The Case for Northeast Florida Commuter Rail (from a former commuter)

admin — Mon, 19 May 2025 18:29:44 +0000

When I most recently worked for JEA, I had to go into Headquarters in downtown Jacksonville three times per week. I dreaded those days — not for the destination, but for the journey.

Our First Coast arterial routes are clogged with accidents, congestion and construction, now more than ever and seemingly worse every day. Translated into drive time, that turned a commute from my home base in Nocatee to JEA from 35 minutes at full speed into a 60- to 75-minute slog. Six times a week.

(Thank you, Blinkist, Ezra Klein and Ira Glass, for keeping me sane coming and going those days.)

Many of you know I was born and raised in Orlando, which has its own colossal commuter headaches (and more tolled miles than I pray we’ll ever endure here). More than $2 billion in state and federal funding fed the I-4 Ultimate project, which widened and reimagined 21 miles of Central Florida’s signature freeway over seven years. And despite all that, and some pricey dynamic express lanes and picturesque bridges and archways, one still can’t glide through downtown Orlando, except perhaps after 9 p.m.

Now that I’m not making the thrice-weekly crawl to DT Jax, I’ve been blessed with some open neural pathways to think about ways we can do better. Current FDOT proposals to add one lane northbound and southbound on 95 between International Golf Parkway and DT Jax sound nice, but is that sustainable given our growth and role as gateway to Florida? Would an “Ultimate I-95” project do anything more than it did for Orlando? (Aesthetically, perhaps. I would be OK spending $2 billion if it got rid of our concrete median weeds, another post for another day.)

So all of this got me thinking about commuter rail. Back in the last decade, the Jacksonville Transportation Authority published a project proposal for First Coast Commuter Rail, an opportunity to shift some of our daily freeway blight onto fast-moving track. It’s a very engaging, convincing read, as long as you overlook some of the 2019-era development references that either happened or didn’t. I encourage you to give it a read.

The rail corridor is there and has been for decades. And developments are bubbling up, especially in St. Johns, between St. Augustine and my home base, jostling for position. How many of those future residents would gleefully curtail their car-based commutes if given the option?

Would commuter rail be a panacea? It might not directly benefit those outside the corridor (I’m thinking of you, Macclenny and Oakleaf) in terms of offering a viable mobility alternative. But take a percentage of vehicles off the roads and those same folks might gain a few mph and a modicum of sanity. Which we all know is in short supply in certain municipal circles nowadays.

And you know what they say about the definition of insanity. That might just make for a really great billboard up and down I-95, if we double down on Band-Aiding our roads and not opening our minds to better mobility solutions like commuter rail.

My List of 15 Simple Truths (Revised), v.49.25

admin — Tue, 28 May 2024 03:39:07 +0000

This week’s episode of the “This American Life” radio program was all about lists and how they make sense of our chaotic lives. I caught myself snorting a few more times than I should have out of familiarity.

Who among us doesn’t use lists? Post-It Notes, notes apps on our smartphones, whiteboards, scrawling on palms in desperation … the beckon call of bullets envelopes us daily and keeps us from devolving into rudderless oafs.

Usually my lists are pretty mundane – Home Depot, Costco, fix X and Y in my house on Saturday morning, mail birthday card – all the things. But today, I thought I’d dig up a deeper list, one that I’m sure I’ll revisit as I get older and undoubtedly crankier. Simple truths that 10-years-ago me would not know how to speak, let alone type.

So let’s get ‘em down so I can come back in another 10 years, agape at my youthful indulgences.

What are your simple truths?

I’ve finally embraced my inner introvert. Weekend late nights devouring audiobooks, This American Life podcasts or belly-laughing through a few chapters of David Sedaris fills my nerd tank with higher-octane fuel than a night on the town. Come to think of it, writing things like this does, too.
Now I’m no curmudgeon. Said nights on town, in measured doses and with the right friends, are sought-after occasions. And on those occasions, I’ve come to believe alcohol isn’t worth the buzz or the rip-roaring headache the next morning. There are some amazing near-beers, they taste great, and I seek out bars that serve them. I’m starting to get into mocktails, too, although I want to find a less-lame name for them than “mocktails.”
Curling up with my 9-year-old daughter on the couch for a movie is a feeling like no other. I know her tickle spots, and she knows mine. It’s usually a healthy détente. I know our times doing this are numbered.
I don’t like crowds and no longer feel the need to seek them out. While I relished the young professionals circuit in the early aughts, my happy place is much different now … although the grainy JPGs from my Sony CyberShot at Gators Dockside in 2001 still make me laugh.
Life is short(er now). I want to make memories, not pursue trophies or random trappings of status that builds up in desk drawers, closets and eventually high-rent climate-controlled storage units. It all needs to be dusted, and just the thought of that is overwhelming.
I drive my wife’s 2012 Honda CRV with 152,100 miles. And a 4-banger that goes 0 to 60 in 3 minutes. It’s paid off, and that “car payment” goes to my daughter’s college fund. A much better investment than some hot wheels to impress someone I probably wouldn’t like anyway.
Social media and the attention merchants need to be run out of our digital lives. The opportunity cost of watching short-form videos peppered with pitches for tech wallets and razor subscriptions is unfathomable. Jonathan Haidt’s 2024 book “The Anxious Generation” is a must-read for any parent, anxious about their child’s predilection to screens.
Leverage your tax dollars and participate in your local library. Get a card and listen to audiobooks on Libby. Donate when you can.
I don’t feel guilty telling people I’d rather text than talk on the phone. I even ask for texts on my work out-of-office autoreply. It’s my love language.
I’m too old to wait in line. A little forethought – online, prepaid ordering and scheduled appointments for the DMV or Genius Bar – gets you out of a lot of queues. Spontaneity is fun … in measured doses … but as a life philosophy it’s overrated. And when I’m in a line, I inevitably whip out my phone.
I’m 45 pounds heavier now than on my wedding night. As every day goes by, I’m a little less perturbed at the prospect that they’ll stay with me forever.
No. 11 notwithstanding, I am embracing 5 a.m. wake-up calls again, early gym visits, meditation, journaling and simple silence. I want to be physically, emotionally and spiritually healthy, whether or not I can track it on my Apple Watch.
I want to live to 100 … 110 years old. Why not? As long as some of my friends join me. Otherwise, it might be lonely up there, and I might have to go into a crowd or two to meet some new friends. Bah.
I love the 34 years I had before I met my wife and I love the 15 years I’ve had since I met my wife. For vastly different yet wholly valid and fulfilling reasons.
Dry saunas are the perfect antidote to Florida summers. Ten minutes at 190 degrees makes at 90 degrees feel like a welcome breeze … without the drenching weight of humidity.

admin – JayMagee.com

The Case for Northeast Florida Commuter Rail (from a former commuter)

My List of 15 Simple Truths (Revised), v.49.25