Avondale Property Owners Attempt to Close Public River Access

[Non-RedNeck Westsider]

I streamed the meeting and Redman did indeed change his stance after visiting the site.  It's quite possible that with a well developed plan for a park that he would probably change his mind back in favor of keeping access.

I don't know if he rode his bike there or drove. 

[urbanlibertarian]

It's pretty clear that COJ owns far more real estate and structures than it can properly maintain.  We should be selling off property that is of little use to the public and use the funds to better maintain what IS used by the public.

[Adam White]

It's pretty clear that COJ owns far more real estate and structures than it can properly maintain.  We should be selling off property that is of little use to the public and use the funds to better maintain what IS used by the public.

Or raise revenue and actually take care of the property that belongs to the public. Once it's sold, it's gone. I don't want us to lose our river access just because some people are really selfish and shortsighted.

[The_Choose_1]

I think you have to look at each parcel individually.
I would have no qualms about selling this parcel to the neighbors. I bet they would buy it if given the option.

As others have mentioned there are 3-4 de facto parks and and official on at Elizabeth Pl, that are within walking distance of this one, which clearly isn't a park in my opinion.
Can't possibly be worth the $$ to maintain it for the few people that use it. Get some one time revenue and use one of the many other parks close by.

No! Have you gone to the beaches Fernandina, PVB, or Atlantic beaches lately. It is almost impossible to find a parking space to walk to the beach.   The very wealth people that live at the beaches and on the St Johns River want anything they ask for. Screw them! This is a public space for all to use not just to the people with money. Why should I have to go to the other parks.

[SunKing]

I think you have to look at each parcel individually.
I would have no qualms about selling this parcel to the neighbors. I bet they would buy it if given the option.

As others have mentioned there are 3-4 de facto parks and and official on at Elizabeth Pl, that are within walking distance of this one, which clearly isn't a park in my opinion.
Can't possibly be worth the $$ to maintain it for the few people that use it. Get some one time revenue and use one of the many other parks close by.

No! Have you gone to the beaches Fernandina, PVB, or Atlantic beaches lately. It is almost impossible to find a parking space to walk to the beach.   The very wealth people that live at the beaches and on the St Johns River want anything they ask for. Screw them! This is a public space for all to use not just to the people with money. Why should I have to go to the other parks.

A very sad, uniformed comment....

[Non-RedNeck Westsider]

I think you have to look at each parcel individually.
I would have no qualms about selling this parcel to the neighbors. I bet they would buy it if given the option.

As others have mentioned there are 3-4 de facto parks and and official on at Elizabeth Pl, that are within walking distance of this one, which clearly isn't a park in my opinion.
Can't possibly be worth the $$ to maintain it for the few people that use it. Get some one time revenue and use one of the many other parks close by.

No! Have you gone to the beaches Fernandina, PVB, or Atlantic beaches lately. It is almost impossible to find a parking space to walk to the beach.   The very wealth people that live at the beaches and on the St Johns River want anything they ask for. Screw them! This is a public space for all to use not just to the people with money. Why should I have to go to the other parks.

A very sad , uniformed comment....

Sorry, couldn't help myself and had to edit that for you.

[thelakelander]

My guess is to provide public access to the river.  Without the street ROW, the rest of the lots within the subdivision would have been worth less in value. If I'm the developer, I'd want to squeeze more profit out of the development's land-locked lots, as well as those on the riverfront.



Back in those days, we didn't really have many officially designated parks. Probably not much of anything outside of Hemming, Springfield Park and Riverside Park. I'd assume public access would have allowed anything from sticking boats in the river and fishing, to actually swimming in it.

[mtraininjax]

Cool Map Lake! My house has an "S" on it, so that was nice to see. Lots of parks in the picture too, already planned for in Avondale.

[The_Choose_1]

I think you have to look at each parcel individually.
I would have no qualms about selling this parcel to the neighbors. I bet they would buy it if given the option.

As others have mentioned there are 3-4 de facto parks and and official on at Elizabeth Pl, that are within walking distance of this one, which clearly isn't a park in my opinion.
Can't possibly be worth the $$ to maintain it for the few people that use it. Get some one time revenue and use one of the many other parks close by.

No! Have you gone to the beaches Fernandina, PVB, or Atlantic beaches lately. It is almost impossible to find a parking space to walk to the beach.   The very wealth people that live at the beaches and on the St Johns River want anything they ask for. Screw them! This is a public space for all to use not just to the people with money. Why should I have to go to the other parks.

A very sad, uniformed comment....

IMO your wrong.

[The_Choose_1]

I also live in the area.  Simply put it is not a park but a ROW easement over private land that is not being maintained.  I never see people fishing there mostly because it is not very accessible and nasty.  There is a lot of drug activity, dead animals, trash, etc.  The neighborhood has been complaining about the situation for years to Jim Love.

SunKing the reason you didn't like my other comment is your part of the problem? The people that own houses in this neighborhood are mostly white & have money. And they don't like to see anybody that is different unless that person is mowing their lawn. Or cleaning their house under the table? So what the city of Jacksonville should do is clean up this area. for I wouldn't want to walk to the river past all the over growth, trash, drug activity, dead animals, people turning tricks etc etc etc myself!

And SunKing did you even read what Ron Littlepage said? http://jacksonville.com/opinion/ron-littlepage/2015-05-26/story/ron-littlepage-fight-brewing-over-attempt-close-river-access He is spot on. 

[SunKing]

I also live in the area.  Simply put it is not a park but a ROW easement over private land that is not being maintained.  I never see people fishing there mostly because it is not very accessible and nasty.  There is a lot of drug activity, dead animals, trash, etc.  The neighborhood has been complaining about the situation for years to Jim Love.

SunKing the reason you didn't like my other comment is your part of the problem? The people that own houses in this neighborhood are mostly white & have money. And they don't like to see anybody that is different unless that person is mowing their lawn. Or cleaning their house under the table? So what the city of Jacksonville should do is clean up this area. for I wouldn't want to walk to the river past all the over growth, trash, drug activity, dead animals, people turning tricks etc etc etc myself!

And SunKing did you even read what Ron Littlepage said? http://jacksonville.com/opinion/ron-littlepage/2015-05-26/story/ron-littlepage-fight-brewing-over-attempt-close-river-access He is spot on. 

What is sad is your attempt to make this a case of haves or have nots.  The neighborhood has been trying to have the city clean this up for DECADES.  Nobody cared until the adjoining property owners decided to actually take care of it on their own dime.  Latest escapade on ROW- two people having sex in the back of their car at 9:30 AM last Tuesday.  If the city can't control it why should everyone else have to put up with it?

And drop the class warfare theme.  Avondale was an extremely diverse neighborhood last time I checked.

[Adam White]

I also live in the area.  Simply put it is not a park but a ROW easement over private land that is not being maintained.  I never see people fishing there mostly because it is not very accessible and nasty.  There is a lot of drug activity, dead animals, trash, etc.  The neighborhood has been complaining about the situation for years to Jim Love.

SunKing the reason you didn't like my other comment is your part of the problem? The people that own houses in this neighborhood are mostly white & have money. And they don't like to see anybody that is different unless that person is mowing their lawn. Or cleaning their house under the table? So what the city of Jacksonville should do is clean up this area. for I wouldn't want to walk to the river past all the over growth, trash, drug activity, dead animals, people turning tricks etc etc etc myself!

And SunKing did you even read what Ron Littlepage said? http://jacksonville.com/opinion/ron-littlepage/2015-05-26/story/ron-littlepage-fight-brewing-over-attempt-close-river-access He is spot on. 

What is sad is your attempt to make this a case of haves or have nots.  The neighborhood has been trying to have the city clean this up for DECADES.  Nobody cared until the adjoining property owners decided to actually take care of it on their own dime.  Latest escapade on ROW- two people having sex in the back of their car at 9:30 AM last Tuesday.  If the city can't control it why should everyone else have to put up with it?

And drop the class warfare theme.  Avondale was an extremely diverse neighborhood last time I checked.

If you honestly think Avondale is "extremely diverse," then maybe you should get out more.

[thelakelander]

If the city can't control it why should everyone else have to put up with it?

We'd lose a lot more than this small public space if this theory was applied citywide. What will it take for the city to take care of its property?  Not just in Avondale but Moncrief, New Town, the Eastside and the rest of the entire city? IMO, these are questions we should be looking for answers too, moreso than worrying about where to find the extra hundreds of millions for new projects like the Shipyards and dredging the river.

[Adam White]

If the city can't control it why should everyone else have to put up with it?

We'd lose a lot more than this small public space if this theory was applied citywide. What will it take for the city to take care of its property?  Not just in Avondale but Moncrief, New Town, the Eastside and the rest of the entire city? IMO, these are questions we should be looking for answers too, moreso than worrying about where to find the extra hundreds of millions for new projects like the Shipyards and dredging the river.

Yes!

[The_Choose_1]

I also live in the area.  Simply put it is not a park but a ROW easement over private land that is not being maintained.  I never see people fishing there mostly because it is not very accessible and nasty.  There is a lot of drug activity, dead animals, trash, etc.  The neighborhood has been complaining about the situation for years to Jim Love.

SunKing the reason you didn't like my other comment is your part of the problem? The people that own houses in this neighborhood are mostly white & have money. And they don't like to see anybody that is different unless that person is mowing their lawn. Or cleaning their house under the table? So what the city of Jacksonville should do is clean up this area. for I wouldn't want to walk to the river past all the over growth, trash, drug activity, dead animals, people turning tricks etc etc etc myself!

And SunKing did you even read what Ron Littlepage said? http://jacksonville.com/opinion/ron-littlepage/2015-05-26/story/ron-littlepage-fight-brewing-over-attempt-close-river-access He is spot on. 

What is sad is your attempt to make this a case of haves or have nots.  The neighborhood has been trying to have the city clean this up for DECADES.  Nobody cared until the adjoining property owners decided to actually take care of it on their own dime.  Latest escapade on ROW- two people having sex in the back of their car at 9:30 AM last Tuesday.  If the city can't control it why should everyone else have to put up with it?

And drop the class warfare theme.  Avondale was an extremely diverse neighborhood last time I checked.

SunKing I'm still part of the haves. But before this story hit Metrojacksonville? These wealth home owners almost got their land without a fight. So for this I'm glad for MetroJacksonville and this forum. And SunKing the reason no one in your area at first did anything. Is because people like yourself or cheap. You bitch & moan about your taxes boo hoo. But I'm getting off the subject at hand. In closing SunKing if the have not's don't voice their Opinion. Then you so called haves would have Avondale closed off and gated!