Bringing Life to Main Street in Springfield

[hooplady]

When I joined they gave me book with like 100 people I bet ...

Are you saying you were given a directory with members' names & contact info?

[sheclown]

For years everyone has talked about the great potential for Springfield. However it seems that it may always hold that terrible "potential" title unless we can get everyone on the same page. There have been those who didn't want change at all. There have been those who were "one hit wonders" and have gone their own way (for better or for worse). For most thus far its always been about making a dime and in the work of urban development you come to know that doesn't happen fast and it has to happen in concert with many other strategic partners. There is a place for for-profit and non-profit organizations. Thus there is no silver bullet. Have we not learned by now that there is no urban messiah that can come in and deliver. There has to be a place at the table for everyone. Why do people love going to New York and Chicago..etc? Because the commonality is a wildly woven fabric of diversity. Springfield has had that unique diversity but we let folks come in and try to tell us what we should look like, what kind of houses we should build, who should live here, etc etc. Its unique characteristics define it and should help craft the way it looks and not someone or some design. So....do the litmus test. What has worked? Who has worked? How do we build bridges between the gulf of differences so that there is "a seat out there for every ass"?
Peace

*kiss, kiss*  great post.

[Kiva]

Main street needs business, period. The more stores the merrier. We definitely shop at local Springfield businesses, when we can, more than we do elsewhere. I think new stores will find a lot of customers. Sweet Pete's on Pearl street is doing well, for example.

[danno]

And I may have spoken a minute too soon.

Chatting with Kevin, he told me:

All three commercial units are now leased! The last being the corner unit to.... SunTrust. They will begin work in Late Feb and move in in June. That will be a fully leased building to all national tenants.

If SunTrust moves in, I may switch my accounts to them.  That is great news!

[Ocklawaha]

NOTICE the Rail line... . IS this to the S-Line through Gateway, into Sprinfield, DT, sports complex and Jax Terminal?

Jacksonville International Airport:

A model of what the airport will look like when built out.


connections will bring life back to the core.
In the model,
which rail line is this? HSR? Street car? monorail?

SKYTRAIN VANCOUVER

Q1 - No, but it is an architectural model showing that the airport was designed to include a rail link. If this line is ever built it would probably be an extension from the "s" near Main and Airport Road down the median to JIA and operated as LRT or with a DMU.

Q2-   I've seen the model and based on that I'd say they were thinking LRT or something like Vancouver's SKYTRAIN (which BTW would be a good rebuild of the Skyway)

OCKLAWAHA

[fieldafm]

If SunTrust moves in, I may switch my accounts to them.  That is great news!

Danno, that's the kind of attitude Springfield needs.

You may be interested in this blog from Carmen Godwin(RAP):
letsgolo.wordpress.com

[Ocklawaha]

For obvious reasons, Main is just not an attractive business hub anymore after that God awful redesign. It's limiting in both foot traffic (having to cross 4 lanes of highway-like traffic) & car traffic (those damn medians).

If you truly wanna make it viable again, and I've said this in other threads, you have to get rid of that design, shrink the car lane back down to a single & get a streetcar line going down it (all the way from the Zoo to the Landing).

I can't stress enough how important this is & how vital it is for a modern 21st century urban neighborhood. Any city that's worth a damn either already has this going or is getting it done now. San Fran & New Orleans never stopped (and have added lines). But what about places like Boston, Newark, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Seattle, Portland, Galveston, Dallas, Memphis, Tampa, Little Rock, & more. All open now, all being used. Some are brand new, some have been restored from their glory days.

Upcoming new ones that are being finalized or have broken ground: Atlanta, Baltimore, Buffalo, Calgary, Charlotte, DC, Dallas, Denver, Edmonton, Houston, Jersey City, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, Ottawa, Phoenix, Portland, Sacramento, St Louis, Salt Lake City, San Diego, San Jose.

I'm just saying, we're missing the boat (er, rail) big time. No one's gonna take any city serious who doesn't get this going. We probably look like a bunch of backwards hicks to many who have been around (and I can't say I blame them).

Point being, Jacksonville has a strong history with this sorta thing & they need to see the error of their ways like others have & get some of it back. Springfield would be the perfect place to reinstate a heritage streetcar line & restore it right down Main (where the median is now). You wanna really do something that matters instead of picking & plucking at the problem?? That would be it. And don't accept anything less, because this needed done like yesterday.

You are of course 100% right, you can pick at the problem or make a sweeping change that will consequently change the futurity of the entire neighborhood. Springfield will also need to embrace North Springfield, and Brentwood for Main Street to really thrive.

Something that would be an immediate change SOS or RAP or both should solicit the neighbors to the north and get the city to do a beauty makeover of the MLK from I-95 to the hairpin turn.

If I was in the drivers seat everything south of that turn would become the "JaxPort Parkway", the MLK would end at Talleyrand, and I'd take a serious look at taking the "Parkway" north as a multimodal link to the Northside at Zoo Parkway.

Meanwhile back in Springfield, three transit projects could bring major mega-buck changes if we could just get JTA to follow through.

1. The largest development engine by far is fixed rail transit. Tear up Main again? At least the inside two lanes and recreate the "Most Beautiful Streetcar Line in the World," as it was once known. A north-south link from Water to Independence to Newnan to ? to Main would do the trick. Perhaps use Orange as the connecting link and blend it in with the Parkview project which seems to be planned incrementally. Pulling the line North would require a strong alliance with North or New Springfield and Brentwood.

2. The "S" line, already owned by the city and usable even though some bumbling moron allowed an elementary school to be plopped right in the middle of it... Dumb as ducks.  Anyway, the "S" can be rebuilt and it runs from the grand old Union Terminal up through Durkeeville and would join the existing NORFOLK SOUTHERN right-of-way behind Shand's. The "S" is key to ALL Northside commuter rail, any LRT and the Gateway Mall segment provides for another "streetcar parkway" up the east boundary of Springfield. So streetcar, LRT, or Commuter Rail needs the "S".


Like I've been preaching for years... The SKYWAY doesn't have to be 100% in the sky. No reason why at the endpoint stations it can't come down to earth such as this monorail so passengers could transfer to bus or train WITHOUT going upstairs.

3. Skyway as originally planned would blow through FSCJ and angle over to the west side of Springfield Park, in so doing it would pass through potential stations at FSCJ, COUNTY HEALTH, HOGAN CREEK TOWERS, VA CLINIC, SHAND'S. Want to see the Skyway packed out? GET R' DONE!


BRT doesn't have to cost a billion dollars, in this photo 4 things make it work CHEAP. #1 A well placed bus stop with INFORMATION, real time readout information (like the Skyway) with mobile phone apps at larger stations. #2 A larger, more comfortable, better suspension, low floor, accessible, BRT bus.  #3 Signal priority for buses which could be workable 24/7 or perhaps just in rush hours. The only queue jumper lanes I could imagine on these routes is in the Norwood-Gateway-Golfair area. #4 Distinct marking of the bus lanes, even if they are part time bus lanes. This has proved to increase ridership where color or L.E.D.S have "mapped out" the busway. Traffic could be controlled by lane lights such as on East Bay Street... This just doesn't have to be JTA difficult.

4. BRT, as proposed on Boulevard should jog to Pearl and up to the extreme Northside on Lem Turner at I-295 WALMART plaza. In the process it could run all the way to Tallulah and hence to Edgewood to Lem Turner. Another option would be from Tallulah to Airport/Marketplace via a short stretch of 95. Access from North Pearl to Lem Turner via GATEWAY could be achieved from Pearl to Beechwood to Norwood.

Get these 4 things done and you'll be worrying about 10,000 new residents and businesses rather then renting Craig's old storefront.

OCKLAWAHA

[iloveionia]

I am having a discussion with a Springfield friend about Main Street.
Here are some of my ideas thus far:

1.  Get owner contact information for all vacant buildings/spaces.
2.  Make friends with people who are business minded to get interest for opening up shop on Main Street. 
3.  Aggressively contact building owners and work with potential business owners to help them negotiate leases or purchases to open their business, be mediators.
4.  Seek funds like redevelopment funds, to dress up Main Street to make it more appealing (the buildings.)
5.  Hold a Main Street Open House (after contacting owners of buildings) and have a commercial corridor open house.  (I've thought of this for residential as well.) One day where every vacant building on Main is open with the owner and/or broker/agent available on site.
6.  Aggressive advertising needs to happen to "lure" folks to Springfield.  Advertising in other states and cities.
7.  And damn it, the next mayor needs to bring life to downtown, that will boost Springfield instantly. 
8.  Our commercial corridors on Main Street need to be connected.  From downtown to the airport.  Period.
9.  Ideally, businesses on Main need to be mom and pop and need to have a theme/focus.  It is definitely a draw.  Antique and thrift stores with country stores and eateries.  Music, pet stores, garden stores, gift stores are all mom and pop style.  This of course all my opinion.  I refer often to 4th/Cherry in Long Beach.  It's dubbed "Retro Row" and is just that.  The city embraced small/new business owners and revived the street with city and federal funds.  Besides all the retro/vintage/thrift stores there is a coffee shop, upscale hair salon, art deco movie theatre, Mexican food joint.  Previously this street was shit.  Now it is hip.  But the city put the money and the work in to revitalizing it.  What a concept.
10.  I also think Springfield could embrace artists and we could have galleries and shops mixed together.  Broadway in  LB/Downtown did this and it is phenomenal.
11.  Additionally we need a council person on our side.  I refer to LB again and our council people are very very good compared to the jackasses in Jacksonville.  No doubt we need the love and support. 

Reviving a thread I started about Main Street and it's revival.  As stated previously we were ready to take it on.  When I posted this, I received a verbal message from a close friend who was asked to tell me "stay away from Main Street"  or something to that effect. 

Apparently when I posted these ideas (after success with preservation of our housing stock)  someone(s) got their panties in a bunch. 

[thelakelander]

What was their reason for asking you to stay away?

[iloveionia]

I don't have a clue, other than speculations. 
My speculations?  I'm an outsider.  I lack southern charm.  I'm vocal and honest.  They wouldn't get credit and someone else would. 
Speculations. 

[sheclown]

Oh you are charming enough, Ionia.

We were told that plans were in place and we would muck up the deal.  Or something like that.

No telling.  Hard as we work for houses, working for Main Street might just have killed us

[strider]

Looking back on the situation, most of what was being done and being said was a smoke screen for what was really going on.  A few were making sure they got theirs and nothing else mattered.  When you build a house of cards, you don't want real movers and shakers around. Those cards then fall down and people see what is really going on.

[m74reeves]

Has Jacksonville ever applied for Florida Main Street grant through the State Historic Office?

http://www.flheritage.com/preservation/mainstreet/

Seems like this would be a plus for downtown and Springfield.

[strider]

I've asked about that in the past and do not think I ever got a real answer from SPAR Council at the time.  My sister is in Norwalk, Ohio and they have a similar program that Norwalk has used to good success. In Ohio, it does take some amount of financial participation on the part of the merchants.   It is also all based on a Federal program - now called National Main Street Center, Inc., a subsidiary of the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

http://www.preservationnation.org/main-street/#.UhpWD5Im7Sg

[thelakelander]

It would be cool to have a program like that for Main. The DIA's Aundra Wallace may be a good person to talk to. Before coming to Jax, the Detroit agency he oversaw, targeted inner city neighborhoods like Springfield.