Murray Hill: Cassat Avenue to get a makeover?

[thelakelander]

This is something Murray Hill residents should keep their eye on and attempt to get involved with. At some point, FDOT is going to revamp Cassat.  This is an excellent opportunity to incorporate ideas to make that corridor more bike/pedestrian and economic revitalization friendly.

Jones exploring Cassat Avenue improvements

Jones discussed street parking, along with other issues, at a meeting Tuesday about the "Cassat Avenue Improvement Project."

Jones, who represents District 9, called the meeting to take the pulse among city, transportation, safety and other representatives about the concerns and options to improve the 3.5-mile stretch of the Westside thoroughfare from the Bi-Lo Winn-Dixie headquarters at Edgewood Avenue south to Blanding Boulevard.

His next stop is to call a meeting of Cassat Avenue area businesses and property owners, possibly before the end of the year.

full article: http://www.jaxdailyrecord.com/showstory.php?Story_id=540748

[lethonius]

How can Murray Hill homeowners get informed about the time and location of the proposed meeting?

[mtraininjax]

I'm confused....how does Councilman Jones figure that Bi-Lo has a dog in this fight? After all, the WD/BL HQ is at the tail end of Cassat avenue. Lease rates are climbing and there are fewer and fewer vacant spaces along here. Only 1 auto dealership shows a vacancy. A thriving area, and now, he wants to look to kill it with a road project? WTF?

Plan for it now, save, allocate funds and when the economy tanks, that is the time to work on the road, not when the city is receiving valuable tax dollars in a rising economic mood.

If they want to slow down traffic on Cassat, assign more patrol officers to the area. FHP loves to nail people on the interstates and other state roads, so do the same on Cassat.

[sheclown]

How can Murray Hill homeowners get informed about the time and location of the proposed meeting?

Use your cpac

[ricker]

How can Murray Hill homeowners get informed about the time and location of the proposed meeting?

Ditto for interested folks in LakesidePark/LakeShore where a small dedicated group is struggling to get a landscape plan approved for the existing Blanding median islands where the southern end of Cassat intersects, a plan which requires no irrigation system, at no cost to the city or taxpayer, and would remove these grassy patches from the mowing schedule.

In addition to the still kind of relatively recent upgrade of the now Coastal Creek Condos (near the long gone BambooLuau),  Pomade&Tonic, pink flamingo, HouseCandy, this segment of Blanding is deserving of the beauty we want to give it.

Please, won't you elaborate? Tell us more about CPAC??

[Charles Hunter]

Here is the City's CPAC web page: http://www.coj.net/departments/neighborhoods/housing-and-community-development/neighborhood-initiatives-(1)/citizen-planning-advisory-committees-(cpacs).aspx

There are six CPACs, corresponding to six Planning Districts, that cover all of the City of Jacksonville (and, thus, excluding the 3 Beaches cities and Baldwin).  Each meets monthly and hears reports from various city agencies.  Each has a different focus - some are very interested in Code Compliance issues, others look very closely at every rezoning application, others want to hear from JSO about crime.  Blanding is in the Southwest CPAC, which meets the 2nd Monday of each month in the auditorium at Kent Campus of FSCJ at 7:00pm (which, as I write this, is tomorrow night).  Each CPAC has a person from the City's Neighborhoods Department assigned to provide support (no, there aren't six coordinators, right now there are 2, each serving 3 CPACs).

I echo sheclown's recommendation.  Your issue is one the CPAC could take up, and provide support, if they choose; but at the very least, will give valuable advice and contacts to pursue your project.

Good Luck.