
Advocates of the city's Metro bus system, however, are seeking to expand that definition by bringing another option back to the table: bus rapid transit.
Bus rapid transit, or BRT, was discussed as an alternative in an ongoing regional study called Transport 2020, but concerns about the potential cost of the system and its ability to provide faster public transit in the long-term ultimately led to its shelving.
Because of the stiff competition for federal rail funding, however, bus advocates say bus rapid transit could be an effective complement or alternative to commuter rail. Dane County withdrew its funding application to the Federal Transit Administration in December because of the lack of a local funding source for commuter rail, but talk of transit was renewed this summer after Gov. Jim Doyle authorized a Madison-area regional transit authority in his 2010 budget. The authority could levy up to a half-percent sales tax, or an estimated $38 million a year in transit funds, but local officials have said that will not happen until there is a referendum on the tax.
The discussion of bus rapid transit, which included a seminar hosted last week by Madison Metro and the Florida-based National Bus Rapid Transit Institute, comes at an interesting point in transit talks. While initial discussion about the regional transit authority focused almost entirely around the controversial commuter rail line, there has been little talk about it recently from proponents while opponents, largely in more rural and suburban communities, dig in their heels.
While no one is saying so directly, the renewed talk about bus rapid transit could be an acknowledgement that commuter rail will be an uphill battle. Although local officials who support the transit authority stress that bus rapid transit could be used as a complement to other modes of transportation, it has been an alternative to rail when used in cities close to Madison in size.
One main characteristic of bus rapid transit is a system of dedicated bus lanes, which can range from diamond lanes shared between buses and cars making right turns, to more distinct bus-only lanes made by converting rail corridors or using concrete medians as barriers. Other major attributes include engineering traffic signals to allow buses to extend green lights and building fewer, but more substantial bus stops with passenger-friendly features like signs that track when buses will arrive.
While Transport 2020 officials calculated a $190 million cost of implementing bus rapid transit throughout the city, including moving railroad tracks near University Avenue to create dedicated lanes, representatives from the National Bus Rapid Transit Institute who came to Madison on Thursday, Oct. 1 as part of the workshop say a system that was flexible and unlike rail, could be put in place incrementally as funding becomes available.
In particular, transit managers from Eugene, Ore. and Kansas City, Mo., both of which have implemented bus rapid transit systems in the last 20 years, spoke about how their regions successfully implemented the systems, which can reduce travel time around 25 percent on a given route.
Chuck Kamp, general manager of Madison Metro, worked with the Madison Area Bus Advocates to bring the free workshop to the city. While he acknowledges the high profile of commuter rail in the community, Kamp says improved bus service has always been discussed as part of a regional transit authority as well as in Metro's long-range planning process.
"When we had the public hearings for that plan, one of the most repeated comments from our passengers had to do with improving the travel time from the east transfer point to the west," he says. "One way to do that is to look at express buses."
Ald. Satya Rhodes-Conway, who has been an advocate for bus transit on the City Council, says BRT has "a lot of potential in Madison," particularly where rail lines do not exist. All of the serious discussion about commuter rail so far has focused on using already-existing freight rail tracks.
"Again, it comes back to, where are the tracks?" she says. "It's extremely unlikely we would build tracks. Where you don't have them, you have to think about something else."
Another argument for Rhodes-Conway, who jokes she wants better transit service "yesterday" is the relative speed to install BRT. If federal funding for rail cannot be secured in the next year or two, she says BRT could take place in the same corridor to establish more transit ridership in the area.
"It really bears looking into as a complementary thing or an initial thing," she says.
But not everyone is so enthusiastic.
Dane County Board Chairman Scott McDonell, who has served on the Transport 2020 study team in recent years, says he sees a lot of potential for express buses or bus rapid transit in certain places in the county, but he adds that the density of the Isthmus would likely prevent creating dedicated lanes for buses. As the county's population grows -- and thus traffic congestion increases in the isthmus -- the effectiveness of express buses in the long-term could be limited.
Dave Merrit, who focuses on transportation issues in County Executive Kathleen Falk's office, says improving and expanding bus service in the region has always been a part of transit discussions, but adds that it will be up to the transit authority, when it is formed, to make priorities about where the funding goes.
"At the rate we're growing, at least a quarter-million people will be added to Dane County by 2050," he says. "Expanded bus service, rapid bus service, commuter trains -- those types of improved transportation are absolutely necessary. As the RTA gets set up, we would expect the RTA to make that decision of, how much money do we spend on bus and trains and other transportation options for residents here in Dane County?"
Madison Mayor Dave Cieslewicz, who spoke at the beginning of the seminar Thursday, added that it was an "exciting" time for transit thanks to the governor's authorization of a Madison-area regional transit authority. While improved bus service on a basic level will "certainly" be included in a regional transit authority, more elaborate systems like BRT will also be discussed, he says.
"The RTA will open up a whole host of possibilities for us, and the mayor certainly wants to take a look at all of those options as we go forward," mayoral spokeswoman Rachel Strauch-Nelson says.
Despite talk of installing the system as a complement to commuter rail, however, the two examples presented Thursday portrayed BRT as a cheaper, more flexible alternative to rail in areas where politicians felt they would not get federal rail funding or where voters rejected rail funds.
"Since Obama has come into the White House, the major rail service that's surfaced is high-speed rail, and Chicago to Madison is one of the corridors being looked at," says Alan Danaher of PB Americas, who is a consultant with the National Bus Rapid Transit Institute. "Certainly there's always been the fascination with trains and rail transit, but the realization with smaller metro areas such as Madison is there's just not enough money to go around to put rail in everywhere. There's now this BRT medium that can provide rail-like qualities at a fraction of the cost."
Mark Pangborn, who heads up the Lane Transit District in Eugene, said Thursday there was a strong desire for light rail in the area, which has a population just over 150,000, but added that bus rapid transit's relatively low cost won out in the end.
"The genius of BRT is its flexibility. You can pick and choose, add and subtract, for what's appropriate for your community," he says. "It makes it compared to some of the other options very flexible, which makes it politically perhaps more possible."
The district's first BRT line, a $25-million, 4-mile stretch between downtown Eugene and downtown Springfield, opened in 2007 with 75-percent federal funding. A second, eight-mile line is currently under construction at a cost of $41 million (with $38 million from federal and state funding) and is expected to open in winter 2010.
Similarly, Mark Huffer of the Kansas City Area Transportation Authority said Thursday that its first BRT line, which opened in 2005 after just over three years of planning, came about after a 30-year effort to bring light rail to the city was rejected by about 75 percent of local voters in 2001.
"We knew that we wanted to build it quickly and operate it. We had no money for it, but we wanted to do something quickly and we had to build or political and business support," he says.
Kansas City was the first city to receive a Very Small Smarts grant for the Federal Transportation Administration, which paid for 80 percent of the city's $20.9 million BRT line through its downtown cultural district. The city also recently secured similar federal funding for a second, 13-mile BRT line with more green elements, like hybrid buses and solar bus station lighting at a cost of $30.7 million.
Bus ridership on the first BRT line has seen a significant jump -- at least 50 percent, and up to 100 percent on certain days -- Huffer says. He adds that the public image of the city's BRT line is very positive, owing in large part to the installation of electronic signs that start tracking when a bus is 15 minutes away. Taking away the guess-work of bus ridership and giving riders the opportunity to step away from a bus stop and grab a cup of coffee if need be has been a major plus to the image of bus travel, he says.
Susan De Vos of Madison Area Bus Advocates, which helped bring the National Bus Rapid Transit Institute to Madison this week, said she is not opposed to commuter rail, but that the high capital costs of a rail system generally require more population than Madison has to make the operational savings worth it. If a train is pulling one car full of people, it makes more sense to save money and use a bus, she says.
"They've lumped all these bus people together as the Great Train Robbery people. We're not against trains, she says. "The major limit of buses is capacity. When you build capacity to a certain extent, trains make sense. I think, and I've heard a lot of people say, that we're not big enough for rail. It should not be an issue of the mode -- it should be an issue of where" transit should go.
Transport 2020 member **** Wagner, who spoke at the beginning of Thursday's seminar, says regardless of what type of transit is ultimately chosen, building a transportation network is a key element of the region moving forward.
"We are failing in our vision for the region without a transportation network," he says. "It's not our history for things being quickly accepted here ... Yet, I still think we're ahead of the curve. We are an intentional city. We're here because (James) Doty came with a plan. Because we do believe in that democratic plan, our process is very open. With all that, I say, yes we can."
Posted in Govt_and_politics on Tuesday, October 6, 2009 5:20 am Updated: 6:05 am
Source:http://www.masstransitmag.com/publication/article.jsp?siteSection=3&id=9745

[xav]

They need to get High Speed train lines from Atlanta to Miami and through Jacksonville, Daytona, Orlando Tampa, Melbourne/Palm Bay and West Palm/ Ft Lauderdale.

But somebody I know working for Brevard County told me there are too many swamps/wet lands in between each cities

Yet somehow they managed to build 528 and turnpike right through swamps

[Ordie]

They need to get High Speed train lines from Atlanta to Miami and through Jacksonville, Daytona, Orlando Tampa, Melbourne/Palm Bay and West Palm/ Ft Lauderdale.

But somebody I know working for Brevard County told me there are too many swamps/wet lands in between each cities

Yet somehow they managed to build 528 and turnpike right through swamps

Its much easier for a high speed train between Chattanooga and Atlanta using the existing right of way.

[Migman]

They need to get High Speed train lines from Atlanta to Miami and through Jacksonville, Daytona, Orlando Tampa, Melbourne/Palm Bay and West Palm/ Ft Lauderdale.

But somebody I know working for Brevard County told me there are too many swamps/wet lands in between each cities

Yet somehow they managed to build 528 and turnpike right through swamps

HRT throughout FL has always been a smart idea. I don't know if you were here in '02 when it was all voted down, but the years running up to the landmark anti-HRT vote a working group commissioned a bunch of studies (found here (http://www.floridahighspeedrail.org/)) that found statewide HRT to be a completely feasible and viable venture. Too bad all the resident rednecks didn't want their already ridiculously low taxes to go up by a couple dollars. I swear, I have never met such an ardently anti-mass transit crowd as the people living in FL.

And don't even get me started on all the toll roads crisscrossing Orlando. Apparently no one has a problem spending billions of tax dollars to build these things, on top of having to pay outlandish tolls. But heaven forbid when it comes to spending just $750 million (split between the state, counties, and municipalities of central FL) on a sustainable mode of transportation it's as if Osama bin Laden himself just rolled into town and threatened to blow up the rodeo or something equally redneck.

And the whole "too much swampland between cities" issue can be easily mitigated by simply elevating the tracks. There a plan in the works to run Maglev parallel to SR50 from Melbourne to Orlando. But now that the economy is tanking and the Space Shuttle is leaving town, I don't know how serious these plans are. Especially since it would have been mainly done to ease the commute for all the NASA employees that live in metro Orlando.