Please clean up Lynx Central station platform

Can’t believe we’re writing about this again, but: How many bureaucrats does it take to clean the northbound SunRail platform at Lynx Central Station?

The answer: Too many.

During the past several months we’ve written about the horrific trash and sanitation problem at that station numerous times.

Most mornings riders getting off at that station must walk through a smelly trash pile on their way to work at the Orange County Courthouse and other destinations. (The accompanying photo was sent to us by a rider.)

In addition to sheer neglect, the problem is compounded because there is a major problem with homelessness in downtown. Many homeless people camp out at the station overnight and on the weekends.

Addressing homelessness is a complex social issue that we’re not going to be able to solve in this article but cleaning up the trash should be easy.

A couple of months ago a woman and her boyfriend voluntarily picked up all the trash one day. That was awfully nice of them to voluntarily do that, but it’s not their responsibility.

The responsibility belongs to SunRail and the City of Orlando. That’s why people pay train fares and taxes – to take care of public spaces.

We keep asking Orlando City Hall and SunRail about the problem, and we keep getting the runaround.

Last week we reached out to City Hall. Here is the answer we received from Mayor Buddy Dyer’s spokeswoman:

"As previously discussed, the city is aware of the issue however, the area to the east of the station is owned and maintained by the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT).

"Both parties have agreed that the investment in a more permanent solution would be justified as a result of the ongoing maintenance required and both agencies are exploring options to address the issue."

What does that mean?

Beats us…

We're on the list of communities with the worst traffic congestion

No one reading this would be surprised to know that metro Orlando is one of the worst commuter cities in the nation.

The ranking appeared in a recent issue of Business Insider.

The Orlando area ranked No. 18., with an average commute time of 29.4 minutes for motorists. Depending on where you live and where you’re headed to work, your commute could be much longer.

South Orange traffic, SunRail upper right

The only Florida community with a worse commute was Miami, ranked No. 17, with an average commute of 29.9 minutes.

Our friends in the Tampa Bay area have a much better commute because it was ranked No. 27, with an average commute of 27.9 minutes.

The Deltona/Daytona Beach area is also among the top 50. It’s ranked No. 50 with an average commute of 25.3 minutes. (This is why we strongly support extending SunRail service to DeLand)

It’s noteworthy that Florida has 7 metro areas listed among the top 50 –also including Jacksonville, Fort Myers, and Winter Haven.

California was the only state with more metro areas on the list – 9.

Why should you worry?

Because time is money. Think about it:

·        People stuck in their cars on the highways, or creeping along at 5 mph on clogged streets are wasting hundreds of dollars every year in fuel costs, wear and tear on their vehicles and more.

·        New businesses offering greater employment opportunities consider traffic when they’re deciding where to expand their operations.

Traffic congestion hurts quality of life. It makes people feel more stressed out. Time sitting in your car bumper to bumper is the time you could have been with your family or working out in the gym.

The traffic situation is not getting any better because alternate transportation options – Lynx and SunRail – are very weak.

For decades our leaders and local governments have failed to invest in these systems.

The investments make a big difference.

Charlotte, N.C. is like metro Orlando in many ways. But the commute is much better there. Charlotte is ranked No. 30, with an average daily commute of 27.3 minutes.

One factor that makes things better in Charlotte is that the community has a much better full-service transit service with an integrated system of light-rail trains and buses.

The light-rail runs 7-days a week and there are about 500 buses in its fleet. By comparison, SunRail runs bakers’ hours on weekdays only and Lynx only has 300 buses.

Osceola County voters recently shot down a proposal to increase sales taxes by one penny to improve transportation. Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings recently proposed one penny increase in the sales tax.

Will voters go for it?

Who knows?

Easing traffic and fixing our inadequate public transit services get more expensive the longer we wait.

Watch out for the SunRail train Sunday in downtown Orlando

Don’t get excited on Sunday (6/30) when you see a SunRail train in downtown Orlando.

Much to everyone’s disappointment SunRail still does not operate on weekends, but you will see a SunRail train this Sunday because the railroad is testing future quiet zone areas in downtown.

In quiet zones, trains don’t routinely sound their horns at crossings. Typically enhanced visual warnings and barriers are installed to keep people and vehicles out of the crossing as the train is approaching. Quiet zones help reduce noise complaints.

During the Sunday morning testing, the SunRail train will make multiple trips through the downtown corridor using both the northbound and southbound tracks between Highland Avenue and Columbia Street and will include crossings at Livingston Street, Robinson Street, Jefferson Street, Washington Street, Central Boulevard, Pine Street and Church Street.

To be clear, the test train will not be picking up passengers on Sunday. As always, be careful around railroad tracks. Don’t let traffic lights leave you stranded on the tracks. Don’t ignore the flashing railroad crossing lights or go around the railroad crossing arm, even if you think there’s no train approaching. Amtrak trains use the SunRail tracks 4 times every day, and freight trains use the tracks during off-peak hours, early in the morning and weekends.

Trump Day meant big ridership for SunRail

President Trump’s campaign event at the Amway Center on Tuesday (6/18) was HUGE for SunRail. SunRail more than doubled its daily ridership for a Tuesday.

Before you jump all over us for being partisan, keep in mind that both people supporting Trump, as well as those opposed to him, used the train to avoid traffic jams and expensive parking in downtown Orlando.

To accommodate the crowds, SunRail added extra trains to carry people back to their home stations after the event.

Overall SunRail provided 14,026 rides on Tuesday (a couple of trains with 3 passenger-coaches carried more than 900 people).

The average ridership for a Tuesday in May 2019 was 6,078.

These totals are amazing when you consider that last year – before SunRail launched its Southern Expansion down to Poinciana – the train was providing about 3,300 rides daily.

See you on The Rail!

Please help SunRail, Mr. President

Dear President Trump,

We hope you enjoy your visit to Orlando today (6/18).

Public transit – particularly the SunRail train – made it easy for many of your supporters to attend your campaign event at the Amway Center in downtown Orlando.

Since SunRail was launched 5 years ago, the passenger rail system has inspired billions of dollars in development and expanded employment opportunities for many Central Florida residents.

SunRail is nowhere near its full potential for making Central Florida great.

We need your attention and support to:

·        Complete SunRail’s initial plan to expand SunRail service to DeLand – the Volusia County seat. That expansion provides an affordable and smart transportation option that will take more cars off Interstate 4. This also gives more Volusia County residents broader employment opportunities in Seminole, Orange, and Osceola counties. It would also link 4 colleges/universities – Stetson University, Rollins College, the University of Central Florida and Valencia College – not to mention Florida A& M University law school in downtown Orlando and Barry Law School in east Orange County.

·        Construct a SunRail train link to Orlando International Airport. That direct link to the airport is the key to expanding service hours on SunRail – which at this time are limited to weekday bankers’ hours

·        Buy more trains. Currently, SunRail only has enough rolling stock for 10 trains – a locomotive with two passenger coaches. With 7-day service and later hours, more trains and more crews will be needed to give our community the service that it deserves.

We would be grateful if you included SunRail in the infrastructure plans we’ve heard you mention.

Special SunRail service for Tuesday's Trump events

The Florida Department of Transportation is announcing additional evening SunRail service on Tuesday, June 18, 2019 as President Donald Trump holds an event at the Amway Center in downtown Orlando.

SunRail will operate its normal service schedule until 10:00 p.m. Beginning at 10:00 p.m., SunRail will operate three northbound and three southbound trains departing exclusively from Church Street Station.

After departing Church Street Station, trains will be drop off service to all stations only, meaning station stops will be limited only to passengers exiting the train at their final destinations.

Trains will not be picking up additional passengers along the way. The nighttime train schedule is as follows:

Northbound Church Street Station Platform (north of South Street):

·        10:15 p.m.

·        10:30 p.m.

·        10:45 p.m.

Station stops at: LYNX Central, AdventHealth, Winter Park, Maitland, Altamonte Springs, Longwood, Lake Mary, Sanford, DeBary

Southbound Church Street Station Platform (south of South Street):

·        10:00 p.m.

·        10:15 p.m.

·        10:45 p.m.

Station stops at: Orlando Health/Amtrak, Sand Lake Road, Meadow Woods, Tupperware, Kissimmee/Amtrak, Poinciana

SunRail anticipates higher than normal volume on all trains throughout the day. To ensure safety, SunRail reserves the right to limit onboard storage of bicycles and strollers during special events or times when trains are crowded. Additional staff will be on hand to provide assistance. Bus connections may not be available during the additional service times. Please check https://www.golynx.com/.

Please be careful around trains, railroad crossings, and while at station platforms. Be smart. Be safe. For more information about SunRail, including fares, schedule and station locations, please visit www.sunrail.com or download the new SunRail app.

This is the best and worst of times for local public transit

This is the best of times and the worst of times for public transit in Central Florida.

First the bad news. Earlier this week (5/21) a referendum to add a penny to the sales tax in Osceola County was resoundingly defeated by voters. In addition to road projects, a portion of that money was also supposed to be used to improve SunRail and Lynx bus service.

No one loves the idea of increased taxes. Granted sales tax increases cause a special burden on people struggling to make ends meet. Improved public transit – weekend SunRail and improved bus service – also expands opportunities for those same workers.

We also know that Osceolans love and make great use of public transit. You can see that every day for yourself every weekday mornings on northbound crowded trains headed out of Osceola, and at the downtown Kissimmee intermodal station (shown in the accompanying photo) where workers board buses. It was not too long ago that there was no Lynx bus service in Osceola County.

The voters have spoken and now the burden falls on Osceola elected officials to identify other sources of money needed to keep growing public transit for residents.

The good news, however, outweighs the bad.

Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings last week announced plans to pursue the one-cent sales tax increase in Orange County to improve public transit. That is an important move because the reason public transit is so weak is because there is no dedicated source of funding for it. Hopefully, Mayor Demings and his supporters will take the time to understand why the initiative failed in Osceola.

As a reminder, no public transit system in the world can pay for operations solely from the fare box. Typically, a transit system can pay about 30 percent of the costs from fares. Beyond that, they need government support.

Remember, public transit is a service. The police and fire are also very expensive services paid for by the government. Unlike police and fire, transit raises some of the money needed to pay for its operating costs. Keep in mind that all transportation – from the street outside your house to the airlines – receive government subsidies.

The most exciting news came this week when Virgin Trains (formerly Brightline) announced that it started construction on tracks between West Palm Beach and Orlando International Airport. This has been discussed for years and now it’s happening. We can’t wait.

The best is yet to come.

See you on The Rail!