WARNING: STAY AWAY FROM DOWNTOWN

[Bativac]

I think some of you guys are right and I overreacted to the original article. I'm just reminded of being downtown after Jags games, where side streets are closed off and all cars are immediately evacuated over the bridges.

I'm frustrated with Jacksonville but I think that's more on me and what I want out of a city than on Jacksonville. Most people in town probably are frightened and confused by the idea of driving around downtown and prefer the gentle reassurance of the police guiding them out of the area, post-entertainment.

Probably shouldn't have spent the weekend in Charleston. As my dad said while we were there, it's everything Jacksonville could have been.

[02roadking]

Lots of stuff:   

Monster Truck Jam at EverBank Field

§  Pit Party 1 p.m. â€" 5 p.m.

§  Gates Open at: 5 p.m.

§  Show starts at: 7 p.m.



Starting at 9 a.m. Saturday no parking will be allowed on Bay Street. The roadway will be in a two eastbound lanes/two westbound lanes traffic pattern.



Stadium Parking Map



Inbound Traffic:  (Map)

§  Inbound Traffic patterns pre-event do not restrict access to any Downtown/Sports complex venue.

§  Starting at 3 p.m. Saturday, Bay Street will have 3 lanes east bound and 1 lane west bound.

§  Signage will be posted in the downtown area to direct event traffic to parking lot locations for parking.

§  Follow us on Twitter (@JSOPIO) all afternoon for traffic and parking updates. (#MTJ)



Outbound Traffic:  (Map)

§  Starting at appx.10 p.m., Gator Bowl Blvd. at Festival Way (WJCT) will be one-way north bound.

§  Starting at appx.10 p.m., Bay Street/Gator Bowl Blvd starting at Lot "J" exit will be one-way west bound.

§  There will be one way traffic patterns away from the complex post event for 45 minutes to one hour.

§  If you are planning to pick up passengers post event, you will have to wait until after the traffic pattern returns to normal, approximately 60 min after the event ends.

§  Taxi drop off and pick up is located at the North End of the stadium, near Gate 3.



Additional Event Day Tips:

§  Arrive early, traffic is expected to be slow.

§  Jacksonville Sheriff's Office and Florida Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco enforcement agents will be working this event with a focus on underage drinking.

§  Beaver St. and Monroe St. are underutilized; if you are parking on the west side of the stadium, these streets will get you to the parking garages and all the lots on the west side of the stadium.

§  There is very little PRE-PAID parking as to today. Fans should be familiar with where they hope to park before the day of the event. A map of parking lots near the stadium is available at www.jaxsheriff.org.

§  No streets will be closed in the sports complex before the start of the Monster Truck Jam. Sign boards will direct drivers into the appropriate lanes for designated lots.





For more information on the event, please go to: http://www.monsterjam.com/Tickets/2011/02/26/Jacksonville,_FL/





_____________________________________________________________

Junior League of Jacksonville's Whale of a Sale

Time: 8:30 a.m. â€" 2 p.m.

Location: Greater Jacksonville Agricultural Fairgrounds and Expo Center, 510 Fairgrounds Pl.

See www.jljacksonville.org for details on this event.



_____________________________________________________________

Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra presents Tchaikovsky's Fourth

Time: 8 p.m.

Location: Times-Union Center of Performing Arts, Jacoby Symphony Hall,

300 W. Water St.

See www.jaxevents.com for details on this event.



_____________________________________________________________

Johnny Mathis Concert

Time: 8 p.m.

Location: Times-Union Center of Performing Arts - Moran Theater,

300 W. Water St.

See www.jaxevents.com for details on this event.



_____________________________________________________________



Miss Teen Jacksonville

Time: 4 p.m.

Location: Times-Union Center for Performing Arts, Terry Theater,

300 W. Water St.

Call (904) 633-6110 for details on this event.



_____________________________________________________________

ABA All-Star Basketball Game

Time: 1 p.m.

Location: Jacksonville Veteran's Memorial Arena, 300 A. Philip Randolph Blvd.

See http://jacksonvillegiants.com/page1129202.aspx for details on this event.



_____________________________________________________________



David E. Talbert Presents "What My Husband Doesn't Know"

Time: 3 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.

Location: Florida Theatre, 128 E. Forsyth St.

See www.floridatheatre.com  for details on this event.



_____________________________________________________________



Jacksonville Juniors Volleyball Association's (JJVA) Jax Jam Tournament

Time: TBA

Locations:

-          Prime F. Osborn III Convention Center, 1000 Water St.;

-          JJVA Center, 11661 Philips Highway

-          Jacksonville Ice & Sportsplex, 3605 Philips Highway

-          Florida State College of Jacksonville, 11901 Beach Blvd.

See www.jjva.com for details on this event.



_____________________________________________________________

JEA Home Energy Audit Workshop

Time: 10 a.m. â€" 12 p.m.

Location: Jacksonville Public Library, Main Library, 300 N. Laura St.

Call (904) 630-2665 for more information.



_____________________________________________________________

African American History Book Club

Time: 2 p.m. â€" 5 p.m.

Location: Jacksonville Public Library, Main Library, 300 N. Laura St.

Call (904) 630-2665 for more information.



_____________________________________________________________

Ain't Misbehavin'

Time: 8 p.m.

Location: Ritz Theater and LaVilla Museum, 829 N. Davis St.

Call (904) 632-5555 for more information.



_____________________________________________________________

Live Music in the Courtyard

Time: 8 p.m. â€" 1 a.m.

Location: Jacksonville Landing, 2 W. Independent Dr.

Call (904) 353-1188 for more information or go to www.jacksonvillelanding.com.



_____________________________________________________________ Daily's Ortega River Run

Time: 7:45 a.m. - 10:15 a.m.

The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office will be using a hold and release traffic pattern along the race route.

More Information on the Race and a Course Map

_________________________________________________________

Bike & Boil - JSO Escorted Ride & Law Country Boil

Time: 9 a.m. - 10:30 a.m.

The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office will be using a hold and release traffic pattern along the bike route.


Start at Adamec Harley Davidson, 8909 Baymeadows Rd.

I-95 N. to Park St.

Park St. to Water St.

Water St. to Newnan St.

Newnan St. to Coastline Dr.

Coastline Dr. to Liberty St.

Liberty St. to Bay St.

Bay St. to Gator Bowl Blvd.

Gator Bowl Blvd. to the Arlington Expressway

Arlington Expressway to the Southside Connector

Southside Connector to SR 9A

SR 9A up and over the Dames Point Bridge

South on SR 9A to J. Turner Butler Blvd.

West on J. Turner Butler Blvd. to I-95 S.

South on I-95 to Baymeadows Rd.

End at Adamec Harley Davidson, 8909 Baymeadows Rd.

[JaxNative68]

as far as concerts go, we suffer from a lack ov good mid-sized venues.  we have any number ov tiny and small clubs, and if someöne dreadfully serious and/or famous comes through, there's the T-U center and the stadium (has the stadium been used for shows?  i honestly don't know--if it hasn't, it seems like it should be)--but since we lost club five, the only good mid-sized venue we have is freebird--and aside from beïng out at the beach, they're kind ov on the small end ov mid-sized.

They have used the stadium for some shows but not a lot.  I believe that Faith Hill and Tim McGraw played there.  U2 played many years ago I think.  The Beatles played in '64

the Rolling Stones in the 90's

[Coolyfett]

From the T-U:

Jacksonville police are warning of a monster jam downtown Saturday afternoon, and they aren't just talking about GraveDigger and Maximum Destruction.

Along with about 72,000 fans expected for the annual Monster Jam truck show at EverBank Field, every other downtown venue will be in use for 11 concerts, plays, sporting events, even a beauty pageant.

That should mean one thing to anyone planning on being there: Don't be a laggard.

"The key word is to arrive early," Sgt. Leonard Propper said. "Add some time to your commute. It is going to be very slow getting into the sports complex and downtown because of all the venues."

...

"Every city venue has something going on," Propper said. "Traffic is going to be very heavy that day."

Fans will have three of four lanes of East Bay Street flowing toward the stadium as of 3 p.m. with signs pointing to parking lots. The Hart Bridge will be open, as will all other downtown bridges.

Fans coming from out of town will have 13 electronic signs to guide them into downtown from Interstates 10 and 95.

Beaver and Monroe streets aren't used as much, and are recommended, as is Martin Luther King Jr. Parkway to Talleyrand Avenue to Eighth Street to get to the stadium's east side parking, Propper said.

"Don't go by your GPS. Follow the signboards," he said.

Police will be out controlling traffic with more officers in and around the stadium to watch for underage drinkers, Propper said.

Attendees also are reminded that parking in city lots around the stadium and the private lots nearby are cash only...

Here's the original article. http://jacksonville.com/news/metro/2011-02-23/story/downtown-jacksonville-traffic-will-be-monster-jam-saturday

First of all, why does Jacksonville continue to act like having people downtown is akin to an impending natural disaster? I was in Charleston last weekend. Traffic was terrible. People were everywhere. IT WAS FANTASTIC.

Second, if Jacksonville is going to charge for parking, why doesn't the city at least invest in some technology that will enable them to accept non-cash forms of payment? I and many of my peers don't make it a habit to carry cash. Installing credit card machines won't cost that much and will create a "less hassle" impression by anyone considering going downtown.

But the parking thing aside, the city's weird handling of Downtown anytime more than a dozen people are there continues to baffle me. Charleston was full of tourists, there were no cops, and yet everyone seemed to figure it out okay.

I just don't understand it.

Yea I read that article to when it came out. I agree with what you are saying. "Stay Away from Downtown" lol Makes you wonder where the writer of the story lives.

[duvaldude08]

Let's just shut up and be happy there is activity in the downtown area. Us Duvalian's try to find the negative in every damn thing (ugh)

[Coolyfett]

If only downtown looked like that every day!

Right On, at least every other weekend lol.

[Coolyfett]

Traffic control for this many events may be necessary.  Every city, even New York does traffic control for sudden, large crowds.

That being said, the way the article was phrased did strike me as very "Jacksonville."  'OMG, we're going to have 72,000 people downtown!!  Avoid at all costs, OMG.'  Some cities have 72,000 people living downtown, LoL.

Not to keep mentioning other cities, but it must be done: If this were an anomaly event in Atlanta or Nashville or Austin or Richmond (which this kind of crowd is almost an everyday occurrence in some of these cities), then the article would have headlined something like this:

And Now the Opportunity to Make a Lasting Impression

"As 72,000 people crowd downtown for multiple events, now is the chance we have been waiting for to showcase the center of our town to people who don't normally make the drive in.  Restaurants, bars, and retailers are hoping to cash in on the crowds and prove to them that there is reason to come downtown afterall.  In preparation for all of the events, stores and dining/drinking establishments have set up specials for event goers who can present their tickets.  A massive marketing campaign is underway.

The goal is to prove to suburbanites that downtown is actually the place to be.  This is hopefully one of many future opportunities to create a larger fan base and a draw.  Etc etc"

Smartcard system for JTA?? that will hopefully fix the transfer issues. It about damn time JTA went complete smartcard. Get ride of those change machines & get with the times already. Smartcards have been the way to go. Taken lose changed is the same as those old tokens they sold on the Subway.

[tufsu1]

I'd love to see the people of this city freak out for something other than a football game or a big truck...what about art...what about music....and we all wonder why the test scores are so low in jacksonville.

wow...GG gets credit for his first non-political post!

[uptowngirl]

As a resident of Springfield I hate the way they funnel traffic. Multiple times we have attempted to get downtown and have gotten stuck on Union and State streets. It is almost impossible to get across the street. I want as many people as possible coming downtown, but turning four lanes of traffic into super highways and not allowing crossing of those streets to GET downtown is BS.  (just my 2 cents!)

[urbanlibertarian]

As a resident of Springfield I hate the way they funnel traffic. Multiple times we have attempted to get downtown and have gotten stuck on Union and State streets. It is almost impossible to get across the street. I want as many people as possible coming downtown, but turning four lanes of traffic into super highways and not allowing crossing of those streets to GET downtown is BS.  (just my 2 cents!)

Might I suggest 8th St to Myrtle AV to Beaver St to get DT from Springfield during these traffic jams.

[north miami]

Today's wonderful activity should be splashed on the front page of The Florida Times Union tommorrow.....

[tufsu1]

it sure looks like people stayed away from downtown tonight....just don't tell that to all the people at the stadium, TU Center, and Landing!

[KuroiKetsunoHana]

i was more or less okay with all this monster jam nonsense until i realized i could hear the announcer quite plainly from my apartment.  on the corner ov eighth and walnut.  does it really have to be so loud?

[Overstreet]

as far as concerts go, we suffer from a lack ov good mid-sized venues.  we have any number ov tiny and small clubs, and if someöne dreadfully serious and/or famous comes through, there's the T-U center and the stadium (has the stadium been used for shows?  i honestly don't know--if it hasn't, it seems like it should be)--but since we lost club five, the only good mid-sized venue we have is freebird--and aside from beïng out at the beach, they're kind ov on the small end ov mid-sized.

They have used the stadium for some shows but not a lot.  I believe that Faith Hill and Tim McGraw played there.  U2 played many years ago I think.  The Beatles played in '64

Rolling stones back in early 90s.

[tufsu1]

i was more or less okay with all this monster jam nonsense until i realized i could hear the announcer quite plainly from my apartment.  on the corner ov eighth and walnut.  does it really have to be so loud?

sadly yes...I have heard it for 4 years straight...the PA volume gets turned up so it can be heard over the trucks.