A Look Back at the Future - Jacksonville’s Automated Skyway Express

[@BokehBard]

Awesome, something I didn't know about Jax.

[@kylebr]

Thank you so much for watching! It's definitely been something that has always kinda been there, but just out of reach.

[@scottgann761]

Great video! You provide a balanced approach to the history of the project with a lot of interesting details I wasn't previously aware of.
The only other point I would add is that suburban sprawl caused a huge decrease in the population of downtown, causing disinvestmentin the urban core. This fact was arguably one of the biggest reasons why ridership predictions were never met, since downtown residents and hotel guests traveling to local amenities would have been the largest demographics using the Skyway.

[@kylebr]

Thank you for your kind words! I tried to be unbiased and balanced, although it unavoidable in some respects. It was fun to dig deep and then present what I found. You bring up a great point and it would have been a great addition to the video. The surrounding neighborhoods grew and downtown suffered as a result.

[@IAFB]

This was awesome. I know Jacksonville has potential and this is great.

[@ClassyWhale]

Great documentary! Deserves more views

[@kylebr]

Thank you for your kind words!

[@bertintowncenter1]

I Always Thought the Skyway was Awesome ! When I was a kid , Florida and Disney World and Monorail were Synonymous . It is So Cool to have a working Monorail in Our City. It has stood the tests of time in Hurricanes and I am Happy to see it in the New JRTC building !! I gave up my car 15 years ago to ride a Bicycle as my commute was 2 miles to work. It would be so Amazing to see Skyway stations Across our City ! !! A Great Idea would be Skyways to All of the Town Centers ( Great for Tourists --Day off people--and Workers in the Town Centers)

[@spuwho]

The City of Jacksonville failed to support the Skyway due to a general lack of TOD. (Transit Oriented Development). The Skyway needs density to work properly. Witness Skyway volumes during special events downtown like the Gator Bowl, where the system was used at its maximum. The residential population of the Skyway service area fell to only 2000 by 2010. It is now on the upswing thanks to several high density developments built or in the works. It was the right idea in the 1970's when auto traffic in the downtown *was* at its peak. But by the 1980's the movement away from Jacksonville's residential core was in full swing and by the early 2000's it finally was reaching its peak. The older issues still remain, it doesn't terminate in locations that are healthy to the system, but until they increase the density around the system itself, there will be no demand to push it out further.

[@felixpgames9639]

This channel is underrated! Keep up the good work!
(you got a new sub from this video!)

[@kylebr]

Hey thank you, I really appreciate the kind words and sub!

[@harrydrury4734]

I've rode the skyway , I like it .
you see Jacksonville , like you have never seen it .
it could have a great future .
just be logical ad practical on where its going , and what its moving .

[@tommycscat]

Somehow, in the middle of all the beautiful Jacksonville photos, the Weehawken, New Jersey side of the Lincoln Tunnel appeared, lol.
Great video, though! If the Skyway were expanded one or two more stops into San Marcos, daily ridership would undoubtedly see a substantial boost. Expand the other way to the stadiums, too, and it would approach original ridership projections (maybe.)

[@njv1234]

I live in Miami and our free people mover is successful. The reason is because it’s free, and we have a lively downtown, unlike Jacksonville. They should have extended it to the sports complex, build several high rise condos, and then connected it to a regional rail system
Jacksonville mismanagement, lack of vision, and sabotage is why SkyWay failed
Dismantle it and reassemble the same system in downtown Fort Lauderdale and watch it get proper usage

[@paulfields4158]

In jacksonville our city leaders have always wanted us to go BACKWARDS instead of FORWARD..they could've expanded the skyway decades ago but a "good ole boy" mayor said no...the skyway and the mall on the river all started to decline..the mall is no longer there☹

[@sxa1313]

I am from Atlanta, GA. we have Marta when they put the train system in it took a minute but look at it now. It goes to the airport and several malls. a lot of people ride it. the skyway should take people where they need to go. and at certain points it can go to the ground at certain points.

[@ericew576]

Thank you for making this video!

[@kylebr]

Anytime! More importantly, thank you for watching. This was fun to make =)

[@chrisharris1969]

Now the Skyway is in decline and deteriorating and JTA management has authorized the reduction of safety sensitive maintenance procedures called a departure test. The JTA has adopted a maintenance schedule that focuses on convenience rather than safety. While Nathaniel Ford was at MARTA he had issues of credit card fraud.

[@unlapras9365]

The U2C sounds great on paper but I fear it's just going to be one more scam, just like monorails or PRTs. I don't see where the benefit is in turning an effective rail system into individual pods. As proposed above, they should turn it into a light rail/tram line that would reuse the elevated tracks and then be extended on the streets.

[@kylebr]

I also don't know if pods are the answer, it seems redundant to me if private companies (Uber, Lyft, etc) could offer automated rides for people to anywhere from anywhere in the coming years. An extended light rail system, similar to other large cities, would be a reasonable offering. I do give the city credit for taking a gamble on a new idea.

[@LucidFL]

Great on paper??? Give me what you are smoking

[@mikefieldstrips]

great video. i’m in california but still enjoyed it!

[@kylebr]

Thank you that's so kind! I appreciate your view all the way from California!

[@eannamcnamara9338]

I can't believe how the skyway was made worse. First it was a VAL system that has been successfully used in France and Korea as the technology for full subway systems, such as lille, Toulouse, Rennes or the Uline in Seoul. Then it become a tiny monorail, and now they want to to replace it by self driving cars.
Makes me sad 😔

[@rhhrhejebag2774]

Parking lots around stations? Thats kind of insane. Why on earth would I drive to a parking lot so I can get where I'm going, and instead just take my car all the way to where I need to go in downtown?

[@rhhrhejebag2774]

Theres a thing called transit orientated development. Building things people want to see and do around a station. Nobody wants to wade around a empty parking lots with nothing to do. Nor is it usefull if you live around that transit station, and are unable to reach it safely by foot. Jacksonville should address re zoning around their transit stations, and pedestrain safety before par taking in a possibly expensive and unproven technology. Pedestrian safety measures don't have to be expensive either. They can simply be speed bumps, markations in the road, traffic calming measures, even just redoing the street design. These are all cheap and proven options. You can make the skyway work, its missing alot of the components that make public transit vaible. The city wouldn't even have to neccesarily pay for the development on the parking lots, unless they wanted to assist in funding the development.

[@HunterKutz]

So their going to turn a mass transit system into extra highway space for buses?! Holy crap! It sounds like the Boring Company’s crappy Vegas loop, but above ground. 🤦‍♂️

[@HunterKutz]

Just convert it into a light rail system that can travel on the roads as well! Lots of cities do this!

[@projectnerdvana2820]

Lol