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INTERMODAL CONNECTIONS
BASELINE ASSESSMENTS OF THE EXISTING ST. LUCIE COUNTY TRANSIT SYSTEM AND THE INTEGRATION OF REGIONAL PASSENGER RAIL SERVICE
METHODOLOGY Remix is a web-based application for planning public transit systems and provides the ability to envision and evaluate a proposed new service. In St. Lucie County, the Remix platform brings together the entire transportation picture to understand how public transit and new mobility work together.
To assess the potential of a Fort Pierce Brightline station, staff used Remix to create a data visualization to understand how the service would integrate with the existing network. This includes ridership potential, economic and demographic information, proximity of the proposed station and intermodal connections with the local and regional transit systems.
The ‘Brightline Fort Pierce Remix Project’ demonstrates a commitment to regional planning. Data from the neighboring county transit agencies have been incorporated. The project was created to include overlay information containing a local and regional perspective of the project. To the north, the Indian River County (Go-Line) and to the south, Martin County (Marty) General Transit Feed Specification (GTFS) files have been included. The Palm Beach, Broward and Miami-Dade existing Brightline stations have also been included in the analysis.
INTERMODAL CONNECTIONS
HIGHLIGHTS
The St. Lucie County Transit Development Plan (TDP) provides a strategic ten year planning horizon for strategies to further the mission for economic vitality through public transportation. St. Lucie County Transit is a state recognized leader in providing innovative solutions toward improving the value, efficiency, and effectiveness of services.
The St. Lucie County Transit Development Plan Major Update is currently underway and the public is being solicited for input via various mechanisms including an online survey. The new TDP will be adopted by the Board and Citties and transmitted to the Florida Department of Transportation in 2019.
The County continues to keep pace with the urban mobility ecosystem. In 2017, a community wide bike share program was launched and an after-hours program was developed through a partnership with the national transportation network company, Lyft. The County reports annual progress to the Florida Department of Transportation.
In 2017, St. Lucie County became the 39th transit system in the nation to eliminate the fare box for fixed route and paratransit services. Unlike national industry trends of declining ridership, St. Lucie experienced an increase of 155% for the fixed route within a one year duration.
KEY FINDINGS A three mile buffer overlay was performed at each bus stop in the tri-county area including the proposed Fort Pierce Brightline station. The population within the geographic buffer zones (includes the range from Indian River County, St. Lucie County, Martin County and the three existing Brightline stations to the south) is 1,101,792.
The existing Fort Pierce Intermodal Facility provides connections to all bus routes servicing the Treasure Coast. The walking distance is less than fifteen minutes from the proposed Brightline Station.
VALUE CAPTURE: A DEDICATED FUNDING SOURCE The municipalities within St. Lucie (the cities of Port St. Lucie, Fort Pierce and St. Lucie Village) and St. Lucie County Government demonstrate a commitment to public transportation through the implementation of the Transit Municipal Services Taxing Unit (MSTU). Since 2002, this dedicated funding source is derived from an annual levy of ad valorem taxes for public transit services including, but not limited to fixed route, deviated route, demand response, van poling, rail, non-motorized transportation and Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) trips. For every dollar generated from the Transit MSTU the County draws down (at least) an additional $2.00 from Federal and State funding sources. The leverage rates vary depending on the grant type and matching requirements.
