Metro Jacksonville pushes FDOT for signage, COJ Stalls
(http://www.metrojacksonville.com/images/I-95Signage.jpg)
Metro Jacksonville has asked the Florida Department of Transportation to look into updating the signage on I-95 North into Downtown Jacksonville. FDOT is willing to make the updates but needs concurrence from the City of Jacksonville to move forward.
Full Article
http://www.metrojacksonville.com/content/view/865
and you wonder why things move at a snails pace Downtown......
Is somebody asleep at the wheel or is there even a wheel?
Quote from: copperfiend on August 08, 2008, 08:23:10 AM
Is somebody asleep at the wheel or is there even a wheel?
"Yes." :D
Well, I see the immediate problem with this scenario. You've got one guy sending in a letter to one guy to ask to have signage revised and clarified for travelers. This simple request ends up involving 7 different people all asking the other to make a decision or even to get a hold of yet another person in yet another department to offer input on SIGNAGE! It's insane. People think we live in a democratic society. Unfortunately the reality is we live in a bureaucratic society with everyone asleep at the wheel that's not there. But, I forget, this is Jacksonville. No one wants to talk about the great big elephant in the middle of the room that is the gross inefficiency of our city government.
This experience with JEDC is consistent with the experience I and others have had with them in the past. Issues re: Downtown DRI are not important unless they are tied to Miles/Hallmark project in Brooklyn, Kings Ave TOD, Bay Street Station or any other large development project. The basics like signage, lighting, core transit, social services are topics that are too difficult to address, so they get pushed around until they are lost in the bureaucracy.
The state guys are very responsive, which is surprising. What is not surprising is that Ron Barton is not. The guy has done literally nothing worthy of mention during his tenure. (Cecil, Brooklyn?) If it is not on his agenda, its not worth his time. This is the Gateway to Downtown from I95N and look at his response!
Interesting chain of emails and timeline. This one is not rocket science. Hopefully, the JEDC has correctly answered the FDOT's question by now.
And some people want the government to run the health care system. :D
"If you think health care is expensive now just wait until it's free." P.J. O'Rourke
Quote from: copperfiend on August 08, 2008, 08:23:10 AM
Is somebody asleep at the wheel or is there even a wheel?
It's a pulpit not a wheel.
I always wondered about those signs too.... Why sign something "Main St." when you end up on Ocean St?
And why, when all of Duval County is "Jacksonville" do all the local signs pointing at Downtown say "Jacksonville". They should say "Downtown" or "Downtown Jacksonville".
I send them an email about 2 months ago about the same issue! ::)
During the las real estate boom downtown seemed to make some progress. This is the type of thing you do to improve Downtown (and just traveling in this city) on the cheap. Taking care of lights and signage now will help prepare Downtown to take advantage of better days in the economy.
What can we do to light a fire under the COJ.
Related downtown signage question - why are the illuminated purple signs allowed to fade to unreadability? Is this JEDC? DVI? City? State?
JEDC/City. This is something they are supposed to be working on replacing, according to the JEDC's new Downtown Action Plan.
Along with wayfinding signs for pedestrians and lighting Laura?
The purple signs are considered wayfaring signage. However, from what I understand the Laura Street work will be a separate project.
Steve Congro is a genius...those signs should have been changed before 2004, I worked downtown for AOL during the superbowl week, and many people were lost on Ocean looking for Main Street trying to get to Bay Street. It makes sense now why they were lost.
Quote from: Charles Hunter on August 09, 2008, 10:47:35 PM
Related downtown signage question - why are the illuminated purple signs allowed to fade to unreadability? Is this JEDC? DVI? City? State?
Good question, especially since the Coliseum & Gator Bowl are no longer around, some signs still say they are. If you are from Jacksonville you know what the Gator Bowl is, but if you from the ACC it can be confusing. Talleyrand had a lot of old signs as well.
JTB, err, J. Turner Butler, uhh, SR 202, ahem, JT Butler, hick, Butler Blvd... Is in the same shape both on Phillips, 95 and EVERY OTHER sign. Can't we just settle for one name?
OCKLAWAHA
(http://www.railwayclassics.com/images/acl01/ACL501%20color.jpg)
The Atlantic Coast Line Railroad, parent road of todays CSX, used a "Purple - Silver - Gold" color scheme, it was abandoned in the mid 1950's for Black - White and Yellow, as there was no way to keep the purple from fading. I would think that wouldn't be such a problem today, but guess there is just something about purple...
OCKLAWAHA
Quote from: Ocklawaha on August 10, 2008, 11:24:18 AM
JTB, err, J. Turner Butler, uhh, SR 202, ahem, JT Butler, hick, Butler Blvd... Is in the same shape both on Phillips, 95 and EVERY OTHER sign. Can't we just settle for one name?
OCKLAWAHA
Pssst ... Ock ... there's only one "L" in Philips ...
And was that "hick" a comment on our lack of urbanity?
HA! HA! one too many SOCO's POWER LUNCHIE...
OCKLAWAHA
Wow! This should be an easy for the problem for the city to correct. I guess they are stumbling over all the layers of beaucracy. I moved downtown in June. I recently parked at 1:30 p.m. to grab some wings and pizza from a local restraurant on Julia St. I went into the restaurant to get change. I had to wait behind two customers to get change. I had to wait 3-5 minutes max. I received a parking ticket. So for the Wednesday Art Walk to avoid parkng I decided to ride my bike and park it at Hemming Plaza. It was stolen I originally paid $1,000 for the bike in 2001 and never locked it when shopping in Baymeadows. It's probably only worth several hundred dollars now. While filing the police report several drunk homeless guys approached the cop yelling. He was professional and politely told them to move on. I've heard quite a few people on this blog complain about St. Johns Town Center.
I think SJTC is a plus for the Jacksonville metro area even if it doesn't directly benefit the downtown core currently
Quote from: alta on August 11, 2008, 01:33:25 AM
Wow! This should be an easy for the problem for the city to correct. I guess they are stumbling over all the layers of beaucracy. I moved downtown in June. I recently parked at 1:30 p.m. to grab some wings and pizza from a local restraurant on Julia St. I went into the restaurant to get change. I had to wait behind two customers to get change. I had to wait 3-5 minutes max. I received a parking ticket. So for the Wednesday Art Walk to avoid parkng I decided to ride my bike and park it at Hemming Plaza. It was stolen I originally paid $1,000 for the bike in 2001 and never locked it when shopping in Baymeadows. It's probably only worth several hundred dollars now. While filing the police report several drunk homeless guys approached the cop yelling. He was professional and politely told them to move on. I've heard quite a few people on this blog complain about St. Johns Town Center.
I've parked in front of the same pizza place many times between 5:30 and 6:00pm....and have yet to get a ticket!