State Rd 9B

[reednavy]

tufsu, I wish more people would be involved in the overall process, including meetings. These things are advertised well, but nobody seems to really care. They eventually care when traffic becomes an issue in their neck of the woods.

[tufsu1]

tufsu, I wish more people would be involved in the overall process, including meetings. These things are advertised well, but nobody seems to really care. They eventually care when traffic becomes an issue in their neck of the woods.

I agree completely...I wish people understood that early on is when the general idea is developed...not when design plans are being finalized or ROW is being acquired.

[British Shoe Company]

tufsu, I wish more people would be involved in the overall process, including meetings. These things are advertised well, but nobody seems to really care. They eventually care when traffic becomes an issue in their neck of the woods.

I agree completely...I wish people understood that early on is when the general idea is developed...not when design plans are being finalized or ROW is being acquired.

"Let It Ride".   Listen to Three Dog Night!

[stjr]

stjr...this is exactly what happens during a long-range transportation plan (LRTP)....theoretical lines are drawn on a map...and the "free chicken" meeting Ock referred to was part of the recent LRTP's public outreach.

Tufsu,  I get your point.  I totally agree that in a perfect world, people would exercise their right to vociferously speak out on all issues of importance to them.

But, in this very "imperfect" world, I would suggest that "Average Joe Citizen" has trouble keeping this stuff in focus with all that competes for his attention and time.  Look, after millions are spent during intense political campaigns, frequently only 10 to 30% of the electorate takes the 5 minutes to vote in person or by absentee.  Much of the rest don't even realize there is an election going on or choose to ignore it to such a large extent that they can't even name the candidates.  How many people are going to hone in on a bureaucracy's public hearing that gets little to no publicity and is not accompanied by a major public relations push to educate people on why they should care?

Right or wrong, I think most of the public expects (trusts?!) their elected representatives to insure the best outcomes for our community.

Which bring us to who ultimately decides which "theoretical lines" stay and which ones go?  And, by what process?  For those who decide, what are their positions?  Are they vested in road building jobs and development, or are they unbiased, neutral deciders judging what is in the long term best interests of our community?  How does one actually go about insuring those theoretical lines get erased on occasion?  Do we, as a community, have some stated goals by which projects are judged and graded and to which the deciders are held accountable?  Such as:

Minimizing environmental, green space, historic structures, existing neighborhood impacts.
Maximizing use of already existing infrastructure.
Reducing urban sprawl.
Increasing density in already developed areas, especially close to mass transit services.
De-emphasizing roads and emphasizing mass transit [i.e. moving the most people with flexibility and efficiency while minimizing the overall costs to society (i.e. taxpayer costs PLUS individual costs)].
Maximizing energy efficiencies.
Creating sustainable communities.

If these goals were adhered to, we wouldn't get the results to date that we have gotten.

[British Shoe Company]

People from St. Johns County can use 9B to get to Macy's.   Only Simon Properties knows the location.

[tufsu1]

if that's the case BSC, then they can also use I-95/9A...there is NO NEED for 9B!

[British Shoe Company]

if that's the case BSC, then they can also use I-95/9A...there is NO NEED for 9B!

9A proves we need 9B.

[reednavy]

9A proves we need 9B.

how so?

IMO, it proves we need better mass transit, including more options.

[thelakelander]

Why isn't 9B toll?  By the way, there are plans to develop the Davis property at some point.  Plans have been drawn up plus land around 9B and up 9A has already been rezoned.  I knew I wasn't crazy when I noticed that blob of commercially zoned land in the middle of 9B.  At some point, don't be suprised to see an interchange of some sort added between 9A and US 1 in the future.

[stjr]

Why isn't 9B toll?  By the way, there are plans to develop the Davis property at some point.  Plans have been drawn up plus land around 9B and up 9A has already been rezoned.  I knew I wasn't crazy when I noticed that blob of commercially zoned land in the middle of 9B.  At some point, don't be suprised to see an interchange of some sort added between 9A and US 1 in the future.

Lake, the prototypical model of urban sprawl strikes again.  And FDOT and JTA are its enablers.  We will have deja vu if the Outer Beltway gets built.  Only one word for all this: Crazy!

[thelakelander]

A couple of more words...

Higher Taxes and Fee Increases

This type of infrastructure planning and low density development does not pay for itself.  Just imagine how much tax money already coming in could go to improving quality of life and educational offerings if we didn't have to permanently pay for the maintenance and upkeep of our sprawling infrastructure network and the services needed to keep up with it?

[Mattius92]

First off, instead of spending over $250 Million on 9B and $1.8 Billion on the Outer Beltway, we should just rebuild all the crappy interchanges on our already built piece o' crap highways. I can name some of them off, Blanding, San Jose, 103rd, JTB at I-95 (completely retarded interchange), and maybe US-17 at I-295.

Second, apparently Jacksonville doesn't want to grow up (yep we wont grow up), but out (getting fatter with urban sprawl everyday). However maybe these developers should look at the current infrastructure before laying down several hundred homes in St. Johns or Clay.

Lastly, for everyone that is complaining about the traffic and crap in Jacksonville. Sorry to say, but you can LEAVE. Complaining about it isn't really going to do anything. Last time I complained about traffic, guess what. NOTHING HAPPENED.

Go figure I moved 45 minutes west of Jacksonville in a nice town called Maxville, no traffic there.

Matt (btw I am 17, and i lived in Jacksonville my whole life, loved it, but as soon as I graduate I am gone.)

[reednavy]

JTB & I-95 is being rebuilt right now.

[riverside planner]

JTB & I-95 is being rebuilt right now.

That interchange is not being rebuilt; rather it is being "improved".  A true rebuilding of that interchange would remove the cluster that is a traffic signal at the intersection of two limited access roadways.

[cline]

JTB & I-95 is being rebuilt right now.

There is currently a PD&E being done for a complete rebuild of the I-95/JTB/US1 interchange.  However, I do not believe there is funding for construction at this point. 

http://www.butler95.com/