Downtown's Latest Park an Afterthought?

[mtraininjax]

and then we can get some real park enhancements.

Don't bet on it. I smell the work of Paul Crawford here, since he was in charge of Parks and Rec for a while, and he seems to have his fingerprints on everything that is a lightening rod on MJ.

What a waste! Pocket parks use a fraction of the space and have more trees than this barren area. Were Palm trees the only idea when constructed?

[thelakelander]

The article misses the important part of the backstory tfsu1 mentions. This was a compromise to keep the Monroe Street rebuilding fiasco from happening. The plan was just to throw some grass down; this is no one's idea of a final product.

You only just touch on the truly frustrating thing about the plaza - that we actually had people pushing for the Monroe Street connector.

Street trees and sidewalks should be a part of street design, regardless of if Monroe Street is built or not. That's why the article spends minimal time attempting to unjustly tie the two together.

[Tacachale]

The article misses the important part of the backstory tfsu1 mentions. This was a compromise to keep the Monroe Street rebuilding fiasco from happening. The plan was just to throw some grass down; this is no one's idea of a final product.

You only just touch on the truly frustrating thing about the plaza - that we actually had people pushing for the Monroe Street connector.

Street trees and sidewalks should be a part of street design, regardless of if Monroe Street is built or not. That's why the article spends minimal time attempting to unjustly tie the two together.

Quite so, but we have a worse problem in trying to keep a street off of that space. We haven't heard the last of that, though hopefully we're beyond the point that it would actually happen.

[ben says]

8th picture from the bottom, 318 N. Broad St. It's for sale. $895k. Does anybody know anything about this building?

[If_I_Loved_you]

Why have we left are guard down since 9/11? The new courthouse has no real protection anyone could take a truck or car down N Clay St from W. Forsyth St. or W. Bay St. and run it right into the New courthouse?

[Tacachale]

^They spent millions of additional dollars to upgrade the security to post-9/11 standards. Whether or not it was worth it is closely related to what you think about the total cost of the courthouse.

[finehoe]

This is the prototype for the redevelopment of Hemming Plaza.  No sidewalks, no benches = no place for "undesirables".

[JFman00]

8th picture from the bottom, 318 N. Broad St. It's for sale. $895k. Does anybody know anything about this building?

Here's the listing for it:

Two-story, free-standing building with 6,242 square feet on .08 acres. Many parking garages and surface lots nearby. The building is located directly across from the new Duval County Unified Courthouse Facility. Excellent location for professional offices including attorneys, bail bondsman, etc.

Located within the designated state Enterprise Zone and the federal Empowerment Zone providing the potential for various tax credits and other economic incentives.

Possible owner financing. Building is also available for lease as-is or build-to-suit.

[Keith-N-Jax]

Including the citizens who paid for it!!

[If_I_Loved_you]

^They spent millions of additional dollars to upgrade the security to post-9/11 standards. Whether or not it was worth it is closely related to what you think about the total cost of the courthouse.

That's fine but my question is why isn't there any concrete barriers at the end of N. Clay St in front of the courthouse to stop a car or truck from running right up to the building. Look on google maps of the new courthouse and one can see all the dangers of this poor design in stopping a vehicle from driving right into the front of the New and Improved Courthouse?

[thelakelander]

The article misses the important part of the backstory tfsu1 mentions. This was a compromise to keep the Monroe Street rebuilding fiasco from happening. The plan was just to throw some grass down; this is no one's idea of a final product.

You only just touch on the truly frustrating thing about the plaza - that we actually had people pushing for the Monroe Street connector.

Street trees and sidewalks should be a part of street design, regardless of if Monroe Street is built or not. That's why the article spends minimal time attempting to unjustly tie the two together.

Quite so, but we have a worse problem in trying to keep a street off of that space. We haven't heard the last of that, though hopefully we're beyond the point that it would actually happen.

Yes, but they are two different issues despite dealing with the same site.  Sidewalks should have went in right along with the rebuilding of street curbs, traffic signals, and roadway repaving.  As soon as someone gets ran over on Broad or Pearl, what seems like a small problem is going to become a very large one.

[If_I_Loved_you]

Jacksonville,  no one should be surprised.

True and Sad.

[simms3]

Downtown does not have an access problem, nor does it have a traffic problem.  Even if every building were 100% occupied in the most efficient way possible, you're talking 60,000 commuters to a 2 square mile area with numerous numerous freeway exits coming from 4 different directions.

How to make more streets and make them more efficient for cars should be at the bottom of the list of priorities for this city.  How to make downtown more visually attractive to visitors, employees, residents and suburbanites and how to make anyone's visit to downtown, including multi-block walks easier and more pleasant should be the top priority.

Has the city looked at its own traffic numbers?  I-95 sees 120,000 vehicles a day somewhere between the Fuller Warren and Butler.  Maybe it could use another lane, but I-40 in Knoxville, TN sees 20% more traffic than I-95 in Jacksonville, just as a point of reference.  Downtown also has some of the widest one-way streets I have seen outside of NYC.  Most cities' downtowns have very cramped streets, much more traffic, tons of pedestrians to deal with and it becomes a much more hectic issue.  I don't hear car horns blasting every 2 seconds in DT Jacksonville - ever.  In fact, when I am in town I might be the only one tapping my horns...and it is to get the daydreamer in front of me to move.

[simms3]

So given that the city currently has quiet streets, I would imagine it would be easier to re-engineer them to be more pedestrian and bike friendly in the future as opposed to re-engineering main downtown thoroughfares in cities like Boston and Atlanta.

[thelakelander]

Yes, it would actually be quite easy.  Our streets are more than wide enough to accommodate multiple modes of mobility.  Unfortunately, for some strange reason, we continue to treat the car better than we do ourselves.