Urban Walkability: Learning from Boston

[Metro Jacksonville]

Urban Walkability: Learning from Boston



Founded in 1630, Boston is one of the oldest and most culturally significant cities in the United States.  It’s also a role model for being a walkable city.  Despite being nearly 200 years older and many times as dense, this city offers many pedestrian friendly ideas and concepts Jacksonville should once again embrace.

Full Article
http://www.metrojacksonville.com/content/view/376

[Jason]

Boston is one of the most amazing cities in the country.  If there is any one city in the world I would like to see Jax mimmic, Boston is it.

[jd]

Amazing tour - I would love to see Jax incorporate even half of the ideas presented above...

[don]

Great job!  There is no reason Jaxsonville couldnt develop a similar style.  Hopefully our "city planners" read this page.

[Steve]

This was one of the best ones I've seen on this site - Nice Job!

[Johnny]

I could save a lot of money if I just quit going on vacation each year and just take the photo tours on this site :)

[Pavers]

One comment above referred to "Expensive pavers are irrelevant."  Can you elaborate on this point?  I do not understand the context.  Are you inferring that the city wishes to spend mega-bucks on the best sidewalks/trails money can buy, while Boston's version is more cost-effective and gets the job done?

Thanks!

[thelakelander]

If you've ever sat through any public meetings involving streetscapes and public spaces, the idea that sidewalks have to be expensively designed is always present.  However, in many cities (including Boston) you'll notice that you can get by with the regular basics...plain concrete slabs for sidewalks and asphalt for jogging paths.  

The excitement and vibrancy of these spaces come from the diverse amount of activities around them, not from what the sidewalks look like.  So in a budget minded world, this means historically we may have spent too much money on things that really don't matter in the grand scheme of things.

[Sean]

great job on this photo tour, as with all other photo tours I've had the time to look at.

i just think it should be pointed out that one of the reasons boston is such a pedestrian-friendly city is due to the great public transit system they have in place. granted, downtown boston is relatively small and can easily be walked, public transportation (called 'the T') is a cheap and, for the most part, efficient way to get where you need to go. one of the things that struck me when i came to jax was the lack of a strong public transportation system. i tried to take the bus but there were no schedules at the bus stop and there was no map on jta's website (i think they have since added this feature), so, being unfamiliar with the city, i wasnt sure where i would end up and instead opted to just drive.

thankfully this site has lead me to believe that jacksonville may actually become the city it has the potential to be. improvements are being made, such as the new jta airport express bus, but theres still a lot of work to be done

[Colleen]

Wonderful walking tour, and excellent observations about pedestrian- friendly Boston...But Sean's comments above, about the "T" can't be underestimated.   Having lived in Brookline (a next door neighbor to Boston), I can safely say that driving into Boston, from my home, was just unthinkable.  The "T" brought everyone in from surrounding towns easily and for a low price...and once there, you walked  everywhere.  From store to restaurant to museum.

Building a rail system, to draw people into the downtown area, would certainly be an expensive and  enormous undertaking....but I suspect it would be worth it, in the long run, if you want to make the downtown area  a destination.  

[I-10east]

I understand the the "learning from" threads between cities are made to compare or whatever; IMO Boston and Jax don't have much in common, and that's not a bad thing  for Jax IMO. Granted, I never been to Boston put the first thing I think of about Boston is Historical sites, crappy weather, and New England clam chowder. IMO it's easy to highlight a city by showing pics; It's not like J-ville don't have nice areas, but you wouldn't know that because everyone tends to overreact in thinking that Boston is perfect. I wouldn't won't for J-ville to imitate any city; It's good to stay orignal.

[Yourworstnightmare]

Jax is a drive by city. You go threw it to get to some place else. Stop trying to make it something it isn't.

[I-10east]

That's your opinion; I'm sorry for having mine. Gimme a break, where I would rather live Jax, or Boston. Oh, I'm struggling with that decision. Maybe you're trying to make out Boston to be something it's not.

[I-10east]

I'm ready for the moderator to make a "Learning from Paducah" thread. Maybe yall can post some pics of Wal-Mart  in Paducah, KY next to a retention pond. Maybe that's better than Jax too!!! Half of these pics of other cities looks very similar to Avondale, Five Points, or Northbank riverwalk, but yet our city always unfairly put behind the 8 ball. Accrording to most people, everything gotta be downtown crowded with people with buildings like Saks, Bvgari, and Tiffany's all jammed up in a one block area. Yeah, that's what everyone should envision the greatest city to be!!! God forbid if you put something in the suburbs. Oh no, no,no,no,no,no. Everything gotta be DT. I'm not trying to make Jax out to be perfect, but damn it's not that bad outside of the "tunnel vision dreams of upscale department stores and restaurants at DT'" It's like yin and yang, somebody gotta stick up for J-ville, and it's me.  

[downtownparks]

The problem here isn't the suburbs, and I dont think anyone has begrudged you that. The problem is, there is no density in the Core, and that is what MetroJax primarily focuses on... downtown development. If you want to go start a group that focus' on suburban development, sprawl, and strip malls, Im sure we will all check in to see whats going on from time to time.

Hell, the city hired the biggest suburban developer around (Ben Carter) to help focus on downtown... so clearly suburban visioning isn't the problem here.