Attractions in Jacksonville...we need way more.

[Todd_Parker]

With UF building a footprint near the Prime Osborn, it's too bad there's not a good rail option or bus/shuttle service between Gainesville and Jax to make that trip more convenient.

[thelakelander]

^An express bus between the JRTC/Union Terminal and UF could be possible. Although much of its route is BRT on an expressway corridor, that's how Boulder is connected to Denver's Union Station:

https://www.rtd-denver.com/routes-services/other-services/flatiron-flyer

[Jankelope]

I would personally love to see a smaller scale, 40-50 acre regional park that has some real heart and soul and ties in lots of love for the local scene. I had idea of a hub that had a large windmill as its icon. You could have 4 lands. Each land would have a roller coaster, an indoor dark ride, an educational theater show, and restaurants/retail. My ideas were below:

Ancient Florida - focused on Florida Panther, Jaguars (yes they were once in Florida!) and the natural environment of Florida. You could have a Jaguars coaster and Florida Panther dark ride.

JAX3000 - Futuristic, fully indoor land with science, technology, etc.

Mayport Sunrise - Themed to an old beachside amusement park attractions complete with a genuine wooden roller coaster, bumper cars, and a dark ride that is fully painted black & white until the final scene when it is in color. Corn dogs, deep fried Oreos, etc

Music Land - this land could have lots of homage to music, including an indoor music themed roller coaster.

[jaxlongtimer]

Jankelope, thanks for a creative idea.  We need more of those!  Whether implemented or not, it gets the juices going to elevate our thinking and maybe execute on some of the propositions.

For sure, I agree on the 40 to 50(+++) acre park and have said so on numerous other threads here.  As our population grows and we wish to host bigger events, accordingly, or even another Super Bowl, we need a location to host 100,000 to several hundred thousand people.  Nothing on the drawing boards along the river currently indicates that ability.

Plus, a larger park could host soccer, pickleball, basketball, tennis, volleyball, mini-football field, full blown dog park, gardens, etc. that would be amenity incentives for downtown living and for tourists.  Every great city has this or wishes it did.  We are squandering our chance to do so and paying developers off to take this opportunity away.  Crazy!  In decades to come, the regrets will pour in.

[marcuscnelson]

To what extent does something like the 55-acre Surf Park being built out by eTown not satisfy some of these goals?

[jaxlongtimer]

To what extent does something like the 55-acre Surf Park being built out by eTown not satisfy some of these goals?

I understand it is a privately owned "lagoon" surrounded by hotels/condos/apartments.  And the surfing will be for a fee.  Not downtown, not designed to host events for 100,000 or anything close to that and not a park in the traditional sense.  Apples and oranges to what I was commenting on.  Maybe it lines up with Jankelope's vision.  Will let him decide on that  .

[CityLife]

I would personally love to see a smaller scale, 40-50 acre regional park that has some real heart and soul and ties in lots of love for the local scene. I had idea of a hub that had a large windmill as its icon. You could have 4 lands. Each land would have a roller coaster, an indoor dark ride, an educational theater show, and restaurants/retail. My ideas were below:

Ancient Florida - focused on Florida Panther, Jaguars (yes they were once in Florida!) and the natural environment of Florida. You could have a Jaguars coaster and Florida Panther dark ride.

JAX3000 - Futuristic, fully indoor land with science, technology, etc.

Mayport Sunrise - Themed to an old beachside amusement park attractions complete with a genuine wooden roller coaster, bumper cars, and a dark ride that is fully painted black & white until the final scene when it is in color. Corn dogs, deep fried Oreos, etc

Music Land - this land could have lots of homage to music, including an indoor music themed roller coaster.

No comment on the specific ideas mentioned...but imo, a signature urban park Downtown is one of the biggest things the City is lacking. If Jax really wants to be a great city, imo it should make major investment's into Springfield's Chain of Parks. This would make everything east of 95, north of Union, South of 8th, and West of the park a highly desirable place to live. You have a great opportunity to add a ton of density in this pocket. It would ultimately connect Gateway/Downtown Core to UF Health, and would also make Springfield an even more desirable place to live.

Below is a post I made about how the City can expand the existing park network in Springfield from it's current state to a park north of 50 acres in another thread last year.

"There is a seemingly feasible long term solution to the size limitations of the Springfield Parks and the land is all owned by the Jacksonville Housing Authority. Centennial Townhomes West is owned and operated by the JHA. It's 7.69 acres and is immediately next to Klutho Park. The complex was built in 1977 and has likely reached the end of it's life. Then to the west of that you have Blodgett Villas, which is on 17.73 acres and is also owned by the JHA. The complex was built in the early 90's and presumably still has some life left. Between both of those complexes is the JHA HQ which is 9.56 acres. In total, this is 34.98 acres. Nearly equal to the rest of the chain of parks. But that's not it. South of Blodgett is a nice 5.5 acre lake/retention pond that is part of the state complex. I'm sure COJ could agree to take on maintenance from the state if it was included in the park, so you really could add 40 acres to the park.

The City could start planning for the future and expand the park in phases. Centennial more immediately and Blodgett in the future. This would not only expand the park, but provide the necessary width to add more recreational amenities to the park. If you add all this land and simply remove Broad and Jefferson between 6th and 1st, there would be 58 acres of connected parks space uninterrupted by roads.

The City gets so much money yearly from the federal government for the CDBG program that it could likely fund a lot of this project that way. The city could also increase the maximum residential height and density on the edges of the park (away from the historic district) and make a killing off the increase of ad valorem taxes. To make this happen, COJ just has to find a new HQ for the JHA and rebuild affordable housing nearby to replace the two lost projects.

This is obviously putting the cart before the horse, as the first priority should actually upgrading the existing system. However, I think if there is a long term expansion plan and the opportunity to create a truly great park, it might make renovating the existing system a higher priority and more financially viable."