Traffic abruptly stopped in San Marco Square on April 30 because of a stopped train that blocked the route of many students’ route to school. Students were blocked from approximately 7:20 AM to 8:15 AM. Furthermore, cars were completely backed up, which caused traffic jams.
“I sat at the train way too long, as it was also sitting there, completely stopped,” Junior Mary Daboul says. Daboul was at the front of the train for the entire fifty five minute period. She arrived at school later than the bell. The administration was gracious and sent the students who were late because of the train directly to class, as they understand this is not the fault of the students.
Even though the administration understands, they should not have to. The location of the train is inconvenient and untimely. Upwards of over thirty students appeared on my personal SnapMap, a map of friends on SnapChat, waiting for the train to pass. Some of them were backed up in neighborhoods, while others were waiting all the way down San Jose Boulevard.
Personally, I have found many issues with this specific train. Over my time as a student, I have been stopped by dozens of trains. I have even been stopped by two trains in one school day before. To avoid this inconvenience, I have taken shortcuts. Yet, the train stops me regardless because the trains can block several streets at a time.
While this is a slight inconvenience for students, there are many other issues that civilians find with the location and timing of the train. For example, the railroad is on the way to downtown hospitals. If an ambulance is stopped on the wrong side of the train, how are they supposed to save an injured patient? While the railroad can’t possibly time an ambulance arrival, they should know better than to send a train that could possibly stop during prime work and school arrival hours.
The citizens of Jacksonville can complain all they want, but the placement of the train has not changed for years. There has been speculation that it will be moved, but it is not confirmed.
