Lunchtime eateries to become casualties of Duval courthouse move?

[Dog Walker]

If I worked down there, I'd invest in a folding bike to get around down lunch/break times.  Fun and useful.

What a great idea!  Is it allowed to carry one on the bus or trolley-bus?

[ben says]

Too bad Wormans is gone for good.

[dougskiles]

This talk about not being able to handle walking from the new courthouse site to the old one is pretty comical - and a really good example of why we have an obesity crisis in our country (and more specifically, our city).  I have a client I regularly visit near the existing courthouse.  I usually take the skyway to Central Station and walk from there.  It takes maybe 10 minutes each way.  So if I am walking briskly, that is 20 minutes of exercise that I just got.

I agree, though, most of the people in Jacksonville would see that as too far.  Or it is too hot.  Or too cold.  Or too wet.  Or my life is so incredibly jammed with important events that I can't afford to spend some time just walking.

[ben says]

This talk about not being able to handle walking from the new courthouse site to the old one is pretty comical - and a really good example of why we have an obesity crisis in our country (and more specifically, our city).  I have a client I regularly visit near the existing courthouse.  I usually take the skyway to Central Station and walk from there.  It takes maybe 10 minutes each way.  So if I am walking briskly, that is 20 minutes of exercise that I just got.

I agree, though, most of the people in Jacksonville would see that as too far.  Or it is too hot.  Or too cold.  Or too wet.  Or my life is so incredibly jammed with important events that I can't afford to spend some time just walking.

Yeah, kinda agree here. I usually (3+ days a week) walk from the old courthouse to Chew/Chamblin's area, while most of my peers won't follow because it's "too far" a walk.

[Tacachale]

In a lot of cases it's not so much the walking, it's the time. When you're on an hourly wage and/or have a limited amount of time for lunch, those minutes count. I have a friend living in Boston who walks or takes the T literally everywhere, but he doesn't go far out of his way on lunch, for that very reason.

[thelakelander]

^Bingo.  My office is above Zodiac Grill.  Most of the time, I don't buy lunch but on the days that I do, I rarely walk further than a block away because I want to soak up as much of those 60 minutes as possible.  Lately, I've been calling in orders to spots like Zodiac Grill, picking them up and taking them back to my desk to maximize my lunch hour.

I've walked to Olio about three times since they opened.  The food is great, but it puts me 30 minutes over my hour break.  The one time I did it in the summer was a disaster.  I was drenched in sweat when I got back to the office.

[AKIRA]

The idea of combining a little exercise by walking before and after eating a lunch really appeals to me, especially if I had to sit at a desk all day, but I do see the problem cramming it all in a short 45 minutes (my lunch break time) in Jacksonville's humidity.

I think that all this would be more possible if the lunch hour was a longer.  Thinking about it that way, perhaps a longer lunch break could be healthier for the community as a whole.  If it was a hour and half, the lunch options would be greater and exercise, trip to the library or MOCA would be possible... 

I am liking the siesta concept more and more!

[AKIRA]

Thx DW.  That's a good question.. I would think you could bring a folding bike on a bus or trolly.  They're really no bigger than a suitcase. 

[Jaxson]

Back in the 1990s, I worked as a temp for the Visiting Nurses Association in what is now the Metropolitan on Church Street.  During my hour-long lunch, I had no problem with walking a few blocks to lunch and back.  Having temped at various car-centric locations around Duval County, I considered myself lucky to work in a downtown setting and definitely took advantage of the pedestrian-friendly options for my lunch.  The same applied to when I walked across the Acosta or Main Street bridges from my other temp job at Prudential on the Southbank.