State Rd 9B

[copperfiend]

Didn't John Delaney say don't let Atlanta happen here?

[copperfiend]

I would prefer to have a forests that are actually used for something, then replanted, instead of being demolished for more unnecessary homes and strip centers.

Especially since you can drive down any suburban boulevard and find a dozen half empty strip malls.

[stjr]

the problem CS is that a whole bunch of people in NE Florida think 9B is needed....and I personally don't know of a single local elected official that thinks otherwise.

Tufsu, finding champions for a road is a no-brainer.  Developers, realtors, a few people who may actually save a couple of minutes getting somewhere, road contractors, consultants, building material suppliers, people who think it will get them a job or prime the local economy, politicos looking to score some points with special interests, etc.  None of this adds up to a genuinely good reason to build the road.

As mentioned before, real leaders would look out for the interests of all, not just a special few.  9B no more serves the greater area population than a bridge to nowhere. 

That politicians line up in force for 9B and the Outer Beltway just shows how much they have been bought and how little spine they have to be real leaders advocating for ALL of us and against the status quo.

[tufsu1]

fine stjr...but I think you'd find a majority of people in the Jax. area who think 9B (and the Outer Beltway for that matter) is a good idea....unless you're suggesting that leaders "actually lead" and not just pander to the electorate?

[CS Foltz]

Well tufsu.........I am not sure about what majority of people in Jax your talking about! I know where I live at, having asked at least a dozen people, all of whom said Bull Pucky! They don't consider 9B an asset to anyone since that part of the world is kinda empty right now! My tax dollars are being used to pander to developers and builders...........That road does nothing to enhance my life or make travel easier for me! I don't need to go there so I have to ask............why is it being built again? If there is nothing there now, why build it? Outer Beltway is in the same ilk.........I did not ask for it and won't use it if it ever gets built!  JTA might want it, more concrete, but I did not ask for it and don't want it...........we have too many issue's that are more pressing to be wasting Millions on something the people that I have talked to.....do not want! I don't think it is "pandering to the electorate", more about acknowledging the" will of the people"!

[stjr]

...unless you're suggesting that leaders "actually lead" and not just pander to the electorate?

I would be happy if our elected leaders worked for the good of all of us, not just the special interests vested in road building galore.

As I said before (see below), there is no sane or rational reason for this road to be supported by Jax politicos so there remains only one reason in my mind:

The question I have is when are the residents, businesses, and political leaders of DUVAL County that support 9B and the Outer Beltway going to realize:

(1) these highways mostly benefit and promote residents moving to St. Johns and Clay Counties
(2) cost Duval taxpayers in additional infrastructure and traffic burdens within Duval
(3) fail to deliver significant offsetting revenues to Duval to pay for such burdens as most of these road users live and shop in the adjacent counties
(4) negatively impact business and residents in Duval County by siphoning off higher income residents and new businesses to the adjacent counties
(5) divert state monies from Duval mass transit projects, road improvements, and other state funded programs such as education.

There is absolutely no SANE and RATIONAL reason for Duval County politicos, if they truly represent Duval residents, to support these projects and yet they are all lined up to do so.  Could it be due to campaign contributions?  Back room deals?

[tufsu1]

I don't think it is "pandering to the electorate", more about acknowledging the" will of the people"!

so 12 people in one neighborhood/area = will of the people?

in all seriousness, SR 9B is meant to serve a few things:

1. relieve future congestion @ SR 9A/I-95 interchange
2. provide a connection to Racetrack Road (serves Duval and St. Johns residents)
3. minimize the need for 8 or 10 lanes on I-95 from CR 210 to I-295

now I personally think that widening I-95, widening SR 9A, and building an interchange @ Racetrack Road are better ways to provide vehicular mobility...but denying that SR 9B provides some positives is short-sighted.

[stjr]

I don't think it is "pandering to the electorate", more about acknowledging the" will of the people"!

so 12 people in one neighborhood/area = will of the people?

in all seriousness, SR 9B is meant to serve a few things:

1. relieve future congestion @ SR 9A/I-95 interchange
2. provide a connection to Racetrack Road (serves Duval and St. Johns residents)
3. minimize the need for 8 or 10 lanes on I-95 from CR 210 to I-295

now I personally think that widening I-95, widening SR 9A, and building an interchange @ Racetrack Road are better ways to provide vehicular mobility...but denying that SR 9B provides some positives is short-sighted.

For $200+ million, it better have some "positives", Tufsu!  The question is could the $200 million be better spent elsewhere.  Given a long list of other "betters", including your own, why are we spending our money here?

To me, all public works projects are about ranking priorities and value.  Are we making the best choices, heck no.  Most ironic is that our "think like a business" Republican majority politicos are making very "un-business like" decisions.  It seems "business like" to them means supporting "businesses they like!"

[Mattius92]

If the City of Jacksonville, St. Johns County, FDOT, etc. were to take that $200+ Million and use it to create commuter or light rail then. I would be all against 9B, but would that happen. I highly doubt it.

You people go all against it, but somehow this city (at least the political leaders) doesn't want anything else then more and more concrete. Its pretty sad but what can we do... Peyton is almost up, so one of you run for Mayor and get this stuff done. Till then what can we do.

Good thing is for the first time I have actually seen plans for Commuter rail in Jacksonville in the 2030 Mobility plan.

http://www.metrojacksonville.com/article/2010-apr-jacksonvilles-2030-mobility-plan

However it still lacks the full potential we could reach if someone really invested in it.

[Ocklawaha]

Hate to say it, but just like I-22 (The Florida-Georgia Parkway, now aimed at Savannah), ANY new superslab connection benefits the largest private economic driver in NE Florida.  J A X P O R T !!  While we have been pretty good at paving everything in sight, we have missed some vital area's that could have paid back in much bigger ways. 

WHAT IF? What if we canceled 9-B and instead extended the old Haines Street Expressway, renamed something poinent like JAXPORT EXPRESSWAY, or HARBOR EXPRESSWAY, from the current corner of MLK, straight north near Talleyrand and Buffalo, over the Trout River and follow Hecksher to Blount Island.

Meanwhile, 9-B will help as it gives container traffic a straight shot at East-South-Central Florida roads, without the congestion of 95/295.

It will help in giving Race Track Road a much needed interchange, something we can't do on I-95 due to interchange spacing requirements.

Opponents should now focus on getting wildlife underpasses  built into 9-b, perhaps an 11Th hour Hail Mary.



OCKLAWAHA

[aaapolito]

Sorry if someone already posted this previously, but I just found a website for State Road 9b on the Daily Record.

http://sr9b.com/sr9b/Phase2.aspx

[stjr]

**** SPECIAL INTEREST ALERT *****

From 9B web site (note the blue "tail" just below the U.S. 1 interchange):

An off-ramp from southbound S.R. 9B to Flagler Development is also proposed during phase two construction.

Now one can see why 9B is truly getting built.  I don't recall seeing an interstate ramp onto private property like this except for Disney.  And, who will pay for the ramp? ... which really begins at 9A from a functional standpoint!

[jandar]

lol, thats very obvious who was the money behind this.

Anyone know the property owner?

[reednavy]

Appears to be a dedicated on/off ramp for Durbin Blvd/Citicards Way near Veveras Dr.

http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&q=citicards%20way&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wl

[thelakelander]

Might as well see what those ramps will lead into: