Friday, January 26, 2007

Future of river travel hovers in balance

Jacksonville Business Journal - by Kirstin Dorsch Staff Writer

DOWNTOWN -- It may sound far-fetched to most -- 150 people hovering eight feet above the ground -- but Jacksonville Transportation Authority officials think it sounds possible, and that it could be the future of transportation.

The hovercraft is one vehicle to be studied in a water transportation feasibility study JTA is expected to begin by the end of March. Green Cove Springs-based ATLAS Hovercraft Inc. would build the hovercraft, shown at left.

The last waterborne transportation study was performed in 1992, said James Boyle, regional transportation planner at JTA and the study supervisor. Fifteen years later, with gas prices well over those of the 1990s and increased congestion on the roads, this study will take into consideration vehicle technology, environmental aspects, potential rider demographics, possible routes and public/private partnerships.

Public/private partnerships will be necessary in obtaining and using land along the river for stations, for possible mixed-use development at the stations and for running the vehicle, JTA spokesman Mike Miller said. JTA's role would be to find the land and routes and establish the feasibility, then eventually oversee the transit system. It would depend on a private company to take care of operation and maintenance.

If approved by the JTA board, the study will begin in the next 60 days, Boyle said. The board was expected to vote on it during the Jan. 25 meeting. The study will last eight to 10 months, cost $200,000 and include looking at transportation options in Clay, Duval, Flagler, Nassau, Putnam, St. Johns and Volusia counties. JTA is contributing $130,000 to fund the study. The other $70,000 comes from federal funds dispersed by the First Coast Metropolitan Planning Organization.

"By the end of the year we will know if it is viable or not," Boyle said. "We would like to see something feasible, something that would work. All of us realize an asset in the St. Johns River. Now, it's how we can use the river other than for recreation."

During the study period, data will be collected on the socioeconomic demographics of each county and an inventory of land ownership along the river will be taken. The study also will examine possible routes, both north-to-south and east-to-west.

One of the most talked about aspects of the study is the technology available for water transportation, Boyle and Miller said. Although there has been buzz about a hovercraft, JTA will examine the pros and cons of many different technologies, including catamarans and ferries, such as the Mayport Ferry.

A large part of technology examination will be environmental impact, Boyle said. This includes noise, wake created, potential harm to manatees, effect on pleasure boaters and impact on those living along the river.

"There's a lot of interest in hovercrafts, but we have to be fair and look at the best vehicle for the river," he said.

Boyle said the hovercraft has the potential to move people the quickest. It can go up to 60 miles per hour, but tends to be noisy. JTA officials have been speaking about the specifics of a hovercraft with ATLAS Hovercrafts. The agency expects to be able to ride a hovercraft as soon as the company finishes manufacturing its first large-scale vehicle.

A 150-person hovercraft costs about $10 million and can be manufactured in 12 months, said Kurt Peterson, president of ATLAS and senior hovercraft designer, and it can cut commute time significantly. In a hovercraft feasibility study for a route from Connecticut to Manhattan, N.Y.,

ATLAS officials found the trip took about 35 minutes one-way, as opposed to two hours or two and a half hours by car.

"It's a time machine," Peterson said. "It's a time machine that gives you back time. That's what I am proposing for the St. Johns River. We can introduce a transportation system that can get you from one region up, down and across the river and do it in a rapid and economical fashion."

The company, which is three years old, is manufacturing its first hovercraft, the first of six for a client in Chicago. At 120 feet long, 66 feet wide and two and a half stories high, it will be the largest ever built in the Western Hemisphere, Peterson said. The hovercraft rides eight feet above land or water, but passengers' feet are closer to 15 feet above the surface.

"Because it's an amphibious vehicle, it has the ability to transport over land as well as water," Peterson said. "The hovercraft can load and unload passengers, cars and trucks on dry land."

The passenger part of the hovercraft is atop a large rubber tube called a skirt. Fans blow air into the perforated skirt, and the air that escapes from holes in the skirt create low-pressure air beneath the vehicle. Energy in the low-pressure air lifts the vehicle, Peterson said.

Water displacement is minimal because when not lifted, the 90-ton hovercraft sits 12 inches down in the water. And water is only displaced when the hovercraft is not in motion.

Peterson said hovercraft are manatee safe because there are no rudders or propellers in the water and they produce little wake. They are powered by diesel engines that also generate electricity to lift and steer systems on the boat. The electrical aspect is new technology and allows hovercraft to be much quieter than those in the past.

"It's my mission to educate and show everyone," Peterson said. "It's not going to be the end of our transportation woes, but it will have a significant impact on taking those trucks and cars off the roadway. It's not fantastical. It's not far-fetched. It's real."

Hovercraft also are fuel-efficient. They burn about 150 gallons of diesel per hour when going 60 miles per hour and carrying around 150 people, Peterson said.

The St. Johns Riverkeeper, Neil Armingeon, an advocate for the health of the river, said the possibility of a hovercraft-based transportation system is exciting. Increasing public access to the river also is one of his goals.

However, there could be some negative impact from building stations along the riverbank. Armingeon's main concern would be runoff from paving large areas adjacent to the waterway, though he is unsure of how big an impact that could cause. Overall, he said anything that keeps traffic off the roads is worth studying.

"If people have more contact with the river, they care more about it," Armingeon said. "Conceptually, I think it could be a really cool idea."

kedorsch@bizjournals.com | 265-2239