Metro Jacksonville

QuoteAmerica's coolest river walks

The San Antonio River Walk charms with four miles of cypress-lined cobblestone and flagstone paths along both sides of the narrow San Antonio River.

“It feels so alive out there,” says Marge Lemieux, 57, of Portland, Ore., who walks her city’s three-mile Tom McCall Waterfront Loop along the Willamette River several times a week. “With so many people â€" couples, commuters, dads with strollers, bicyclists, elite athletes â€" you feed off that energy.”

Visitors and locals alike have a similar reaction to America’s more than 30 river walks: they love the human energy but also the peace, the quiet, the escape to nature within an urban environment â€" even as the character of each river walk is unique. Some river walks run along major waterways like the Mississippi and Ohio; others follow narrow canals. Some reflect history going back decades, while others represent newer developments designed to revitalize a city.

America’s most well-known river walk, the San Antonio River Walk or Paseo del Rio, began as a WPA flood-control project in the 1930s and now makes a splash controlling the flood of more than 5 million visitors annually to its four-mile path along the San Antonio River. Cafés, specialty shops, hotels, and musical nightlife abound, but resident Bruce Martin, 53, is impressed that the natural river comes through. “It’s not a manufactured toy,” he says. “It’s a legitimate habitat with yellow-crowned night herons, barred owls, and red-eared slider turtles.”

Whether long or short, paved or wooden, in warm climates or cool ones, river walks draw neighbors and tourists with everything from picnicking and people-watching to tandem bike-riding and food truck “pods.” They’re so popular that many cities â€" budget cuts aside â€" are building multi-mile extensions and, not surprisingly, turning to their riverfronts for additional park space.

Carol Ross Barney, the principal designer of the Chicago Riverwalk, says, “The challenge was taking a formerly working riverfront that had fallen into disuse and making it easy to get to â€" a relaxing place to be and a green environment on a quieter level below the busy city.”

Jesse Blanco, 41, of Savannah, Ga., favors the “character and charm of walking among history” on his city’s mile-long River Street, with its red brick sidewalks and century-old cotton-warehouse buildings. The lack of an open-container law means visitors may legally stroll with a Rum Runner while watching tugboats, paddle-wheel riverboats, and tall-masted sailing ships ply the river.

“You hear so many animated conversations and laughing,” says Portlander Marge Lemieux, who makes this universal observation about river walks: “Everyone has fun.”

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/39088832/ns/travel-destination_travel/

In case you were wondering, Jax doesn't make the list.  Savannah does. 

i wouldn't think it would, though hopefully one day. if the city knows how to do it right

The Southbank Riverwalk was inspired by a Chamber visit to San Antonio long ago.

A revised Friendship Fountain space, completion of the Northbank Riverwalk to Metro Park, and the creation of the 'Bay Street Pier Park' (as I am branding it) would add tremendous value to our current system.

Quote from: fieldafm on September 20, 2010, 04:50:05 PM
The Southbank Riverwalk was inspired by a Chamber visit to San Antonio long ago.

A revised Friendship Fountain space, completion of the Northbank Riverwalk to Metro Park, and the creation of the 'Bay Street Pier Park' (as I am branding it) would add tremendous value to our current system.

And extending it to Memorial Park.  Having two large parks anchor the walk on either end would be great.  We also need more businesses on the walk itself.

Quote from: Captain Zissou on September 20, 2010, 04:53:56 PM

Quote from: fieldafm on September 20, 2010, 04:50:05 PM

And extending it to Memorial Park.  Having two large parks anchor the walk on either end would be great.  We also need more businesses on the walk itself.

That would be perfect ! It would utilize Memorial Park much more!

I would love our Riverwalk to be included with the very best, and really it is close, but my favorites are listed below, and I think Jax can learn from what each of these cities has done:

San Antonio
Chicago
Indianapolis
Boston (wharves)
Providence
Baltimore
San Francisco (wharves)

Right now Jacksonville seems to want to have a riverwalk that acts as both scenic nature trail and urban waterfront walk.  I think in downtown it can't be both.  Clearly the Northbank Riverwalk is far more advanced than the Southbank Riverwalk, but the city can still take cues whenever we have a budget from plenty of other cities on how to clump activity and destinations and incorporate them into the Riverwalk.

Definately don't agree with Reno, Pittsburgh, and Milwaukee ranking ahead of Jax.  Ive been to Minneapolis twice, but never to their riverwalk as both times I went was in the middle of hell winter... so can't comment on that one.  The others I agree with.

Quote from: fieldafm on September 20, 2010, 08:12:58 PM
Definately don't agree with Reno, Pittsburgh, and Milwaukee ranking ahead of Jax.  Ive been to Minneapolis twice, but never to their riverwalk as both times I went was in the middle of hell winter... so can't comment on that one.  The others I agree with.

So sorry guy's, and I'm really glad you are defending Jacksonville here... but... Not even close!

Milwaukee's Riverwalk is in the mold of San Antonio's with dozens of restaurants and businesses opening to the walk and plazas. Milwaukee, like San Antonio took the time and care to build in lot's of cool nooks and crannies with multi-levels.

Pittsburgh is probably the closest thing to Jax on the list but again it runs from the historic downtown district along a major shipping river (nearly constant traffic movement) and ties into the stadiums on the point of the Ohio, Monongahela, Allegheny Rivers, all three of dwarf the St. Johns in traffic, flow, commerce, and northern European immigrant history (IE: The only history really taught in the USA).


RENO? RENO? OMG! RENO? Yes! Maybe even better then San Antonio's. The TRUCKEE RIVER drains the snowy eastern slopes of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. Does the name Donner mean anything to any of you pioneer history fans? Yeah, THAT TRUCKEE RIVER! The Ponderosa, Lake Tahoe, Virginia City, The Comstock, Carson City, The Washoe Reservation, Toiyabe National Forest, Silver City, Incline Village, Mount Rose Wilderness, and that's just what's in the neighborhood or VISIBLE from Reno. Reno has over 45 businesses directly on the Riverwalk and a German company is building a nearly $800 Million dollar, mile long, INDOOR, tropical, Riverwalk, anchored with a water park and tropical marina! Reno also developed the walk to be a year around attraction. They also went one step farther then the others in MAKING THE RIVER ACCESSIBLE even having an adjoining city park with a BEACH right off the walk.

SOOOOOO! What does Jax have? A couple of miles of cement, a once a week arts market, a lollipop metal tree, a bronze runner, a neutered Prong fire statue, a half empty landing facing away from downtown, a few historical markers, a couple of shed size kiosks, a over priced brew house, and a bronze sailor on a dolphin. We have sparse landscaping, a broken fountain, removed the benches, and don't even think about getting wet. Oh and I almost forgot, a tiny building with public restrooms. Sorry no cigar. Not connected, not sustainable and an apparent stepchild of the administrations beyond Jake Godbold...

Damn!

OCKLAWAHA

Shots of Pittsburgh's riverwalk from last summer:

(http://photos.metrojacksonville.com/photos/592818825_8DNKp-M.jpg)

(http://photos.metrojacksonville.com/photos/592818771_74RXX-M.jpg)

(http://photos.metrojacksonville.com/photos/592818616_kBzpz-M.jpg)

(http://photos.metrojacksonville.com/photos/592818403_cWhAB-M.jpg)

(http://photos.metrojacksonville.com/photos/592818268_gkCYA-M.jpg)

Well, so they all look much better than ours, even Reno's.  LoL

(http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2619/4014749136_ac35d277f9_b.jpg)

QuoteThe bridge spans the Hudson River and connects the City of Poughkeepsie in Dutchess County with the Town of Lloyd in Ulster County, New York.

The bridge is 6,767 feet long (approximately 1.25 miles). The top of the bridge deck is 212 feet above the water and the width expands from 24 feet over land, to 35 feet over the Hudson River. When completed in Fall of 2009 it will be the longest pedestrian bridge in the world.

walkway.org/

I don't think riverwalks should allow motorized traffic. So for me, Savannah is out. Cars and tour trolleys compete with pedestrians.

Savannah's riverwalk is for pedestrians only.  River Street just happens to be adjacent to it.  Personally, I believe the high concentration of mixed uses and multimodal accessibility (cars, streetcars, etc.) along River Street improve the vibrancy and activity on the riverwalk itself.  I think this stuff is exactly what is missing with Jacksonville's riverwalks.

Savannah Riverwalk
(http://www.metrojacksonville.com/photos/thumbs/lrg-2361-p1000529.jpg)

River Street (riverwalk separated by the row of trees on the left)
(http://www.metrojacksonville.com/photos/thumbs/lrg-2364-p1000520.jpg)

No complaints about Savannah from me. 

Ock, I will concede that you may have an argument with Milwaukee.... BUT everytime Ive been there, those cafes/restaurants don't seem busy.  In fact, they reminded me of what the Southbank once was when it first opened up.

Pittsburgh is almost a carbon image of Jacksonville's Riverwalk, and while commercial marine traffic is more active(due to the proximity of Jax's port) I don't think that qualifies as being necessarily better.  At the very least, Jax's riverwalk has room to be enhanced and grow... whereas Pittsburgh is the same with no chance of getting better.

Reno, yes the Truckee River is gorgeous... but take away the white water rapid section and its pretty ho-hum.  Especially being how wide the St Johns is compared to the Truckee... Reno could have done a lot better and been a lot more like San Anotonio with how close both shores are to each other.

But, that's just my opinion.

In the meantime, I'll continue to sound the horn about extending the Northbank and opening up the Bay Street Pier Park.  Hope to have some professional renderings done shortly.