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, with the Jacksonville Skyway in the median.]] The Jacksonville Skyway is a Monorail system built in the 1990s in Jacksonville, Florida , run by the Jacksonville Transportation Authority . The track is 2.5 Miles (4 Kilometers ) long and connects the two halves of downtown Jacksonville, which is divided by the Saint Johns River . Each train can have from 2 to 6 cars. The trains travel at up to 35 miles (56 kilometers) per hour and cross the St. Johns via the Acosta Bridge . HISTORY The idea of a "people mover" in Jacksonville dates back at least to a 1971 report for the Jacksonville Area Planning Board. Work began on a traditional rail version in the late 1980s, but was scrapped when the monorail system was opened. The first leg opened on December 15 , 1997 ; the second phase, including the river crossing, on October 30 , 1998 ; and the third phase, on November 1 , 2000 . The Skyway was the project of Mayor Ed Austin . He believed that such a system would revitalize downtown Jacksonville, which had been suffering from economic hardship for the last two decades. CONFLICTS The Skyway is one of the biggest points of contention in Jacksonville. Many critics say it goes "from nowhere to nowhere". According to figures from the Jacksonville Transportation Authority, average weekday ridership in 2002 was 2,871, about 5% above the previous year's figure. The agency's goal is 5,000 average weekday riders by 2005 . It has also been argued that the Skyway was a scam to gain large amounts of money through taxes related to the projects and payments from the contractors, especially in light of the undisclosed millions spent to build only a few miles of track. STATION LISTING ''All trains:''
''Convention Center trains:''
''Kings Avenue trains:''
''Nonexistent stations used only for testing:''
SEE ALSO EXTERNAL LINKS |
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