What happened to Jim Love?

[Cheshire Cat]

Cat, did you get my PM?

[Shine]

“no plan survives first contact with the enemy.”   I think Jim Love is reacting to the situations put in front of him.

[Bright Crow]

Do any of you who are complaining live near Park & King?  There are now THREE bars at the intersection of Post & King, Kickbacks is building an extension, The Salty Fig is open across from Kickbacks.  THERE IS NO PARKING FOR RESIDENTS IN THE EVENINGS.

If Jim wants to slow neighborhood development in my neighborhood, now that he sees what it has done to the people who actually live here, then he certainly represents me on City Council.

[simonsays]

The challenges associated with a flourishing, dynamic neighborhood are not solved by sneaky anti-business ordinances of the kind  CM Love and those that influence him favor. This proclivity of his has the potential to cause untold damage for YEARS, as has, while we're on the subject, RAP's favorite tactic of insisting on the construction of new parking lots even when to do so requires the demolition of an existing building (an UTTERLY BIZARRE subversion of that organization's role as a preservation group).

[Captain Zissou]

  THERE IS NO PARKING FOR RESIDENTS IN THE EVENINGS

Do you mean on the street, or in your driveway? I didn't realize you were entitled to the roadway in front of your house.

The businesses didn't cause the problem, they are just exacerbating it. The problem was caused by our inability to think outside the automobile shaped box.

[John P]

“no plan survives first contact with the enemy.”   I think Jim Love is reacting to the situations put in front of him.

That is all anyone can do.

[simms3]

Do any of you who are complaining live near Park & King?  There are now THREE bars at the intersection of Post & King, Kickbacks is building an extension, The Salty Fig is open across from Kickbacks.  THERE IS NO PARKING FOR RESIDENTS IN THE EVENINGS.

If Jim wants to slow neighborhood development in my neighborhood, now that he sees what it has done to the people who actually live here, then he certainly represents me on City Council.

Wow...that area always looks like it has PLENTY of street parking to me...if the problem is that a driveway is blocked, a concerted effort of calling in the tow trucks will quickly teach patrons lessons (the fact that there isn't an army of tow trucks on standby there waiting to pounce and capitalize [or cabs aside from maybe 1-2] tells me that business owners are missing out and homeowners fail to see their options).

My experience with these sort of neighborhoody bar areas in car-oriented cities is that if the area poses parking hazards (such as $$ to park, crazy tow enforcement, the dreaded boot, lack of parking, etc), then fans of patronizing the area adapt - cabs, carpool, maybe even move/live there...

My experience going out in Jax is that 1) I never see any cabs, so I know people aren't using them to the extent they should.  2) Really there is no area with *that* many bars, we're talking 3-5 at most in any given area?...so parking is actually abundant despite what people want to say.  3) Parking is always free (perhaps there should be a pay lot on that old gas station?...someone makes money and homeowners' problems solved).  4) I don't know anyone who has ever had their car towed or booted in Jax - bad parking or illegal parking is simply not enforced when it could very well be as it is in every other city I've been in.  This is the big one, I think.

Aside from that...it's unrealistic to complain about traffic, congestion, noise, density, parking, etc when we're talking about few bars in any one area, plenty of spacing between homes and businesses (relative to most cities), a population density of 3-4,000 ppsm on average and rarely higher, and free and abundant surface and street parking everywhere you look.  So what's the problem?  Jim Love should be complaining about people not maintaining their personal property and lowering the property values of an entire area and conversely the tax base before he complains about well-respected and successful businesses boosting the desirability and value of an area (and lowering crime I might add with their more round the clock presence and eyes to the street).  The priorities are simply backwards, but what's new?

[m74reeves]

Do any of you who are complaining live near Park & King?  There are now THREE bars at the intersection of Post & King, Kickbacks is building an extension, The Salty Fig is open across from Kickbacks.  THERE IS NO PARKING FOR RESIDENTS IN THE EVENINGS.

If Jim wants to slow neighborhood development in my neighborhood, now that he sees what it has done to the people who actually live here, then he certainly represents me on City Council.

I live on Park Street, but I think you mean POST Street.

And I think I need to walk up to Kickback this evening and have a beer.

[ChriswUfGator]

Do any of you who are complaining live near Park & King?  There are now THREE bars at the intersection of Post & King, Kickbacks is building an extension, The Salty Fig is open across from Kickbacks.  THERE IS NO PARKING FOR RESIDENTS IN THE EVENINGS.

If Jim wants to slow neighborhood development in my neighborhood, now that he sees what it has done to the people who actually live here, then he certainly represents me on City Council.

Except the parking doesn't 'belong' to the residents, it's public parking. If you have a problem with that, the solution is simple: Either move somewhere else, where you don't dictate the activities of 1,000 other people to suit your convenience, or else buy a small enough number of vehicles that they all fit in your driveway. "Problem" (notice the quotation marks) solved.

[m74reeves]

Except the parking doesn't 'belong' to the residents, it's public parking. If you have a problem with that, the solution is simple: Either move somewhere else, where you don't dictate the activities of 1,000 other people to suit your convenience, or else buy a small enough number of vehicles that they all fit in your driveway. "Problem" (notice the quotation marks) solved.

good point...there are lots on rentals in that area and as such lots of residents end up fighting for on street parking with those that patronize these businesses.

why can't people park in the bank's parking lot on king about 2 blks away from kickbacks et al? there must be about 100 spaces there.

[ChriswUfGator]

The rentals almost always have off-street parking as well. The problem is a mindset. The houses and smaller number of apartment buildings in that area were built back when you generally had 1, rarely maybe 2, cars per family. Now, especially with our auto-centric society in Jacksonville, every household's got each adult having a car plus one for each of the kids, and sometimes a spare. The place simply wasn't designed for it, and so it spilled over into street parking.

The "problem" arose when the neighborhood's economy turned for the better and long-vacant commercial spaces filled up. All of a sudden you have customers again, using the street parking for exactly what it was designed for. This has led to a disproportionately loud outcry from a small number of residents who see the street in front of their house as 'their' private parking lot rather than the public right of way and public parking it really is.

These squeaky wheels have attempted to force all residents to buy neighborhood parking passes or risk being towed, have called code enforcement, the police, etc., and resorted to opposing business development by passing moratoriums on permitting and attempting to thwart any business opening which they feel will contribute to this manufactured parking "problem."

This really is not a problem, it's just a couple squeaky wheels who can't or won't understand that a public street and public parking aren't their personal fiefdom, or that having to walk a quarter block instead of being able to park directly in front of their house isn't actually a "problem." It's really the height of "me first, f*ck you" diplomacy, and this alleged parking problem is in reality nonexistent. You make some trade offs when you move to a historic neighborhood, and one of them is that this isn't some private cul de sac at jax country club. If you have 4 cars and can't always get guaranteed parking right in front of your house, that's not a "problem," its just the design of the place, and it has been like that for 100 years before they moved in. The solution isn't getting rid of everybody else to create private parking out of what's supposed to be a public street.

[nighthawksjax]

Do any of you who are complaining live near Park & King?  There are now THREE bars at the intersection of Post & King, Kickbacks is building an extension, The Salty Fig is open across from Kickbacks.  THERE IS NO PARKING FOR RESIDENTS IN THE EVENINGS.

If Jim wants to slow neighborhood development in my neighborhood, now that he sees what it has done to the people who actually live here, then he certainly represents me on City Council.

Don't bring that anti-business junk up in here Crow!
Besides, drinking and eating and drinking is an important aspect of our hood. And these are family friendly places.

I do agree with you on some points; Post and King is a nightmare. However, in doing so, he is hurting local businesses across the entire riverside region, blanketing the problems for one intersection and strip, extending it into various potentially rejuvenated areas that need a face lift. He should focus on that parking issue specifically and it shouldn't involve the city nosing around the five points area. Why should everyone have to be punished for it?

[thelakelander]

^The streets were not designed for the amount of cars each individual family owns today or for many of the auto trips being made today.  During its early and densest years, more lived, worked, played, walked, biked, and used mass transit than they do today.

What should be considered bad planning over the decades is the creation and implementation of policies that promote more auto trip use over alternative modes of transportation.  It's an issue that negatively impacts the entire city and one that has largely destroyed downtown.

With that said, there's no parking capacity problem, when compared with popular urban neighborhoods across the country. A major goal should be to find easy solutions that balance mobility choices by people living, working and visiting the area.

[ChriswUfGator]

I don't think the demographic of the normal renter in the Post & King area includes
families with kids and multiple cars including one for each kid and possibly an extra.
Much more singles, young couples and if they have children they are not driving age.
That's a generalization of course but that's much more likely there than the family
Described above.
If anything the issue is these renters entertaining and having many cars of their friends
outside their house.

And if those streets were designed for on street parking then someone did a poor job.
I take Post to go home often. Any time after happy hour it's like a game of frogger with
Oncoming traffic for blocks either side of Post & King.

The vast majority of homes in that area are single family residences, with a much smaller number of apartments sprinkled in. It's the actual homeowners, or at least a vocal minority of them, who are causing this "problem," not the renters, and not the businesses that are simply using public parking for its intended purpose.

Look, I'll admit that I'm guilty of this myself, I have 3 cars and I live in Riverside and only have a 2 car garage. Which makes me a schmuck by my own definition. The difference, and where it crosses the line, is that I'm not running around trying to get rid of my neighbors so I don't have to walk 100 feet if the spot right in front is taken. The reality is that there's always parking around here, even at king street, at any time of the day. The "problem" is that you might actually have to walk 100 feet instead of parking directly next to your house. Which of course is not a "problem."

[thelakelander]

I follow. You are both saying it's a perceived problem rather than an actual one.

Changing that perception then seems a good goal as well.

Why is it so hard to change peoples perception on the issue?

It took over 50 years to get to this point so it takes time to change perception ingrained over such an extensive period of time.  On the other hand, as the population changes (via newcomers moving into the area) so will overall perception.

And if it truly is a vocal minority, then who cares if they complain?

Numbers don't really matter. The squeaky wheel typically gets greased, especially if that wheel is politically influential.

I can say two things about parking around Park/Post and King and around the Shoppes in Avondale

1) I drive through both areas multiple times a day, and often it LOOKS as if there is most certainly a parking problem.

I've never had a problem parking in either of these districts.  Ate at the Fox yesterday and parked literally right in front of it.  The furthest I've ever had to park was a block away from the Garage during a pub crawl last November.  In the 1990s, when Ybor was really going in Tampa, I used to park four to five blocks away from my desired destination.  However, that wasn't a big deal to me either. In DC, driving was actually a real hassle. Thinking about it, even going to school in Tallahassee, you couldn't park adjacent to your classes. Guess that's just my perception of moving here from other areas.

2) I have personally never changed my plans on the fly due to not being able to find parking. An extra couple minutes searching or walking the extra 100 yards. (although I often have parked in the driveway of a certain WLA member when it's peak hours, just to irk him)

You have a longer walk parking at SJTC or your average Walmart.  The only place locally I've ever changed my plans on the fly locally is downtown Jax.  That typically revolves around not having a quarter for meters and not wanting to pay more to park in the garages.  With those situations, I ended up spending money destined for downtown in Springfield, San Marco, Arlington and Riverside.