Dangerous by Design: Jacksonville #4 in Pedestrian Fatalities, 2000 - 2009

[L.P. Hovercraft]

Looks like Orlando is learning and beginning to take steps in the right direction.

• One-way roads, including Orange and Rosalind avenues, could be reworked into two-way roads, in an effort to slow traffic and make crossing on foot easier.

What a concept!
And here in Jax, I've heard there's a petition going around to return the current two-way College and Post Streets in Riverside BACK to one way streets in order to better accommodate vehicular traffic.  One step forward, two steps back...

[I-10east]

Whichever street(s) that's designed for parallel parking partiers (Post or College) I have zero problems with turning it into an one way street, unless they remove the parking, which I seriously doubt. It's ridiculous driving through that narrow corridor of parked cars. They might as well have full time flagmen there or something, with that crazy setup.

[thelakelander]

Lake,

That is a very nice map, with pretty colors. But many of those projects have not even started. And nothing is shown in downtown, where there are major issues with the roads and pedestrians. Does JTA not care about making downtown safer for Pedestrians?

They just selected firms to begin the process of conceptual planning and design. It's a five year window or so, from start to finish. This is year one. 

Also, downtown isn't the only part of the city that needs help. Most of the corridors identified are mid-20th century designed pedestrian and cycling death traps. To build a connected citywide network, they'll have to be addressed as well. Good move by JTA, IMO.

[UNFurbanist]

Here is the actual vision plan from the city of Orlando and man does it look pretty haha. It may honestly all be pie in the sky ideas but I feel like if Jacksonville could at least give everyone a beautiful cohesive vision for downtown it would go a long way to help rally the city behind development. I think too often it is just concepts of this project and that project but what about the "downtown project"? Give Jax citizens the big picture like this does in a format that feels a little newer than 2010 graphics and actually act on it. Just my thoughts.
http://projectdto.com/materials/

[Jumpinjack]

Lake, you are right about other parts of town with serious issues for pedestrians and bicyclists. In some of the commercial and residential developments in south Jax, the idea with sidewalks is not to build them until after the house/office is built. The result is that office parks and homes have disconnected sidewalks leading nowhere.

[JFman00]

Jax is the only place I've been in America where there are non-limited access roads with stoplights and sidewalks and traffic going 60+ mph. Recently I've been on Roosevelt in a vehicle going 65 (20 over the limit) and still being passed by people. In the Midwest in particular, any more than 10 over and you're begging for a ticket, but after being here for just 3 years I've gotten used to speed limit + 10 to 15 mph as being the flow of traffic. Poor design and worse enforcement are a recipe for pedestrian and cyclist deaths.

[L.P. Hovercraft]

Whichever street(s) that's designed for parallel parking partiers (Post or College) I have zero problems with turning it into an one way street, unless they remove the parking, which I seriously doubt. It's ridiculous driving through that narrow corridor of parked cars. They might as well have full time flagmen there or something, with that crazy setup.

As a resident that frequently walks/bikes/drives around College and Post streets, I respectfully disagree and prefer these streets to remain 15 mph two way streets with parking on both sides.

It's really not that crazy driving through the gauntlet of parked cars IF you drive slow and occasionally yield to oncoming cars which may possibly slow down traffic, which is really the whole point in having cars parked on both sides of a residential street.  If you want to be able to do 50 mph down them unhindered by any obstacles though, you're gonna eventually either A) lose a side mirror B) smash into a car pulling out from a spot or C) kill a biker/pedestrian/drunken reveler crossing the street.  I-10, 95, and 295 are right down the road if you just hafta get yer Fast and Furious on.

[I-10east]

^^I NEVER said anything about speeding. I never speed in residential areas. That navigational hazard that's there now is very dumb, and that's why that petition is in effect. It's designed like an one way one lane street, so let it be that, without any of the silliness. With all of those cars parked there many times, believe me, the last thing people wanna do is speed...

[cline]

^^I NEVER said anything about speeding. I never speed in residential areas. That navigational hazard that's there now is very dumb, and that's why that petition is in effect. It's designed like an one way one lane street, so let it be that, without any of the silliness. With all of those cars parked there many times, believe me, the last thing people wanna do is speed...

It's no different now than it was a few months ago before the lines were painted. Sometimes you had to wait for ongoing traffic to pass. People still parked on both sides of the road. Now that lines are painted all hell's breaking loose.

[I-10east]

^^It obviously wasn't like that when it was an one way street, which is what I'm getting at...

[mtraininjax]

Also, downtown isn't the only part of the city that needs help.

If downtown is to thrive, pedestrians need to feel safe, and its not safe now. Yeah the burbs are important, but isn't the point to fix downtown, so that it is friendly to those who fear the burbs are not safe to walk in? Whether its in year one or year 5, the delay on delays the move of residents....

[thelakelander]

Most of the mobility corridors aren't in the burbs. They're in older urban neighborhoods like Durkeeville, Springfield,New Town, Moncrief, Brentwood, Grand Park, Norwood, Panama Park, Tallulah, St. Nicholas, Riverside/Avondale and along proposed BRT transit corridors like Lem Turner, Philips, Arlington Expressway and Blanding....all notorious dangerous streets for JTA's riders, pedestrians and transit users. If we can't get these places right, we can forget about turning downtown around.  Besides, the DIA is the big daddy for downtown (although JTA is rebuilding Jefferson and Broad for BRT right now).

I've knocked JTA for a doing a lot of things wrong since we started this website, but this mobility works initiative isn't one of them.  It's a good response to a real transportation problem we have in this town.

[Non-RedNeck Westsider]

As a resident that frequently walks/bikes/drives around College and Post streets, I respectfully disagree and prefer these streets to remain 15 mph two way streets with parking on both sides.

I respectfully disagree to your disagreement.   lol. 

I bike that stretch upwards of 10-15 times each week and would love to see it go back to 1-way streets.  And as much as it pains me to type this out, JSO seriously needs to be out there more often VISIBLY writing tickets.  Too many people are still cruising through there, obliviously content, upwards of 30mph.  If you're concerned about the average speed increasing after making it 1-way and really want to curb the thoroughfare traffic, make all of the intersections 4-way stops and remove the light from King street.  I don't think the residents would mind and it would keep the a good bit off traffic out of the neighborhood.

Most importantly, add the damn bike lanes!  With the new FWB Ped component already planned, we could feasibly connect Murray Hill to San Marco with designated bike path.  It also might take me off of St. John's/Riverside during morning traffic when I'm running my dogs.

[I-10east]

I think that the whole 'downtown is dangerous for pedestrians' talk is a cliched exaggeration. I'm not saying that there are some spots here and there that could use improvement, but to act like like downtown isn't overwhelmingly an urban grid realm full of crosswalks and don't walk signs is being in denial. Show me all of these pedestrian deaths in DT, since it's so unsafe? Have to go to the archives?? Yeah, I thought so...In a landslide, Jax's suburban areas are the real safety issue concerning pedestrians.

[Josh]

I think that the whole 'downtown is dangerous for pedestrians' talk is a cliched exaggeration. I'm not saying that there are some spots here and there that could use improvement, but to act like like downtown isn't overwhelmingly an urban grid realm full of crosswalks and don't walk signs is being in denial. Show me all of these pedestrian deaths in DT, since it's so unsafe? Have to go to the archives?? Yeah, I thought so...In a landslide, Jax's suburban areas are the real safety issue concerning pedestrians.

http://www.news4jax.com/news/jso-pedestrian-critically-injured-in-main-st-crash/30991692

The driver had a green light, but it still highlights the issue of certain 1-way streets downtown being high-speed expressways. I've personally noticed burnt out pedestrian crossing signals on Main St. stay out for months until I've notified the city and they getting repaired. There was also the pedestrian killed by the JTA bus a few years back. Both of these incidents having happened on the 1-way streets people are saying are too dangerous for a downtown setting.

The woman in the article linked above passed away a few days after the incident.