Sustainable Sites
Site Selection
The Jacksonville Regional Transportation Center (JRTC) site was selected to provide a centralized regional transit hub for the region. In doing so, the JRTC’s site selection avoided impacts to the regions prime farmland, habitat for threatened and endangered species, wetlands, bodies of waters, and public parklands.
Development Density & Community Connectivity
The Jacksonville Regional Transportation Center at LaVilla (JRTC) site is located in the historic LaVilla neighborhood of Downtown Jacksonville, providing customers with a direct connection to Jacksonville’s urban core via the city’s traditional urban grid street network. The site is located within a half-mile of Downtown Jacksonville’s 7.4 million square feet of commercial office space, 55,392 employees and approximately 5,220 residents. Additional residential development is planned for the lots surrounding the JRTC. By selecting a site in an urban area, the Jacksonville Transportation Authority (JTA) avoided harming habitats, open space, and water bodies.
Alternative Transportation
The Jacksonville Regional Transportation at LaVilla (JRTC) is the primary transfer hub for Jacksonville Transportation Authority’s (JTA) transit network and a major mobility hub for the entire Northeast Florida region, providing access to the First Coast Flyer Bus Rapid Transit network, JTA Fixed Route bus Services, three Regional Express Select Services, Connexion and Connexion Plus paratransit services and the Skyway. Customers visitng the JRTC have a direct connection to the Intercity Bus Terminal by way of an elevated pedestrian bridge, linking customers to Greyhound, RedCoach and Megabus. The JRTC provides storage for bicycles near the building and access to showers and changing rooms. Future access to microtransit solutions such as bike share, e-scooters, and low-speed circulators are also designed into the footprint.
Located directly outside of the building to the west is dedicated parking for Low-Emitting and Fuel-Efficient vehicles (LEFV). By dedicating the closest spaces to the building to LEFV, the JTA promotes the use of LEFV vehicles to help reduce vehicle trip emissions, as well as reducing hazardous emissions from entering the building. Located across the street at the Intercity Bus Terminal are four spaces dedicated to Electric Vehicle (EV) parking and charging.
The JRTC was constructed with minimal parking and does not exceed the minimum required by zoning. A reduced parking capacity helps promote the use of the JTA’s transit network and alternative modes of transportation in and around the site. To further reduce the dependence on personal automobiles, and in turn reduce emissions, the JTA has dedicated four parking spaces across the street at the Intercity Bus Terminal for carpool/vanpool services.
Heat Island Effect
The roof of the Jacksonville Regional Transportation Center at LaVilla (JRTC) was designed to help reduce the “Heat Island Effect,” or microclimates caused by built up areas that are hotter than nearby rural areas. This is achieved by making the roof highly reflective using a combination of synthetic rubber roofing membrane, tapered rigid insulation, and a ¼” slope.
Other aspects that help reduce the Heat Island Effect utilized at the JRTC are reduced hardscapes by incorporating landscaping, shading from tree canopies and the use of structural canopies along the bus terminal platform. The building itself also provides shading for a portion of the bus platform in the morning hours and for the public plaza in the afternoon hours.