Jacksonville leaders see benefits of making city ‘walkable’

[fieldafm]

Via Jax Biz Journal

http://www.bizjournals.com/jacksonville/news/2010/10/26/jacksonville-leaders-see-benefits-of.html

Key highlights:

A group of 120 community leaders recently came to a similar realization â€" that walkability could mean profitability for Downtown businesses â€" after taking a trip to Indianapolis to study, among other things, its Downtown revitalization efforts.

Giselle Carson, an attorney with Marks Gray PA who went on the trip, ran more than 15 miles of trails in Downtown Indianapolis during the trip and was impressed by how safe trails promoted a higher quality of life for its Downtown residents.

“If we had a trail going from Downtown to Riverside or San Marco or Springfield â€" imagine being able to do that on a bike or walking and not have to worry about traffic,” Carson said.  â€œThat brings business Downtown and connects neighborhoods.”

Imagine this... b/c we have the assets ALREADY in place for such a system:
Path under the I-95 overpass connecting Riverside Park/(proposed)Riverside Park Dog Park/(potential)PS4 easement access to RAM site, which connects to Riverwalk, which is extended to Metro Park by way of Bay Street Pier Park, which connects into a rejuvanated Hogans Creek Park System.  The dots are already in place.  Connect them already!

[wsansewjs]

WHAT?! 120 idiots just had their own eureka moment to realize that we just need to make the downtown more "walkable" ? Come on! It is common sense.

What a bunch of buffoons. Sorry if I am being Mr. Negative, but I think I should blame on the voters including myself for electing these monkey wipes into the offices so they can go out of town for "little" vacation using some of our tax money and come up with some simple solution?

RAGEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE.

-Josh

[fsujax]

so true!

[Ocklawaha]

WOW! Only in Jacksonville! A trail to salvation...?  

Historically, trails were closely followed by the sandal or shoe, which then allowed for extension of the trails... Next someone found a horse and decided to give it a try and POOF! Surface transportation was discovered. As the horse paths widened due to more and more horse-human combination's someone created a wheel. Wheels being the unique article they are needed bigger trails which became known as R O A D S. When the roads became crowded, alternate ways to use the wheel were explored, 2 wheels, became 3 and 4...  Meanwhile a group of Greek engineers figured that rolling those wheels on a stone track would allow them to lift ships from one side of an isthmus to another... so about 8 century's before Christ, the "railroad" was born. It would take thousands of years for the human race to figure out that railroad+people=ease of movement, and this allowed for the development of dense towns and cities...

So what does Jacksonville do?

THE TRAIL! THE TRAIL! But of course darling...

BOHICA Y'ALL*!

OCKLAWAHA
*Bend Over Here It Come's Again!

[Jumpinjack]

I too want to see more walkability in downtown but mostly I want more walking in downtown.
Here's the big problem which must be addressed: There's no there, there.

Usually people are comfortable walking a half mile to one mile when there is something to enjoy. Take a walk down any street in town. Look in the windows for interesting merchandise and displays. Find a bench to sit and admire the surroundings. Do some shopping for yourself or your family. Stop in a newstand and pick up a magazine or newspaper.

You can walk. But do you want to? How far can you go with pleasure and interest? This isn't about rebuilding the streets, creating traffic circles, trails. It's about attracting businesses - not big box stores who want to be in the suburbs, but smaller, locally owned retailers like the ones who are already in place. Bakeries, cafes, antique stores, clothing stores, repair shops, movie theaters. Get your head screwed on straight about how to get those younger inventive entrepreneurs willing to take a risk on downtown.

[thelakelander]

^With that said, you can begin by better utilizing what's there.  I would suggest walking into the base of most of downtown's office buildings during the day.  You'll discover that many local businesses and services people seek in an urban environment are already there.  You just can't see or access them from the street.  If a goal is to attract foot traffic (which exists inside many buildings), why not find affordable ways to flip these uses inside out?  A great example is the Zodiac Bar & Grill's new place in the base of the Schultz Building (120 W. Adams).  Before they moved in, that spot had a sports bar in it but you really could not tell from the street because you had to walk through the lobby of the office building to get to it.  Zodiac simply replaced a ground level storefront window with a glass window/door combination, added a couple of plants and some outdoor seating on the sidewalk.  Now that little strip of 20' looks completely different and is interactive with the street.  In addition, that minor change gives the business more exposure from the street.  

Imagine implementing the same concept on a block wide level with existing businesses?  By flipping places (entry points, display windows, signage, etc.) inside out, you push the hidden current pedestrian foot traffic to the sidewalks, which gives off the impression of a more active atmosphere.  That extra visual traffic and business exposure in turn creates a market rate environment where additional businesses are willing to set up shop in adjacent vacant and underutilized spaces.

[fieldafm]

Imagine this... b/c we have the assets ALREADY in place for such a system:
Path under the I-95 overpass connecting Riverside Park/(proposed)Riverside Park Dog Park/(potential)PS4 easement access to RAM site, which connects to Riverwalk, which is extended to Metro Park by way of Bay Street Pier Park, which connects into a rejuvanated Hogans Creek Park System.  The dots are already in place.  Connect them already!

Suprisingly, this is actually a part of the Downtown Master Plan.
I wonder if anybody ever reads these things...

Pedestrian connections link centers of
downtown activity
The open space and pedestrian plan identifies a series
of pedestrian links. These links are intended to
maximize the potential of the overall park system by
providing connections between small pocket parks, the
emerald necklace and the river.
The importance of the pedestrian system identified by
the continuous red line on the open space plan can
not be over stated. The creation of the emerald
necklace is a long-term project. The pedestrian system
offers both short and long-term solutions in the
creation of the overall open space systems. Main
pedestrian links include:
· Riverfront
· Hogans Creek
· McCoys Creek
· Main/Ocean Street Corridor

[thelakelander]

Suprisingly, this is actually a part of the Downtown Master Plan.
I wonder if anybody ever reads these things...

^Judging from the lack of following/coverage on the 2030 Mobility Plan, evidently not.

[Ocklawaha]

Then you have the genius' at JTA and the downtown streetscape with BRT, WITHOUT bike lanes! Worse? How about JTB WITH ZERO access east-west from Philips to Belfort.

NOPE THEY DON'T READ PERIOD!


OCKLAWAHA

[CS Foltz]

Looking at what JTA does, their statements, and how they plan........are you sure they can read? I'm not! BRT downtown is a lost cause, its only being done to suck up some of those Federal Dollars...........our tax money people and this is the best I can get? tufsu...........why are you not bitching about this one? Don't you want the most for your tax dollars? Philips Highway is no better..................stand alone and travels parallel to possible rail connection...........bovines! I could get real nastier real quick!

[tufsu1]

BRT downtown is a lost cause, its only being done to suck up some of those Federal Dollars...........our tax money people and this is the best I can get? tufsu...........why are you not bitching about this one? Don't you want the most for your tax dollars?

CS...while the BRT plans may not be perfect, there is some value in providing better bus service....you know, with good frequency and the shelters you crave so much

[Coolyfett]

WHAT?! 120 idiots just had their own eureka moment to realize that we just need to make the downtown more "walkable" ? Come on! It is common sense.

What a bunch of buffoons. Sorry if I am being Mr. Negative, but I think I should blame on the voters including myself for electing these monkey wipes into the offices so they can go out of town for "little" vacation using some of our tax money and come up with some simple solution?

RAGEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE.

-Josh

Its only common sense for us posters, the outside world loves their cars and never see the purpose of walkabilty. The light bulb just happen to come on. When it comes to urban matters most people dont think like the minds of this forum.

[Ocklawaha]

Looking at what JTA does, their statements, and how they plan........are you sure they can read? I'm not! BRT downtown is a lost cause, its only being done to suck up some of those Federal Dollars...........our tax money people and this is the best I can get? tufsu...........why are you not bitching about this one? Don't you want the most for your tax dollars? Philips Highway is no better..................stand alone and travels parallel to possible rail connection...........bovines! I could get real nastier real quick!

I beg to differ my friend, BRT DOWNTOWN is a GREAT IDEA, and LONG OVERDUE, JTA has located it well and it might provide some real improvement over the current loop system. The troubles are us transportation types are nit-picking and it's probably hard for the general public to understand our beefs...  

1. INCLUDE A GRADE or CURB SEPARATED BIKE LANE
2. DON'T DUPLICATE THE SKYWAY (Southbank side only)
3. SERVE BAPTIST MEDICAL CENTER AND SURROUNDING COMPLEXES

OCKLAWAHA

[jaxlore]

I was reading this crap too it was funny:

“If we had a trail going from Downtown to Riverside or San Marco or Springfield â€" imagine being able to do that on a bike or walking and not have to worry about traffic,” Carson said. “That brings business Downtown and connects neighborhoods.”

Ummm hello Riverwalk?!?! It may not go to Springfield but you can get from San Marco to Riverside, I do it every day.

[KuroiKetsunoHana]

jaxlore, i was kind ov thinking the same thing.  while i don't do it every day, it's quite a pleasant stroll.