So what's your vision of what Jacksonville could be?

[Noone]

This is a really good question...

Some places think they're big time, when they kinda aren't.  I don't consider SJTC a "destination", as it appears many do.  If anything, I consider it a chance to get in a car accident every time I go out there.  Day by day, River City Marketplace is catching up.  But I digress...

I'd like to see a moratorium on road construction, so that we could stop knocking down trees to put up more tract housing and strip malls, adding to an ever-growing road construction budget, and a tax base that can barely keep up.

Since the city buses can't make it into most residential areas--allegedly--I'd like to see those little mini buses do that.  Drop the folks off at substations that currently don't even exist, instead of making Rosa Parks the ONLY transfer station.

I'd like to see an END to JTA as we know it.  In it's current form, it is an incompentent mutant of an Authority.  Whoever in that organization is of any worth, is being overhadowed by a whole lotta suck.

I'd like to see heritage streetcars in the neighborhoods surrounding the Core, painted either Teal or Black.  Commuter rail to connected the regions from the airport to the Riverfront to the Beaches and everywhere in between.

The Prime Osborn turned back into a Transportation Hub.  Everything decked out in a retro, WWII-era style.

Since that would mean no Convention Center, that the hotels we have in place now take up the slack in the meantime.  Our Convention business isn't strong enough to warrant a new one yet, IMO, and should help the hotels make a few pesos.

I do like the idea of "Riverfront" being sort of an interchangeable name with "Downtown".

Public art along the Riverwalk, something sort of like what they have along the San Diego Bay.

I'd like to see Shad Khan and Mark Lamping inundate us with so much Jags advertising that it makes people sick, including wrapping the Skyway trains.  I'd like to see the Skyway go to the Sports Complex.  It would be nice if each station actually had kiosks/food options.

Stop filtering everyone out of Downtown on gamedays.  If we had a funtioning train system, we wouldn't need to use buses and cops to do it anyway.

Riverboats, going up and down the St. John's.  Some of them could be gambling boats; others, simply floating restaurants, day cruises, whatever.

I just googled regatta, so apparently we have one.  Would be nice if it were advertised.  Jet ski races in front of the Landing? 

I thought it'd be cool if one street Downtown was peppered with small theaters, complete with old-style marquees.  Each of them could play one or two movies.  An AMC broken down into several smaller parts, so to speak...They could also host small-venue concerts.

How about a yearly, local music festival?  Do we have one of those?  I don't mean Jazz Fest; I mean for local rock bands and singers and whatnot.  A really cheap affair, in Metro Park or something, possibly sponsored by the local breweries that are popping up...

Become one of America's medical epicenters, like Rick Mullaney was talking about when he was running for mayor.

The Bob Hayes Invitational needs to be moved to a larger venue.  For its ability to pull such a high level of talent from across the state the way it does, it should be such a big deal locally at this point, it should be even a bigger deal than it currently is. But instead it's cramped onto the Raines campus where parking is a nightmare, the bleachers look like a tent city, and the concession stands are total chaos.  I was thinking UNF.

Sort of off-subject, but not really...I want the FCAT to go away.  It's clearly done more harm than good, as kids are graduating without even being able to write a coherent sentence.

I'd like to see the City take some of Ennis's FREE advice on increasing Downtown foot traffic.

That's all I can come up with right now...
The love being showered on 7-Eleven's return, and people getting all gooey inside over every little thing, is simply an indication that people are desperate to cling to "something" that validates the city's worth, IMO.  It's just a little misguided since there seems to have been a concerted effort to bury everything that once made the City great.

I don't consider SJTC a destination either. Not a bad place to go, though. I didn't think it would kill Regency and the Avenues, though. If anything, I thought it would just add to Jacksonville's shopping scene. If I had the money, I would buy Regency Square Mall and I would totally renovate it to be 3 stories high with an ice skating rink in the middle, an indoor bike ramp/skate ramp, and whatever stores you could think of. Add a parking garage to it, with a crosswalk that stretches from over Atlantic Blvd. to Arlington Expwy., going right through the mall itself, and ending at AMC. That'll give SJTC some competition!

I think excessive road construction goes to far and that money can be put toward better things, but I would like to see more convenient access to get around the city. We have enough strip malls and I cringe when I hear that they're building another strip mall. Build something worth building.

I wouldn't mind over-advertising on the Jags. Yes, build more terminals with trains. Paint more teal and black. Hell, even pictures of Lynyrd Skynyrd on some of the downtown buildings and Jaguars on the other. Give people reasons to celebrate.

Jacksonville used to have a lot of good local bands back in the day. I don't know if I just stopped following or if the scene really did die out. I used to see shows at Jack Rabbit's and Club 5 all the time. Looking back, those were some good times.

Jet ski races in front of the landing? My thoughts exactly! I'm glad someone else sees what I see! I would totally participate in something like that!

And yes! Stop celebrating over stupid things.

I mean, come on. Really? The city gets excited over 7-11??? Stuff like that makes me ashamed to be from here. "Ooh, we're getting a Cheesecake Factory/P.F. Chang's/Dave & Buster's!" "Ooh, 7-11 is coming back! That means Jacksonville really is a city!" Sounds retarded doesn't it?

Who else is with me?

kells, Anti R
I'm with you both. Would either of you like to meet?
It was another gut wrenching day to be Downtown and trying to access our St. Johns River our American Heritage River a Federal Initiative. I go to the meetings and its amazing what is being kept from the Public.
The list continues to grow.
Just a brief observation.
I put in at Sidney Gefin Park in a kayak. I look at the empty floating dock at RAM which can only be used on Sat. I continue by the private docks. (I can understand that)
But after my paddle I go and look at Bay St. Pier Park (Shipyards/Landmar) Jacksonville. Wake up. This spot should be rocking right now. What is everyone afraid of? Go and look for yourself.
Then I go to the Maxwell house dredge.
Then I go down to Metroploitan Park. Remember its closed on the weekends. The number of people that I saw that would pull up in their cars get out and try to figure out how they can get to the river. It is truly gut wrenching to watch.
Legislation is the dialogue.

[danem]

A lot of people I hear from keep saying the same thing. Jacksonville is a boring city, that it just keeps getting more and more dead. Can't say I disagree. Really, if you look around, there's not really anything going on. How can a city attract people to live in it if it's not very entertaining?

I think there is a lot going on, just open Folio Weekly or look on here, it's just not immediately obvious what it is or where. Also, we are the largest city by land area in the continguous U.S., and there is something about the geography that just isn't handled right to create the right sense of community and place. Basically you have to find what strip mall to go to, and that strip mall can be four miles away from your home in any direction.

[cityimrov]

Really, if you look around, there's not really anything going on. How can a city attract people to live in it if it's not very entertaining?

It seems to me that the main complaint of a lot of people on this forum is that there are not enough people in Jacksonville like the people on this forum. 

Every time I come to town though, I see plenty of people supporting the "cool" businesses around town.  Went to Kickback's last year to watch a Phillies game (my in-laws don't even get basic cable...i.e., ESPN!!!) and it was packed (not many Phillies fans, though).  Went to The French Pantry last year when I was working in Jax...packed at lunch in the middle of the week.  Went to Bold City on a Saturday the weekend of the Eagles/Jags game last year...good crowd.  Went to Bold Bean this last December during a weekday morning...plenty of folks.  The beer scene is getting stronger every year. 

The progress just seems incredibly slow, and the marketing of Jacksonville appears non-existent.  I seriously cannot believe how cheap you can get a 60-70 year old 1,000 sqft bungalow in a very walkable neighborhood in Jacksonville.  Young people would be flocking to Jacksonville if there were somewhere to work.  It is almost never mentioned in a positive light in the national media (Super Bowl = 7+ years ago).  Sadly, I don't know what needs to be done to speed things up, but I have hope!

Young people would be flocking to Jacksonville if there were somewhere to work.

All the ideas of this thread is fun but everything comes down to this.  Where are they going to work? 

[danem]

All the ideas of this thread is fun but everything comes down to this.  Where are they going to work?

Yes ultimately it does. We need opportunities where there are more and more professional, creative jobs. 7 Eleven is not going to cut it.

And more of those jobs need to be in that precious urban core, or not so many of these people are going to want to live there.

[Anti redneck]

Really, if you look around, there's not really anything going on. How can a city attract people to live in it if it's not very entertaining?

It seems to me that the main complaint of a lot of people on this forum is that there are not enough people in Jacksonville like the people on this forum. 

Every time I come to town though, I see plenty of people supporting the "cool" businesses around town.  Went to Kickback's last year to watch a Phillies game (my in-laws don't even get basic cable...i.e., ESPN!!!) and it was packed (not many Phillies fans, though).  Went to The French Pantry last year when I was working in Jax...packed at lunch in the middle of the week.  Went to Bold City on a Saturday the weekend of the Eagles/Jags game last year...good crowd.  Went to Bold Bean this last December during a weekday morning...plenty of folks.  The beer scene is getting stronger every year. 

The progress just seems incredibly slow, and the marketing of Jacksonville appears non-existent.  I seriously cannot believe how cheap you can get a 60-70 year old 1,000 sqft bungalow in a very walkable neighborhood in Jacksonville.  Young people would be flocking to Jacksonville if there were somewhere to work.  It is almost never mentioned in a positive light in the national media (Super Bowl = 7+ years ago).  Sadly, I don't know what needs to be done to speed things up, but I have hope!

Young people would be flocking to Jacksonville if there were somewhere to work.

All the ideas of this thread is fun but everything comes down to this.  Where are they going to work?

I guess slow progress is better than no progress at all. I'm just the impatient type. And yes, jobs most definitely is a key. Really good jobs. I know the state of Florida was hit pretty badly from recession, but I think it's in a reasonable state now to try and get people back to work.  Even get the people back who had to move for job reasons. THEY TOOK OUR JOBS!! LOL!

[Anti redneck]

This is a really good question...

Some places think they're big time, when they kinda aren't.  I don't consider SJTC a "destination", as it appears many do.  If anything, I consider it a chance to get in a car accident every time I go out there.  Day by day, River City Marketplace is catching up.  But I digress...

I'd like to see a moratorium on road construction, so that we could stop knocking down trees to put up more tract housing and strip malls, adding to an ever-growing road construction budget, and a tax base that can barely keep up.

Since the city buses can't make it into most residential areas--allegedly--I'd like to see those little mini buses do that.  Drop the folks off at substations that currently don't even exist, instead of making Rosa Parks the ONLY transfer station.

I'd like to see an END to JTA as we know it.  In it's current form, it is an incompentent mutant of an Authority.  Whoever in that organization is of any worth, is being overhadowed by a whole lotta suck.

I'd like to see heritage streetcars in the neighborhoods surrounding the Core, painted either Teal or Black.  Commuter rail to connected the regions from the airport to the Riverfront to the Beaches and everywhere in between.

The Prime Osborn turned back into a Transportation Hub.  Everything decked out in a retro, WWII-era style.

Since that would mean no Convention Center, that the hotels we have in place now take up the slack in the meantime.  Our Convention business isn't strong enough to warrant a new one yet, IMO, and should help the hotels make a few pesos.

I do like the idea of "Riverfront" being sort of an interchangeable name with "Downtown".

Public art along the Riverwalk, something sort of like what they have along the San Diego Bay.

I'd like to see Shad Khan and Mark Lamping inundate us with so much Jags advertising that it makes people sick, including wrapping the Skyway trains.  I'd like to see the Skyway go to the Sports Complex.  It would be nice if each station actually had kiosks/food options.

Stop filtering everyone out of Downtown on gamedays.  If we had a funtioning train system, we wouldn't need to use buses and cops to do it anyway.

Riverboats, going up and down the St. John's.  Some of them could be gambling boats; others, simply floating restaurants, day cruises, whatever.

I just googled regatta, so apparently we have one.  Would be nice if it were advertised.  Jet ski races in front of the Landing? 

I thought it'd be cool if one street Downtown was peppered with small theaters, complete with old-style marquees.  Each of them could play one or two movies.  An AMC broken down into several smaller parts, so to speak...They could also host small-venue concerts.

How about a yearly, local music festival?  Do we have one of those?  I don't mean Jazz Fest; I mean for local rock bands and singers and whatnot.  A really cheap affair, in Metro Park or something, possibly sponsored by the local breweries that are popping up...

Become one of America's medical epicenters, like Rick Mullaney was talking about when he was running for mayor.

The Bob Hayes Invitational needs to be moved to a larger venue.  For its ability to pull such a high level of talent from across the state the way it does, it should be such a big deal locally at this point, it should be even a bigger deal than it currently is. But instead it's cramped onto the Raines campus where parking is a nightmare, the bleachers look like a tent city, and the concession stands are total chaos.  I was thinking UNF.

Sort of off-subject, but not really...I want the FCAT to go away.  It's clearly done more harm than good, as kids are graduating without even being able to write a coherent sentence.

I'd like to see the City take some of Ennis's FREE advice on increasing Downtown foot traffic.

That's all I can come up with right now...
The love being showered on 7-Eleven's return, and people getting all gooey inside over every little thing, is simply an indication that people are desperate to cling to "something" that validates the city's worth, IMO.  It's just a little misguided since there seems to have been a concerted effort to bury everything that once made the City great.

I don't consider SJTC a destination either. Not a bad place to go, though. I didn't think it would kill Regency and the Avenues, though. If anything, I thought it would just add to Jacksonville's shopping scene. If I had the money, I would buy Regency Square Mall and I would totally renovate it to be 3 stories high with an ice skating rink in the middle, an indoor bike ramp/skate ramp, and whatever stores you could think of. Add a parking garage to it, with a crosswalk that stretches from over Atlantic Blvd. to Arlington Expwy., going right through the mall itself, and ending at AMC. That'll give SJTC some competition!

I think excessive road construction goes to far and that money can be put toward better things, but I would like to see more convenient access to get around the city. We have enough strip malls and I cringe when I hear that they're building another strip mall. Build something worth building.

I wouldn't mind over-advertising on the Jags. Yes, build more terminals with trains. Paint more teal and black. Hell, even pictures of Lynyrd Skynyrd on some of the downtown buildings and Jaguars on the other. Give people reasons to celebrate.

Jacksonville used to have a lot of good local bands back in the day. I don't know if I just stopped following or if the scene really did die out. I used to see shows at Jack Rabbit's and Club 5 all the time. Looking back, those were some good times.

Jet ski races in front of the landing? My thoughts exactly! I'm glad someone else sees what I see! I would totally participate in something like that!

And yes! Stop celebrating over stupid things.

I mean, come on. Really? The city gets excited over 7-11??? Stuff like that makes me ashamed to be from here. "Ooh, we're getting a Cheesecake Factory/P.F. Chang's/Dave & Buster's!" "Ooh, 7-11 is coming back! That means Jacksonville really is a city!" Sounds retarded doesn't it?

Who else is with me?

kells, Anti R
I'm with you both. Would either of you like to meet?
It was another gut wrenching day to be Downtown and trying to access our St. Johns River our American Heritage River a Federal Initiative. I go to the meetings and its amazing what is being kept from the Public.
The list continues to grow.
Just a brief observation.
I put in at Sidney Gefin Park in a kayak. I look at the empty floating dock at RAM which can only be used on Sat. I continue by the private docks. (I can understand that)
But after my paddle I go and look at Bay St. Pier Park (Shipyards/Landmar) Jacksonville. Wake up. This spot should be rocking right now. What is everyone afraid of? Go and look for yourself.
Then I go to the Maxwell house dredge.
Then I go down to Metroploitan Park. Remember its closed on the weekends. The number of people that I saw that would pull up in their cars get out and try to figure out how they can get to the river. It is truly gut wrenching to watch.
Legislation is the dialogue.

Hmm.... I might. What did you have in mind? I'll admit I do have a fright of meeting people from the internet.

[jcjohnpaint]

A lot of people I hear from keep saying the same thing. Jacksonville is a boring city, that it just keeps getting more and more dead. Can't say I disagree. Really, if you look around, there's not really anything going on. How can a city attract people to live in it if it's not very entertaining?

I have lived in big cities such as Philly and Pittsburgh and they don't seem much different than here.  Yeah there is more emphasis on the suburbs, but I always find things going on.  I mean it is not going to be Vegas or anything, but there are things to do. 

[thelakelander]

I find the residents of Jax very entertaining.  I really do believe Jax would be fine if it became less of a restrictive place, thus allowing individual creativity and innovation to place within our urban landscape.  There's lots of things to get into but it seems to be a place where you have to make and effort to find them.  I know I'm different but I still find it amazing to come across people who have lived here for more than a decade and still haven't made the effort to familiarize themselves with the entire town.  I took a lady out to lunch a couple of weeks ago to Soul Food Bistro, who spends most of her time in Arlington.  I was shocked when she asked for directions on how to get back to the other side of town from Normandy and Cassat.  During my time here (I relocated to Jax in 2003), that has happened several times.

[fieldafm]

Really, if you look around, there's not really anything going on. How can a city attract people to live in it if it's not very entertaining?

No offense, but you need to get off your couch and check out the city around you.

I typically have to make several choices b/w events or things to do every day of the week.  If you are bored in this town, that's a personal choice.  I wish there were 28 hours in a day, that some of those hours weren't filled with work and that there were 8 days in a week just so I could fit everything in that I want to do. 

Life requires you to get off the couch, go do something and complain less. 

[fieldafm]

I know I'm different but I still find it amazing to come across people who have lived here for more than a decade and still haven't made the effort to familiarize themselves with the entire town.

+1

[Ocklawaha]

KenFSU, you brought up a great point.  The city needs to expand the young demographic (25 to 34 year olds especially).   

The New York Times article linked below is pretty good (it's 2006 but still good). 
I liked the referencing in the article to the importance of internships. 

So I wonder if there is a way for the city to incentivize / encourage local businesses to increase their number of college / graduate school targeted internships?  Heck, the city could help organize and find centralized locations for summer housing for interns coming into town from outside universities.  Network, have a good time in Jacksonville, be around other energetic young people...might pay off.     

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/25/us/25young.html?pagewanted=all

Among the largest Florida cities, Jacksonville has the youngest population...

345.   Fort Lauderdale, Florida Avg. Population Age in Fort Lauderdale, FL   36.1   
394.   Miami, Florida Avg. Population Age in Miami, FL   1,567,681   34.3   
304. West Palm Beach, Florida (   Avg. Population Age in West Palm Beach, Fl  37.2   
401.   Orlando, Florida, Avg. Population Age in Orlando, 33.7   
404.   Tampa, Florida Avg. Population Age in Tampa, FL 33.5   
405.   Jacksonville, Florida Avg. Population Age in Jacksonville, FL 33.4
   

[ben says]

Really, if you look around, there's not really anything going on. How can a city attract people to live in it if it's not very entertaining?

No offense, but you need to get off your couch and check out the city around you.

I typically have to make several choices b/w events or things to do every day of the week.  If you are bored in this town, that's a personal choice.  I wish there were 28 hours in a day, that some of those hours weren't filled with work and that there were 8 days in a week just so I could fit everything in that I want to do. 

Life requires you to get off the couch, go do something and complain less.

Amen!

Same experience here. Really, too much stuff to pick between. Pick up a Folio, or an Arbus, of watch this forum long enough and you'll become inundated with upcoming events. The other week, I literally had a Margaret Atwood signing, a beer festival at Intuition, a concert at Freebird, and an event at the TU Center all in one night.

[KenFSU]

Another important question: How do we create synergy between all of the vastly different clusters of this 800 square mile city? Great mass transit is an obvious answer. But what else? The Jacksonville experience to UNF students, for example, is largely limited -- or at least laser focused -- on the areas around campus and the SJTC. The old joke is that those who live at the Jax Beaches do everything possible to stay on the beach and avoid crossing over the intercoastal. Northsiders have everything they need on their end of town. The Mandarin folk have their own amnenities. Ditto the San Marco/Riverside/Avondale crowd. I think a lot of the lack of Jacksonville pride can be attritubed to the fact that the city has little unified identity or synergy, but rather exists more as a dozen largely self-contained clusters connected by miles and miles of highway. There might be a lot going on at any given time, but the size, scale, and spread of Jacksonville makes it seem a lot more dead than it actually is when you're out driving around on a Saturday night. The million dollar question then becomes, how do we shake up all of the individual Jacksonville experiences and create a unified whole that is greater than the sum of the parts?

[fieldafm]

Quitcher bitchin.  Make stuff happen.  Encourage everyone you know to do the same.  Pitch in and help out publicizing stuff that you do know about so that the promoters make enough money and fun to continue with their events.  If you have ideas and need help, ask how to do them.

This is your city for now, and therefore your life.  Make it worth living in.

+1

Make it happen.

[fieldafm]

KenFSU, you brought up a great point.  The city needs to expand the young demographic (25 to 34 year olds especially).   

The New York Times article linked below is pretty good (it's 2006 but still good). 
I liked the referencing in the article to the importance of internships. 

So I wonder if there is a way for the city to incentivize / encourage local businesses to increase their number of college / graduate school targeted internships?  Heck, the city could help organize and find centralized locations for summer housing for interns coming into town from outside universities.  Network, have a good time in Jacksonville, be around other energetic young people...might pay off.     

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/25/us/25young.html?pagewanted=all

Among the largest Florida cities, Jacksonville has the youngest population...

345.   Fort Lauderdale, Florida Avg. Population Age in Fort Lauderdale, FL   36.1   
394.   Miami, Florida Avg. Population Age in Miami, FL   1,567,681   34.3   
304. West Palm Beach, Florida (   Avg. Population Age in West Palm Beach, Fl  37.2   
401.   Orlando, Florida, Avg. Population Age in Orlando, 33.7   
404.   Tampa, Florida Avg. Population Age in Tampa, FL 33.5   
405.   Jacksonville, Florida Avg. Population Age in Jacksonville, FL 33.4

To Ock's point... there are indeed young people living in Jax, I think the 25-40 year old age group is actually the largest segment (someone will need to check my work).  The key is getting the creative young minds in this city ENGAGED. 

Many young people are indifferent in this city, and frankly that is the single largest problem facing our community today in my honest of opinions. 

Get up off your couch, bring a friend and make a difference.  Problem solved.