POLL: What are The Biggest Issues?

[stephendare]

What would you say the most important issue is for any candidate in the upcoming elections for Mayor and Council?

[Tripoli1711]

Before I vote.. what do you mean by "improving the neighborhoods"?  I am inclined to lean toward this one, because I think it addresses issues of local parks and schools, touches on crime and safety issues, and also could impact the issue of connectivity among neighborhoods.  Is this what you mean?

[reednavy]

My opinion in this order:
Economic issues
Transit
Crime
Improving neighborhoods
Port
Sprawl

Although, crime and improving neighborhoods can sort of be tied together, especially in certain parts of the city like Springfield, Tallyrand, Northside, and Arlington.

[thelakelander]

My top one would be transit.  Its the only one on the list that will have a direct impact on stopping sprawl, changing the local economic crisis, laying the groundwork to reduce crime in certain areas, increasing the port's mobility, and improving neighborhoods.  In the grand scheme of things, the investment in it would also be one of the cheapest on this list to implement.

[thelakelander]

Improving the neighborhoods = enhancing a neighborhood's quality of life.  Everything mentioned by both of you could be considered elements that can improve the livability of a neighborhood.

[sheclown]

I think the economic crisis, understanding it and using it as a piloting tool, is the most important.  If we head into a global depression, then all bets are off.  If we are bottoming out in our recession, then it is time to rebuild and other issues are important.  I feel somewhat shell shocked in terms of planning for the future, since the reality of today is different from what I saw five years ago.  What we planned five years ago was based on a different reality than what we see right now. 

That being said, personally and as a society, we ought to remain as economically flexible as possible.  That means not incurring any more debt, paying off debt if possible, cutting expenses and waiting to see... not burdening already panicky people with more debt and a promise of services that may be impossible to provide.

[stjr]

Stopping sprawl would connect with solving all the other problems listed, the port excepted, as it is the primary root to them IMHO!

Spawling overdevelopment led to the current economic crisis.  Sprawl creates crime and runs down established neighborhoods by enticing capable residents into summarily discarding their existing homes for the newest and greatest development without pushing residents to vest in the ones they leave behind  And, sprawl creates geographically extended populations stranded without adequate and costly infrastructure and overly long and unnecessary transits while playing into the insatiable propensity to justify and build more roads at the expense of mass transit (witness the Outer Beltway which is being pushed harder and will probably be built before any rails are).

[Traveller]

Getting a handle on crime would go a long way toward reducing sprawl and improving neighborhoods near the core in my opinion.  Crime (or the perception thereof) is the reason many families won't live anywhere close to downtown.

[stjr]

Getting a handle on crime would go a long way toward reducing sprawl and improving neighborhoods near the core in my opinion.  Crime (or the perception thereof) is the reason many families won't live anywhere close to downtown.

My observation is crime appears often as a function of opportunity and a lack of vestment in a community.  It moves into neighborhoods destabilized by the rapid relocation of their residents to other areas and the resulting abandonment of such neighborhoods to those less interested, committed, or able to maintain them free of crime and other undesirable activities.

If residents had less options or temptations to move to sprawl, maybe inner neighborhoods would have better chances that their residents would "lovingly" stay to tender and grow them.  This would advance the quality and stability of the neighborhoods (thus, upholding community and values) rather than lead to a wholesale abandonment of them to scavengers and evil doers looking for places to pursue criminal activities under the noses of powerless or disengaged neighbors.

Original residents of Springfield had luxury homes.  They didn't begin leaving over crime.  They left for the temptation of "greener pastures" in the sprawling suburbs.  Criminals and low-lifes couldn't have taken over these neighborhoods if the residents didn't turn them over.  The proof is in the return, still in process, of residents restoring Springfield and putting up the good fight to remove the criminal elements.  Clearly, if crime ran off good residents, a neighborhood such as this would have no chance of being returned to civility and prosperity.

There are many places near water in Jax, not far from criminally infested areas, where neighborhoods have been preserved.  They serve as an example of where residents have stayed and persevered.  I suggest this is likely because sprawl can not tempt them easily, being unable to readily match such waterfront opportunities.  Further proof of my theory! 

[Gwefr]

My observation is crime appears often as a function of opportunity and a lack of vestment in a community.  It moves into neighborhoods destabilized by the rapid relocation of their residents to other areas and the resulting abandonment of such neighborhoods to those less interested, committed, or able to maintain them free of crime and other undesirable activities.

If residents had less options or temptations to move to sprawl, maybe inner neighborhoods would have better chances that their residents would "lovingly" stay to tender and grow them.  This would advance the quality and stability of the neighborhoods (thus, upholding community and values) rather than lead to a wholesale abandonment of them to scavengers and evil doers looking for places to pursue criminal activities under the noses of powerless or disengaged neighbors.

Original residents of Springfield had luxury homes.  They didn't begin leaving over crime.  They left for the temptation of "greener pastures" in the sprawling suburbs.  Criminals and low-lifes couldn't have taken over these neighborhoods if the residents didn't turn them over.  The proof is in the return, still in process, of residents restoring Springfield and putting up the good fight to remove the criminal elements.  Clearly, if crime ran off good residents, a neighborhood such as this would have no chance of being returned to civility and prosperity.

There are many places near water in Jax, not far from criminally infested areas, where neighborhoods have been preserved.  They serve as an example of where residents have stayed and persevered.  I suggest this is likely because sprawl can not tempt them easily, being unable to readily match such waterfront opportunities.  Further proof of my theory! 

I agree with that...and I feel lazy so I'll just repeat what stjr said. 

[BridgeTroll]

I voted transit... modern 21st century cities have modern mass transit...

[mtraininjax]

Now I know how bad the education system is here in Jacksonville....listen, you can't stop global economics, but you can fix your own backyard. Those who want a new transit system, face it, no money, and according to the JCCI, there is no need. Sure, go ahead spend your fed dollars and plan away, do it quietly.

What we need in Duval county is growth. We need the economic flywheel that will re-invigorate our local economy. China is on tap for an 8% growth rate this year, India is on tap for at least 6%, the ports of LA and Long Beach are bottled up with logistic nightmares and Miami's port cannot expand due to over development.

This leaves Jax with a HUGE opportunity to grow and dominate the port area. We grew Jacksonville with the port, and ship building. We can do it again, we need to get back to what worked for this town, as banks and mortgages will take years to recover, we need to get back to the engine that helped grow us, that is port activity. I love to cruise out of Jax, but I'd gladly send Carnival to Port Canaveral or Miami, and ask for more container business.

The Port can and should be the growth engine for Jacksonville for the next 5-10 years.

[JeffreyS]

You know I push transit all the time on this board and to our representatives but education is number one by far. I do not believe like so many others that we should just push one big agenda. We should be pushing on many fronts. Education really is the only acceptable answer to this question sorry I know how that sounds but it is true and the poll should be our top ten issues.

[Jason]

I'm with StJr.  Sprawl is the root. 

1.  Its harder and more expensive to police (resulting in higher crime).
2.  More costly to the budget because of maintenance required for roads, utilities, and services
3.  More costly to the school system because of necessity of bussing, additional schools, and maintenance.
4.  Tax revenue can not benefit from added density.

Revise the zoning to allow dense infill and penalize the sprawl. 

The next step would be connecting the core neigborhoods with transit and a longer range plan to connect the burbs.

[urbaknight]

I voted to stop sprawl because I can't see good enough to drive and, the sprawlling areas are so blatantly anti pedestrian. Transit too, because JTA is also anti pedestrian.

I have the solution that will solve all of out money shortages. A cash crop we don't even care to tap into.

I'm talking about cracking down heavily on bad driving!

If we start citing careless driving,

parking on the sidewalks,

running red lights,

blocking wheelchair access at crosswalks,

!!!RUNNING OVER PEOPLE!!!

littering,

yelling hatefull slurs out the window of a fast moving car,

throwing shit out at people because they're simply walking, not driving,

knocking bicyclists over with door mirror,

If we can just charge these bumpkin idiots with any of these offences, (which are all illegal in all other Major cities) not only would we be able to make all improvements listed above, we would have such a huge surplus. We can do things that would rival northern cities!