State Rd 9B

[stjr]

If 9B can do half of what 9A has done, it will be great for transportation, and conntecting Jacksonville to St. Augustine.

So you're for uncontrolled sprawl and traffic I take it?

Part of the reason for 9A is to reroute truck traffic and such around the urban core. 9B is nothing more than a catalyst for wasteful and useless growth.

We are tied at the hip on this one, Reednavy.  And, British Shoe, what if 9B doesn't do squat compared to 9A?  Or that it doesn't do squat compared to other transit solutions the money could be better spent on?  Then why should we build it?

[Jason]

It will do what it is supposed to do.  Provide a southerly connection for northwest St. Johns and free up millions of acres of land for development.  That spur will be used and used a lot.

Still, does nothing to promote smart growth and should not be built, IMO.

[stjr]

Still, does nothing to promote smart growth and should not be built, IMO.

"squat" = "smart growth".  QED.  LOL.

[British Shoe Company]

Were you guys "tied at the hips" against The Dames Point bridge too? 

[thelakelander]

I wasn't in Jacksonville then, but now that you mention it, it would have been better to build it higher or as a tunnel.  I don't think anyone would deny that isn't a huge obstacle for the continued growth of the port.

[reednavy]

The Dames Point Bridge and 9B are two totally different entities.

[British Shoe Company]

Yes, I remember people against the bridge being built, and the location.  It worked out well.  Have faith in the engineers who have planned 9B, and it's location!

[thelakelander]

^Well for moving cars.  However, its been a huge obstacle in determining the location of the cruise port terminal and will become a larger obstacle for the maritime industry as ships continue to increase in size and height. 

Nevertheless, keeping an eye on the planning of these projects is more the future of the city than having faith in transportation planners and engineers.  Its really about what type of community you want to see the city develop into in the future and making sure what's proposed gets you closer to that vision.

[British Shoe Company]

If 9B will get you to Panda Express, I'm for it!

[thelakelander]

I-95 will get you to Panda Express.  They are building one on Baymeadows Road.

[British Shoe Company]

At deerwood (old B of A)  looking forward to that.  I do not understand how 2 can be so close, and we cannot get one at the WGV...

[stjr]

Were you guys "tied at the hips" against The Dames Point bridge too? 

At the time, yes.  Dames Point was intended to be a toll bridge and, today, it isn't because voters substituted a higher sales tax for the tolls.  When Dames Point was proposed it was pushed through by powerful land owners expecting instant riches upon its completion.  There was no other compelling reason at the time to build the bridge.

For years after its completion it remained little used, even without tolls.  And, as Lake notes, in the rush to build the bridge at all costs (really at a cost that wouldn't result in its cancellation), it was built too low and now serves as a limitation on the port's facilities.  So, to satisfy some land owners, we have a bridge that negatively impacts the economic development of the entire community.

Thanks to well connected land owners and developers, Jax has always been road building happy.  Often, these new roads result in nothing more than additional headaches for the community and taxpayers while a few selected ones reap the riches.  9B is likely to be another example of this as will be the Outer Beltway.  When will we learn, more roads are not the solution to our problems, but often a part of them?

[reednavy]

At deerwood (old B of A)  looking forward to that.  I do not understand how 2 can be so close, and we cannot get one at the WGV...

Probably because nothing is really out there anyways.

[British Shoe Company]

Dames Point was necessary to have an eastern loop around Jax.  The location was the cost efficient too.  The bridge should have been built a little higher.  Too late now. 

[reednavy]

Dames Point was necessary to have an eastern loop around Jax.  The location was the cost efficient too.  The bridge should have been built a little higher.  Too late now. 

As if this wasn't all obvious already.