Musings about Downtown...

[DetroitInJAX]

First of all I'd like to say hello to everybody on these new boards.. I was jaxdtw2196 on the metjax site, and a casual 'lurker'..

Anyway, the reason I've decided to post this today was rather interesting.. I stopped by Chamblins over on Roosevelt and came across a book called "Tipping Point".. Looked like a rather interesting read (subsequently decided to buy it).  On my way home, I noticed that today was the artwalk, and as I pulled into the garage at 11E, I reached my "tipping point", when I saw that the only city employees out in full force during this wonderful event were.... the PARKING ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS.  I started thinking to myself that this represents everything thats wrong with this city.  Where's the mayor?  Where's the City Council?  Where's the Downtown Development people? 

Here we have a wonderful event downtown that happens once a month and draws thousands downtown and what do they face? 

-  Parking meters that only accept quarters.  You know, they do make meters that accept various kinds of change, and even "smart" meters that take plastic (like the ones theyre installing in my hometown).
-  Whole rows of parking meters that are blocked off between 4-6pm daily for "rush hour".. Please.. Jacksonville doesnt have a downtown rush hour.  We have a couple minutes of heavy traffic as office workers leave the core in droves.. And why is that?  Because theres no retail downtown.. And why is that?  Because the city makes it impossible to do business downtown.. 
-  Overzealous parking enforcement officers like the one out on Adams Street right now, looking all serious in his over-starched shirt and "official" looking Chevy Lumina, lights a' flashin.

Boy, that sounds like a real success story.  Its just maddening to sit here and realize that the city just doesnt "get it".  Someone in the city government needs to wake up and realize that downtown is not just a 9 to 5 destination.  Until we get past bulldozing whats left of downtown and hastily constructing surface lots (which subsequently become overgrown with weeds.. so much for following city code on beautification), having overly restrictive ordinances down to what color socks the business owner can or cannot wear on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and FINALLY becoming constructive partners in getting these abandoned buildings RENOVATED, nothing will come of this place. (and thats just a few suggestions)...

Sure, a fancy park on main street (where the vagrants can sleep) looks nice, but what does it add?  This place sucks, and the people in charge of it dont care.  Nice way to ruin it for another generation.

[urbanlibertarian]

Off subject, but...I was just in Chicago and the cabbie who took me to O'Hare for the flight home was a recent migrant from Detroit.  He had bought a condo there which LOST value and he had to go to Chicago to find a job that would allow him to continue to make his mortgage payments.  Did you leave Detroit for the same reasons (lack of jobs, poor economy, falling home values)?

Oh, and btw...good post.

[DetroitInJAX]

I left Detroit for a much different reason.. School.  I am entering my 4th year at JU in the Aeronautics program.  All previous and current generations of my family have lived and still live in Detroit.  Most of my family that is there is college educated, so holding onto a job isnt really a problem, also being that none of them are associated with any of the industries that are experiencing a downturn (my parents, for example, are in the heathcare profession).  I have some family that also resides in Miami and theyre having more problems with the things you noted than my Detroit family.

I love Detroit, its home.

[urbanlibertarian]

DIJ,
Thanks for the point of view.  I've been to Auburn Hills twice in the last 10 years and things didn't seem to be as bad as the cabbie was making them out to be.  Good luck with your studies.

[Driven1]

wife told me tonight those smart meters were on the news...apparently they aren't working correctly & the parking nazis are taking advantage of it.

[Suzanne Jenkins]

  Musings about Downtown...

[downtownparks]

Thanks for the information Suzanne,

I do have to say, as someone who has been eager to see downtown revitalize and has tried put my money where my mouth is by eating and shopping downtown whenever I can it seems like things have slowed down. There isn't that buzz that was there two years ago.

What do we have to do to recapture the buzz? I remember looking at long lists of ongoing and planned projects that Lake put together, and while we have lost several items off that list, it doesn't seem we have added much in the last year.

Thoughts on how we get the buzz back?

[thelakelander]

To recapture that "buzz", people need to see "compact" action instead of talk.  Compact, in a fashion that drops a large number of complementing uses immediately next to each other to quickly form a district with vibrant synergy.  If 122 Ocean or the county courthouse can get off the ground (I'd put my money on 122 Ocean), soon, I think that buzz will return.  Especially with the old Haydon Burns (122 Ocean).  Its got great visibility, complements the Burrito Gallery, Starbucks, Ocean 11 and the London Bridge, plus the intended uses are things downtown advocates have been dying to have for years.

Imagine coming into downtown via the Main Street Bridge, traveling north on Ocean and immediately seeing an urban grocery market and a good number of restaurants, retail shops and bars with outdoor seating and people walking on the sidewalks?  That scene alone has enough potential to put the buzz back into the Northbank.

[thelakelander]

-  Whole rows of parking meters that are blocked off between 4-6pm daily for "rush hour".. Please.. Jacksonville doesnt have a downtown rush hour.  We have a couple minutes of heavy traffic as office workers leave the core in droves.. And why is that?  Because theres no retail downtown.. And why is that?  Because the city makes it impossible to do business downtown..  I have asked for the no parking btw 7-9am and the 4-6pm signs to be removed.  That is under consideration and hopefully in the near future will happen.   

You better watch out for JTA.  They want to remove these spaces and replace them with bus only lanes.  A part of their argument for doing such is that they aren't available for parking during "rush hour" anyway.

[DetroitInJAX]

Suzanne,

Thanks for replying to everything I ranted about...  The frustration I exhibited on the board here probably pales in comparison to what you must be feeling after 8 years of working to make this downtown area better. 


Moving on.. what is going on with this BRT crap?  Why in the world would I, as a downtown resident living between Adams and Forsyth want to hear buses rumble down BOTH roads till the late hours of the night?  I guess Ill have to change my sleeping patterns to coincide with JTA's schedules?  I do understand that living downtown does have its downfalls regarding noise pollution (thats just a side effect of urban living), but still, why not extend the skyway?  Oh, and bye bye wonderful evenings at the Burrito Gallery and London Bridge.. Im not breathing smoke.

I guess the one question that begs to be answered is..... Why the hell did we build the skyway?

[thelakelander]

Unfortunately, BRT planners are more concerned about moving buses than they are with seeing downtown properly revitalized.  Its going to be up to advocates like us to keep making noise and educating others, before this thing gets too far.