Matthew finishes off riverfront park -- closed until...?

[blfair]

San Marco's favorite fishing and sunset watching spot seems to be closed for business. Riverfront Park's bulkhead was already washed out in places, during the storm it sustained major damage, with huge sections of soil washed away.

Just saw this tonight, pardon the blurry night photos. Judging from the fence, looks like we will be without it for while. Really sad to see.

[blfair]

Just a thought -- the way this fence appears to be setup, and the size/position of the gates, suggests either all of the work is going to be done from a barge, or they have no specific plans to do anything and have just shut everything down. The poles are sunk into the ground, and the gate is pretty small. I would think if they were planning to work on this anytime soon, this would be a temporary fence that sits on the ground so they could move/re-position it to accommodate heavy equipment. I hope I'm wrong but I'm worried we're going to be looking at the river through a fence for a while.

[Noone]

WOW! Did the whole stretch require to be fenced?
Waterfront Activation?
10/19/16 saw a vehicle with a parking ticket at the end of Catherine St. on Hogans Creek for the first time ever. Need the kayak launch signage back up.
10/19/16 then happened to see widening of McCoys Creek on Myrtle Ave.

Visit Jacksonville

[Kerry]

I hope they do something to the park to make it better.  A sidewalk adjacent to the water would be nice.  While walking in the evening I can't tell you how many random holes I have stepped in - and almost fell in the river once   I would also be cool if they could cantilever some platforms out over the water about 6 feet for the people fishing.

[lastdaysoffla]

Such a COJ thing to do. Any other city would get this fixed up in a week. Jacksonville? Nope we gotta fence it off an think about it for a while

[Tacachale]

The park was in bad shape long before Matthew. The bulkhead has deteriorated and needs serious work (it's not something that could likely be fixed in a week). A few months ago, the city put in some fill, but were clear at the time that it was just a bandaid until money could be found for a real fix. It would probably be worth asking council member Boyer for the low down.

[lastdaysoffla]

Okay, maybe two weeks of work time for a well equipped and funded outfit.

I wager that fence will be up the better part of a year before a plan is in place. It took two years for the city to get moving on the collapsed courthouse parking lot.

I'm not trying to be negative but the city doesn't have the best track record reacting quickly to public works.

[Jagsdrew]

I sent an email to Council President Lori Boyer District 5 council about Riverfront Park - here is the response:

"Andrew,
I appreciate you inquiring about Riverfront Park.  Temporary barricades were placed in Riverfront Park earlier this month as a safety precaution to keep people away from the large holes in the ground along the bulkhead. Unfortunately, the bulkhead was further damaged by Hurricane Matthew which posed additional  safety issues. There were reports that people were moving the barricades to enter the restricted area  so a more permanent solution was needed until the bulkhead can be repaired.  Council President Boyer has been working with the Mayor's Administration, the Parks Department and Public Works for months now to secure funding and devise a plan to repair the bulkhead in Riverfront Park. It is my understanding that the project is in the design phase. Rest assured that the temporary fencing will be removed upon completion of the project."

[BridgeTroll]

The park was in bad shape long before Matthew. The bulkhead has deteriorated and needs serious work (it's not something that could likely be fixed in a week). A few months ago, the city put in some fill, but were clear at the time that it was just a bandaid until money could be found for a real fix. It would probably be worth asking council member Boyer for the low down.

That bulkhead is a problem in many places along the river... Metro park will be next... most of the metal has corroded and is collapsing

[KenFSU]

A fix is finally coming.

$2 million in bulkhead repairs have been funded by the city, with construction to begin by late summer.

http://residentnews.net/2017/06/03/city-finally-funds-riverfront-park-bulkhead-restoration/