Urban Walkability: Learning from Boston

[downtownparks]

I am very familiar with Boston. I grew up in the suburbs of Boston....

Great schools, commuter rail to the city, historical sites, and museums mean Jax doesn't hold a candle to Boston in the suburban dept either.

http://www.mbta.com/schedules_and_maps/rail/

[I-10east]

Sure, and Boston doesn't hold a candle to New York; I lived there for nine years, and I still rather be here in Jax. I can imagine that Boston is a great city, but I'd never live there; I'd like to visit someday though.

[thelakelander]

While Jacksonville has all the potential in the world, its no debate that we, as a city, are still struggling to find the correct way to bring economic revitalization back to the core.  What good is a city shaped and operating like a donut?  Full of life on the edges, but a black hole in the middle.  Why can't we have the best of both worlds, in terms of urbanism and suburbanism?

Many of the urban redevelopment strategies and visions Jacksonville leaders have promoted in the past have been tried and tested in some form by other municipalities.  The "Learning From" threads visually showcase what other cities have done and to what degree the level of success or failure has been.  It gives us a chance to evaluate these concepts without spending millions upfront on things that might be proven failures, based off history.

So, they're not such much about jealousy and competition, as they are about illustrating successful redevelopment strategies that will help strengthen our own inner city core in an affordable manner.

[I-10east]

Lake, how come you're one of the few people that critiques Jax fairly when comparing to other cities, without bashing the hell outta J-ville? Why don't more peeps take your approach?  No one says anything when Jax is bashed , and yes it does, gets bashed constantly. Everyone just lets"bashing Jax" slide everytime. In contrast the "learning from" city is the best city in the planet. God forbid if anyone say anything critical about that city. I'm gonna continue to be very unpopular around here for sticking up for my city when it gets bashed; That's a shame because we're right here in Jax.

[thelakelander]

I-10 east, I look at it from the point of view that neither ignoring the issues on one end, or ultimate bashing, on the other,  will get things changed.  Only acknowledging the areas in which we can enhance our city and properly addressing them will make Jax a better place.  Showing how other places have dealt with issues we working on now was the intent for the "Learning From" articles posted and the ones to come in the future.

I assume the "bashing" happens because people are frustrated that our leaders for whatever reason, refuses to do the simple things that have worked to a high degree in other places across the country.  However, in this thread, I haven't seen much bashing, only observations on areas in which we can work to improve.

Also, check out the Tampa and Houston Learning from threads.  Both of those places offered a few examples of things that we should avoid.

Houston: http://www.metrojacksonville.com/content/view/196/77/

Tampa: http://www.metrojacksonville.com/content/view/287/77/

[downtownparks]

I-10. Jacksonville is my home. I think we tend be hardest on those we love. I believe we can save the core, or else I wouldn't have picked up my family and moved to Springfield. There are many inconveniences that I am willing to work around for the sake of bettering my neighborhood and my city.

Boston is special in many many ways, but it also has its problems. They also have GOBs. Just look at the Big Dig. The keep putting Ted Kennedy and John Kerry in Office, and dont even get me started on Barney Frank or Mayor Menino.

The cost of living is outragous, and the roads are impossible. There is almost NO direct routes. You want to go to the Cape? Thats a nice 4 hour drive, and and god help you if you want to buy beer on Sundays, you have to drive within 15 miles of the NH boarder.

If I wanted to drive into the city, I had to take RT2 in. Somewhere near Concord/Lincoln border, Rt 2 takes a hard right hand turn... A FOUR LANE HIGHWAY HAS A STOP LIGHT AND THEN TURNS RIGHT! Then you really dont want to drive into the city because you wont find a parking spot, and if you do, you will get plowed in, ticketed, and booted before you can actually park the car!!!

Ice, salt, and a##hole drivers make the cost of insurance and upkeep on your car huge.

Oh, and there is a tax on everything. Excise tax, road tax, permit tax, building tax, sales tax, dine in tax, carry out tax... Oh, and the best (almost the only) east-west thourough fare in the state IS A TOLL ROAD!

Boston is a phenomenal city that has its own crosses to bare. But at the end of the day, we can learn a lot from other vibrant areas.

Oh, and I know you were kidding about Paducah, but it actually looks like a pretty little town.
http://www.redbudtours.net/pics/paducah_014.jpg

and I am certain we could learn something from them. http://paducahky.gov/city/planning/special_projects/documents/RiverConcept1Zoomweb.pdf

They update their comprehensive plan every 5 years, rather than 10 like http://paducahky.gov/city/planning/special_projects/documents/RiverConcept2Zoomweb.pdf

[Sean]

i think there is a good deal of jax bashing here, but i think a good deal of it comes from people who are either frustrated with the city or dont know much about it. i know when i first moved here last year i told everyone that there was nothing to do in jacksonville. of course this isnt true, but there weren't things that were immediately available to me like i was used to in other cities. there arent museums here that people come from across the country to visit. there arent a lot of things downtown that people from outside of jacksonville think of when they think of jacksonville (outside of the jags maybe). that said, there are lots of interesting things to do downtown, but in my experience i had to do a little more searching to find places to go than i did in other cities.

downtownparks' comments about boston are true - there is a lot of corruption and idiotic planning there. putting that aside, there were enough people there who got their sh&$ together and enough is done to counteract the negative things. there are lots of famous museums, good sports teams and venues, successful downtown retail and dining, and, as the photo tour shows, pedestrian-friendly areas.

despite a huge debt, the T has continued to invest money in new projects (in part because they had to meet the american disabilities act) to improve service and become more tourist friendly.

i think jacksonville could do well by looking at other cities. boston has a lot of negatives, yet it is still a fantastic place to visit and live. jacksonville has room to grow, beautiful beaches close by, great weather, and a lot of other things going for it. i think that contributes to the growing frustration with jacksonville - most people think the area should be doing 'better' than it is. however, thats not to say it isnt good or improving :)

[I-10east]

I was the only one doing the bashing of Boston in frustration to all the bashing of J-ville I've seen on MetroJacksonville. Lake, DTP, and Sean brought out some good points concerning what Jax could do to better the city. Im sorry for bashing Boston BTW, a city I never have been to before. If you look at forums all over this country similar "interbashing" occurs in many cities like I saw some from Charlotte, and Tampa.  I understand that peeps are mad with non-progressive local governments etc. I'll try to hold my tongue if someone bash J-ville. BTW, DTP we really have a 'Learning from Paducah" thread; That's what I get for trying to be funny. LOL. I guess I oughta check it out. :)

[Richard Bowers]

Having spent a summer at Harvard, I think it is safe to say that the people of Boston are the most unfriendly and worst driving folks I have ever seen. Public Transportation there is wonderful and was laid out for the most part, pre-autormobile.

Jacksonville has a different path to walk. Our local government is better than the ingrained ethnic governments surrounding Boston. We did not have the racial problems of Boston even though these continue to be a concern in Jacksonville. And of course, we do not have the "investement" community that Boston has.

But, we have good weather year round-great beaches-reasonably decent shopping- much better behaved football fans- and for the most part, a really good quality of life. A quality of life that someone living in a triplex in Cambridge or Charlestown would take in a minute.

They do have the Red Sox though. Not sure their pops or symphony on any given night is better than ours. Their colleges might be considered a tad better!!!!! But, ever been in Boston in January?

I think we do well to learn from other cities, but need to chart our own path.

[Steve]

The point of this series is not to show how we can "be" Boston or "be" Chicago.  We're not trying to say that we should create Savannah's park system downtown or implement Boston's "Big Dig".

The point is that in every city, there are aspects of their urban environment that we can learn from.  For example, one of the things demonstrated is that fancy pavers are no more functional than asphault, and are a lot more expensive.

We should never try to be another city, or the "Hardford of the South" like we were called in the 60's and 70's when we had all of the insurance companies.  We should be us, but you should always look at other cities to see if there are some examples.  For example, find me a successful Bus Rapis Transit system in the United States - good luck.  Now, show me an example of a successful commuter rail system in America - not hard at all (Austin, Miami, Nashville, Chicago, Santa Fe, San Diego, coming soon to Orlando, and the list goes on).  That tells me that commuter rail is something we should investigate.