jbm32206
05-02-2008, 05:20 AM
:trolley: This is a good idea and should increase the business for lunch time. :trolley:
Johnny Hamparsoumian gets a good lunch crowd now at Hovan Mediterranean Gourmet restaurant on Park Street. But he hopes the crowds get better Monday when a new trolley service will be dropping passengers off right outside his front door.
Starting Monday, the service will be offered from The Jacksonville Landing downtown to Five Points. The trolley will run weekdays from 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and will pick people up at Water and Laura streets and drop them off at Margaret Street and Riverside Avenue, then loop around to Park Street and right next to Hamparsoumian's restaurant.
A trolley will come around every 10 minutes. People can also get on or off at other trolley and bus stops along Riverside Avenue. The cost will be 50 cents a ride, but through May 16 the trolley will be free as the Jacksonville Transportation Authority tries to build ridership. Riders can also use their existing bus pass.
JTA decided to start the service because of lunchtime complaints about limited parking in both the downtown and Five Points areas. People complained it took too long to find a parking space at both locations, JTA spokesman Mike Miller said. People who work along Riverside at St. Joe, Blue Cross and Blue Shield and other businesses will be able to take the trolleys to the downtown area or Five Points by waiting for it at a bus stop, Miller said.
JTA officials have no estimate for how many people will use the trolley. They expect it to start slow and build up ridership as more people find out about it, Miller said. Three new trolleys will run the route each weekday. They are 30 feet long and have 25 seats.
In 2003, JTA unsuccessfully tried a midday trolley service to San Marco for downtown workers. JTA billed it as a way for people to avoid parking hassles when going to popular San Marco restaurants for lunch. But some riders said the ride took too long when they had limited time for lunch breaks, and the service ended after a year when ridership fell far short of JTA's goal of 162 daily.
The new trolley service is being funded by a $185,000 grant from the federal government. JTA is providing an additional $185,000. Hamparsoumian said the novelty of riding the trolleys may help bring people to Five Points. His hope is those people will stop at his restaurant for lunch and like it enough to keep returning.
Drew Cavins, owner of the Mossfire Grill in Five Points, said the lack of parking had become a frustration for businesses. He said he has a lot of lunchtime customers who complain about how hard it is to find a parking space and he suspects some people get so frustrated with the parking that they don't come. If his lunch crowd increased in the next few months, he'll know the trolley is helping, Cavins said.
JTA will also be offering trolley service to the beach on weekends from June 27 through Sept. 1. The trolleys will take people to and from the beach on Atlantic Boulevard on Friday night and all day on Saturdays and Sundays. The pickup and drop-off points are still being determined, JTA spokeswoman Wendy Morrow said.
By LARRY HANNAN, The Times-Union
http://www.jacksonville.com/tu-online/stories/050208/met_274561171.shtml
Johnny Hamparsoumian gets a good lunch crowd now at Hovan Mediterranean Gourmet restaurant on Park Street. But he hopes the crowds get better Monday when a new trolley service will be dropping passengers off right outside his front door.
Starting Monday, the service will be offered from The Jacksonville Landing downtown to Five Points. The trolley will run weekdays from 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and will pick people up at Water and Laura streets and drop them off at Margaret Street and Riverside Avenue, then loop around to Park Street and right next to Hamparsoumian's restaurant.
A trolley will come around every 10 minutes. People can also get on or off at other trolley and bus stops along Riverside Avenue. The cost will be 50 cents a ride, but through May 16 the trolley will be free as the Jacksonville Transportation Authority tries to build ridership. Riders can also use their existing bus pass.
JTA decided to start the service because of lunchtime complaints about limited parking in both the downtown and Five Points areas. People complained it took too long to find a parking space at both locations, JTA spokesman Mike Miller said. People who work along Riverside at St. Joe, Blue Cross and Blue Shield and other businesses will be able to take the trolleys to the downtown area or Five Points by waiting for it at a bus stop, Miller said.
JTA officials have no estimate for how many people will use the trolley. They expect it to start slow and build up ridership as more people find out about it, Miller said. Three new trolleys will run the route each weekday. They are 30 feet long and have 25 seats.
In 2003, JTA unsuccessfully tried a midday trolley service to San Marco for downtown workers. JTA billed it as a way for people to avoid parking hassles when going to popular San Marco restaurants for lunch. But some riders said the ride took too long when they had limited time for lunch breaks, and the service ended after a year when ridership fell far short of JTA's goal of 162 daily.
The new trolley service is being funded by a $185,000 grant from the federal government. JTA is providing an additional $185,000. Hamparsoumian said the novelty of riding the trolleys may help bring people to Five Points. His hope is those people will stop at his restaurant for lunch and like it enough to keep returning.
Drew Cavins, owner of the Mossfire Grill in Five Points, said the lack of parking had become a frustration for businesses. He said he has a lot of lunchtime customers who complain about how hard it is to find a parking space and he suspects some people get so frustrated with the parking that they don't come. If his lunch crowd increased in the next few months, he'll know the trolley is helping, Cavins said.
JTA will also be offering trolley service to the beach on weekends from June 27 through Sept. 1. The trolleys will take people to and from the beach on Atlantic Boulevard on Friday night and all day on Saturdays and Sundays. The pickup and drop-off points are still being determined, JTA spokeswoman Wendy Morrow said.
By LARRY HANNAN, The Times-Union
http://www.jacksonville.com/tu-online/stories/050208/met_274561171.shtml