Commute to USA Women's Soccer event a disaster

[Metro Jacksonville]

Commute to USA Women's Soccer event a disaster



Metro Jacksonville's Kelsi Hasden questions the closure of the Mathews Bridge during major sporting events.

Full Article
http://www.metrojacksonville.com/article/2013-feb-commute-to-usa-womens-soccer-event-a-disaster

[Noone]

We need an app for that. Parking revenue is a higher priority.

[Bridges]

The mathews bridge traffic routing is a disaster.  They list the closed and open times on coj.net.  Its a nice page, with specific dates and if the bridge is open or not.  They even update the dates so it shows the current week. 

Pretty cool, IF it was actually true all the time.  I check it everytime before i take the bridge, and its wrong half the time.  So i
I'll plan for the bridge as my route, then get caught in the traffic and rerouted to the Hart.  Other times it will say its closed but its open.  I just take the hart now for everything.  It may add 10-15 minutes, but at least i know its open.

[Spence]

https://www.google.com/url?q=http://www.metrojacksonville.com/article/2013-jan-dangerous-bridges-in-jacksonville&sa=U&ei=-0AaUdaOAc650QHKk4G4CQ&ved=0CAcQFjAA&client=internal-uds-cse&usg=AFQjCNFAYlDzBpCYNFr_U_5lziRS0hqpHg

Start taking the Hart for everything for about 30 years or so, then take the Mathews replacement once the Eastside and the Kahn plant are up and re(re)vitalized, along with the (dream on it) Hogan, McCoys, Genealogical/Historical Society, Riverwalk, rails to Trails connections are realized.

Not poking fun, some family rode in from the Hart and tried leaving DT toward King St., absolutely unneccessary hijinks.

Does SMG need to direct our traffic police?

[tufsu1]

I think blaming this on the City isn't fair....the bridge is owned and maintained by FDOT....and they are the ones that work the schedule out with the contractor.

here's the general rule on mathews bridge closures....every weeknight and Friday evening through Sunday morning.

any changes to these have and will continue to affect the overall project schedule.

If 18,000 is enough to open the bridge, what about 15,000 concert goers....because the arena gets that almost monthly....or how about 10,000 for a big baseball game?

[Spence]

I think blaming this on the City isn't fair....the bridge is owned and maintained by FDOT....and they are the ones that work the schedule out with the contractor.

here's the general rule on mathews bridge closures....every weeknight and Friday evening through Sunday morning.

any changes to these have and will continue to affect the overall project schedule.

If 18,000 is enough to open the bridge, what about 15,000 concert goers....because the arena gets that almost monthly....or how about 10,000 for a big baseball game?

Any knowledge to leak regarding the [distant] pending total replacement of the Mathews?

Any possibility its Arlington side of the St.Johns approaches could rise early (east of Underhill Drive and Seaboard Parkway as an overland bridge) and sail over University, then (using the center height of the span as the imagined pivot point) kick slightly toward an 8o'clock position in order to utilize the the currently dubbed Commodore Point overland bridge once over the Eastside?

In your mind, could anything as described above be at all feasible if the current overland bridge north of the Sports complex were ever dismantled in order to 1)better gain a return of the previously dispensed investments in the form of Town Center similar infrastrusture in the A.Phillip Randolph area, 2)better reconnect the fledgling neighborhood with the Hogan greenway and Arena / Sports plex, 3)use the narrow hart for rail, bike, and ped?

Such a process could allow a near full replacement of the decaying[Mathews] structure to occur with seemingly minute interruptions and only short term temporary total disruptions to ground transportation.

Minimal and only provisional riparian adjacent usage would be required upon casually shallow first glance, appearing to not require any further property acquisition...
speaking of not blaming the city_

Serious question.
Alternative suggestions and friendly debate hoped for.

[tufsu1]

I think blaming this on the City isn't fair....the bridge is owned and maintained by FDOT....and they are the ones that work the schedule out with the contractor.

here's the general rule on mathews bridge closures....every weeknight and Friday evening through Sunday morning.

any changes to these have and will continue to affect the overall project schedule.

If 18,000 is enough to open the bridge, what about 15,000 concert goers....because the arena gets that almost monthly....or how about 10,000 for a big baseball game?

Any knowledge to leak regarding the [distant] pending total replacement of the Mathews?

nope...the repainting project underway also includes redoing all the bolts and joints....so I think the plan is for the existing bridge to go another 20 years.

[spuwho]

FDOT/JTA took down the Mathews Replacement website. But here is the highlights.

Exclusive images broadcast by First Coast News Tuesday are drawing a strong reaction from Arlington residents and business owners. The pictures are artists' renderings showing what a new Mathews Bridge might look like. Jacksonville engineering firm Reynolds, Smith and Hills has been conducting a feasibility study for replacing the Mathews. The option they're likely to recommend to the state involves an ambitious, $700 million plan: building a new, four-lane bridge just to the north of the current structure, tearing down the old bridge, and putting up another one in its place, for a total of eight lanes. Additionally, the Arlington Expressway would be widened to six lanes. But plans to ramp up the corridor and the bridge are unsettling to some. "I don't see how our property couldn't be taken," said Frank McCafferty, president of Jones College, when he saw the renderings the First Coast News I-Team obtained. This, despite assurances given to Jones that none of the campus' land would be affected by the bridge plans. Jones sits in the shadow of the Mathews along the Arlington Expressway. "Even if we don't have to move our campus, there will be a significant impact from traffic coming 30 to 40 feet closer to our classrooms," he said. Resa Dupree, a resident of the Jones College residential section, agrees. "I've been looking out at it and trying to figure out where it all will go," she said. RS&H showed First Coast News several different photographs and renderings of options they're considering for the Mathews project, and stress any new bridge construction is years away. In the meantime, work to replace the much maligned grating atop the Mathews Bridge is slated to begin in February, with traffic reduced to two lanes for the project's 90-day duration. Later this summer a public hearing will be held so commuters can learn more about the project. There's also a website they can peruse, www.mathewsbridge.com. And while some are reacting with trepidation to the changes a new bridge might bring, other Arlington residents love the idea of a more attractive and safer route across the St. Johns River. "It should give the neighborhood a lift," said longtime Arlington resident Larry Phillips, "and it'll definitely reduce tension and congestion."

[control]

I think someone needs a refresher in the meaning of the word disaster.  A normally 20 minute drive taking 45 minutes, a half hour to leave a sporting event parking lot... well, those might qualify as inconveniences.  I'm all for proper execution of parking and traffic plans, however, the bridge repair is by all accounts necessary.  This article doesn't seem to warrant the server space it is using.

[coredumped]

I'm not defending them closing the bridge during large activities downtown, but they update their site regularly (daily?):
http://www.coj.net/departments/sheriffs-office/patrol-division/mathews-bridge-closure.aspx
First his when you search for "coj mathews bridge" in google.

When I see it's closed, I allow for extra time to get downtown.