DVI to host public meeting to discuss parklets downtown

[fieldafm]

Bumping this up for today

[Bill Hoff]

Looking forward to attending, parklets could be very cool in DTJax (dinner & drinks at Zodiac ain't bad either).

[ronchamblin]

I might not be able to attend at six.  Expecting this, I just want to convey that I cannot imagine a persuasive negative or opposition to the idea of having occasional parklets in the core.  They will add color, art, life ...  certainly a positive to the core. 

[Steve]

I can't make it tonight, but I think it's an idea worth discussion. I do think that in an environment like Jacksonville, it's likely in practice going to be pretty temporary. I'm not sitting outside in 100 degree heat to eat dinner.

I do think one of the requirements of this should be a place that has more than just lunch hours. If every place that was open from 10-2 had a parklet, then everyone would. On the other hand, a place that is open Wed-Sat for dinner.....I think that would be cool.

[exnewsman]

Quote from lakelander

"Downtown doesn't have a parking problem. I'm down here daily and I've never had problems finding a space. Some of our sidewalks are too narrow for outdoor dining. Parklets are a solution to that. They also are proven traffic calming solutions. People tend to drive slower when there's more pedestrian activity within a compact location."

Lake ... you are assuming that enough people will begin to use the "off street" parking ... which might be feasible.  It will involve a change in habits.  Many people are used to looking for easy street parking, as apposed to the multi-level parking garage.

Businesses such as mine would have to weigh the advantages of having an improved ambience out front, and having fewer street parking spaces for customers.  Many of these street spaces are abused in any case ... the same people parking every day in front for several hours, when they should use the garages.  Actually, I would support the parklets idea.  I think that people will get used to parking in the various garages.  And if the parklets are to come, our employees would have to encourage customers who call in ... to use the garages instead of searching for the increasingly scarce street parking.   

There is plenty of parking available in conjunction with the Skyway. No need to park in the core when a quick couple minute "free" Skyway ride will take you right into the business district. I use it everyday.

[CityLife]

Looking forward to heading to the DVI parklet meeting and stopping by Hemming Park for the Prince tribute concert. We're supposed to have storms from Saturday until Tuesday, so its a good night to get out of the house.

[fieldafm]

We have a temporary 'parklet' setup right now outside Zodiac. Looking forward to putting some faces to some usernames tonight. Takes 5 minutes of your time, your input is needed and Zodiac has cold beer and a full bar.

[thelakelander]

Great turnout tonight!

[mtraininjax]

I'm not sitting outside in 100 degree heat to eat dinner.

Why not? Where is the fun in dining during the summer if you cannot watch the sweat drip down your face?

[thelakelander]

Btw, the group of 4 in this photo were randomly walking down the street, saw the parklet, sat it in it and grabbed someone from Zodiac to serve them.  They ate dinner right there in that parklet....hot day and all...

[thelakelander]

Also, here's a link to a parklet survey for those who are interested in exploring the idea of bringing parklets to downtown before the end of the year:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1KeyXVsNRvvzCdjL22lirtJqlXOgo6A69ftxmdL0VKMQ/viewform?c=0&w=1&usp=send_form

[BridgeTroll]

Jerry is a great host.  My first thought looking at the pictures... not sure I want to be sitting out on Adams St.  The planter is not much of a barrier to the inattentive, speeding, texting driver.  How is this issue addressed?

[thelakelander]

^That's a temporary "no frills" parklet that was set up just for last night's meeting. Sort of what was put up on Parking Day back in 2012. It's not really representative of what will come with the parklet program. Give me a minute. I'll upload the latest concept renderings, illustrating what a parklet could look like, from yesterday's FPZA presentation.

[thelakelander]

[fieldafm]

The above image shows the presence of several safety elements that are compliant with NACTO standards including bollards that are visible to drivers, wheel stops, guardrails/railings, a platform that brings the parklet flush with the sidewalk (meeting ADA requirements) and a 12" tall concrete stopwall.

The temporary, makeshift 'parklet' demonstration setup yesterday obviously did not have any of these safety measures... however what was striking to me while sitting out there most of the day were the amount of people that stopped to say 'wow, never realized there was a restaurant here' and the three separate groups of people that were walking down the sidewalk and decided to stop and have a meal because the outdoor seating area drew them in.  As mentioned here: http://www.metrojacksonville.com/article/2015-apr-parklets-of-san-francisco/page/2, numerous studies have been conducted in other cities that prove that increasing the supply of good public places (outdoor cafes, etc) induces demand.

Forget about The Loop (not in the same scale as downtown Jax) and Lakeview (a much more dense version of Riverside/Avondale)... but neighborhoods like Andersonville and Bronzeville would compare favorably with many of the 'dense' neighborhoods in Jacksonville. As this graphic shows, 34% of the users of Chicago parklets made unplanned food or beverage purchases and 73% of users surveyed indicated that if not for the parklet they would instead be at home.




*As a side note, around lunchtime a gentleman in a suit stopped in the parklet to call a perspective employee and offered them a job. Not going to say that the parklet created jobs yesterday.... but I'm also not going to say that the parklet didn't create jobs yesterday