Downtown's Southbank could get pedestrian-friendly makeover without express bus

[thelakelander]

It's nice to see something that has been discussed in the past on this site getting some traction with the DIA:

Riverplace Boulevard, the four-lane highway that cuts through Downtown Jacksonville's Southbank, could be getting a makeover to make it more pedestrian friendly.

Mike Balanky, president of Chase Properties Inc. and developer of San Marco Place on the Southbank, on Monday asked the Downtown Investment Authority to consider using money from a dedicated fund to pay for improvements that may include roundabouts and angled parking spaces — similar to the road improvements to San Marco Square.
The money would come from Southbank tax revenue, a portion of which is set aside for use in the area.

The DIA authorized CEO Aundra Wallace to begin looking into the project on Monday. There's $1.5 million in the Southbank fund, and Balanky said the project could cost between $1.5 million and $2 million.

full article: http://www.bizjournals.com/jacksonville/news/2013/09/24/riverplace-boulevard-on-downtowns.html

[thelakelander]

Btw, if BRT isn't going on Riverplace Boulevard now, how is it getting from the Acosta Bridge to Kings Avenue?  Will it be using Prudential?

[dougskiles]

BRT will continue the route on Riverplace Boulevard.  They just won't build dedicated lanes.  And they acknowledged that if DIA decides to make it a 2-lane road, they can run the BRT on that too.

[fieldafm]

BRT will continue the route on Riverplace Boulevard.  They just won't build dedicated lanes.  And they acknowledged that if DIA decides to make it a 2-lane road, they can run the BRT on that too.

That's really fantastic news (considering duplicate BRT routes along the  Skyway wouldn't have gone away regardless)!

Riverplace is the poster child for a street in need of a contextually sensitive makeover. 

[thelakelander]

Since nothing really changes with BRT routing it will still compete with the Skyway's three Southbank stations.  However, the  Southbank will gain 22-24 extra feet of ROW width to play with in an effort to make Riverplace Boulevard more context sensitive?

Considering the Southbank's CRA brings in $1.5 million annually (a number that should increase), that section of downtown may need to consider stockpiling and prioritizing a list of improvement projects to invest in.

[fieldafm]

It's clear to anyone that observes DIA closely, this is a project that they need to take up yesterday. 

[PeeJayEss]

Mike Balanky, I like that dude.

[fsujax]

I have seen many nice looking graphics of what the Southbannk could look like. I think it is time to turn some of those into reality.