Bike Boulevards... possible in Jax?

[dougskiles]

Here is an interesting video from Portland.  What really impresses me is that the narrative is led by the Mayor and staff from the transportation department.

http://www.streetfilms.org/portlands-bike-boulevards-become-neighborhood-greenways/#more-48659

[Ocklawaha]

http://www.youtube.com/v/ELa5CHsUepo?fs=1&hl=en_US
Lesson's from SOUTH OF THE BORDER? Watch closely and you'll also see myriad regular daily bikeways.

OCKLAWAHA

[Noone]

Fantastic stuff.
Yes it can happen in Jacksonville.
One piece of the puzzle is keeping the Promised 680' Downtown Public Pier AKA BSPP Bay Street Pier Park separate from the other 44 acres that was Shipyards/Landmar.
Yes the CYCLE container.
Yes the exercise container.
Yes the art container.
Yes the food container.
Yes a vibrancy that can be created to live, work, and play within our Downtown Jacksonville Overlay Zoning District next to our St. Johns River our American Heritage River.


Plan on taking the kayaks out and going under the TU and Hogans Creek today.

Anybody that wants to do this in the future just let me know. Elected officials and candidates for office go to the front of the line.

Dougskiles, Great thread.
Ock, Nice follow up.

[north miami]

There is that certain "something' about Ecotobia-the Pacific Northwest and as Ock and Noone point out the spirit can be found elsewhere-and here.

What exactly empowers that "something"?

Florida's ( particularly,NE Florida) weather is so conducive to cycling it' is worth always reminding ourselves.Forget about that actually not too long period of intense summer heat-it's hot elsewhere.I would not trade a seabreeze summer for St.Louis!

Already Florida is a nationwide leader in "off road" cycling.Our off road facilities do not lean heavily on or demand athletic antics but rather a more casual,comfortable version of two wheel travel and delight.
I'll take the Jax area in this department over Boulder County Co."Mountain Bike" term was a bummer of a image for us,where here in Florida we now refer more and more to "Fat Tire" designs.

Many years ago the National Wildlife Federation promoted bike blvds as part of the interstate highway facility.But who here has ever heard of it?

I feel that certain "something" stems from a general propensity among a certain broad public,which only then is reflected in the composition of the people's government,joining Mayors and Transportation departments at the hip with the public on these matters.
To me the question is not what would the response of today's Jacksonville government be,but rather is there sufficient public demand,zeal and empowerment??

[Ocklawaha]

If all of the bike groups, stores and such could agree on a day to meet and do some serious planning the biggest failure of bicycles in our city is connectivity. Drawing a bunch of lines on a map or down the edge of a busy highway falls so far short of both safety and need. I'd take the lines from the Union Jack (UK flag) and lay the center over downtown working each line to the county limits or the sea. Once this series of an X and a + crossed the city it would be easy to fill in the connectors.


OCKLAWAHA

[dougskiles]

I know that there are several groups out there working on this from different angles, but clearly a critical mass hasn't been achieved yet.  A group of us in San Marco are working on bike routes through our neighborhood and have met with staff members at COJ P&DD to talk about how we can get them turned into reality.  I don't know who it is that brings all of the groups together, so I will ask at our next meeting.

There is another film on streetfilms.org that is really cool (great stuff on that site!):

http://www.streetfilms.org/category/health-safety/

We are ripe for a transportation revolution.  The past several years of recession have lead many people into a period of re-evaluation.  Getting from A to B as fast as they can isn't as important as it used to be.  The journey itself has become more of a focus.  At least that is the case for me.

BTW - Noone - I'm up for a Kayak trip with you under the TU building.  Sounds a little creepy but if it is as cool as you say, I'll give it a shot.

[Noone]

Dougskiles, That's great.

Can't wait to hear what you have planned in San Marco.
It sounds like a natural collaboration that should be taking place simultaneously with the redo of the Northbank and Southbank riverwalk downtown. Especially for new signage and bicycle access points.

Call me at 904-434-0839 and we'll make it happen.