Blanding Blvd - Park St Corridor Safety Improvement Project

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The Jacksonville Transportation Authority (JTA) is hosting a three day event to invite public input and include your ideas in the dialogue with the Department Of Transportation (DOT) aimed at enhancing transit movements and functionality and improving safety and aesthetics for all users of the Blanding - Park St corridor throughout Southwest Duval, spanning Orange Park Mall and Brooklyn Downtown.

Affected neighborhoods and merchants also include those situated within the communities of Cedar Hills, Confederate Point, Hyde Park, [southern] Murray Hill, Lake Shore and Bayview, Avondale, and Riverside among others as a portion of this project will make an impact to segments of both SanJuan and Cassat Avenues as well.

This 3 day event will be held at Riverside Baptist Church 2650 Park St., beginning Tuesday January 26 at 5 until 8pm.
The charrette will continue 9a-5p on Wednesday Jan 27, and Thursday Jan. 28, with a final conclusion presentation to also be delivered on Thursday evening from 5-7pm.

Please feel welcome to come and be involved in this workshop focused on improving safety for all modes of traffic which can only enhance the value and appeal of our aging inner Westside.  This special opportunity holds the power to benefit all residents throughout and beyond the confines of the project limits. 

The representatives hosting this event for the Blanding - Park St study truly want to get the word out and have expressed their desire to learn how the local population may be better served.   The residents are their "experts."


Please make the effort to get involved and be heard! No voice, idea or question is too small or unimportant!! 
Over a dozen arterial corridors are being studied and revamped with the FLDOT and JTA first making the effort to reach out to hear what the actual daily users of these main roads envision.


For instance, over the past 15 years, a sampling of traffic calming questions I have been asked to relay range from:

Where do we need safer high visibility and/or raised crosswalks?
When will the patchwork of currently disconnected  Bikelanes bridge the gap between Harlow-Wesconnett and Kent campus? 
Can bikelanes be added to San Juan?  Sharrows are needed on Harlow.
Where do we need bus shelters and bike racks? 
Where might  park and ride lots be convenient if cost feasible? 
Where is there not enough light on the ground? 
How and where might better roadway signage and pavement markings be utilized to inform and warn both local and non-local motorists of the growing presence of bike & ped activity in certain areas?
How may a central path be included on Blanding over US17 for car-less resident students of SW Duval to safely reach Kent campus on bike or foot?
What can be done to make Cassat, Blanding, and SanJuan "Complete Streets"?
What ARE Complete Streets??
What is a Road Diet?
What is a Lane Diet?
What are the differences in application and implementation?
How might traffic using curbside lanes be more intelligently guided?
Do vehicular travel lanes need to remain 12' in width when slightly reducing lane width can allow for more modes of traffic to be accommodated without actual reconstruction?
Are traffic circles feasible to keep traffic safely moving at key intersections like Harlow-Wesconnett, Confederate Point Rd-Cedar Hills Blvd, Wilson Blvd, Bayview Rd, St. Johns Ave. ?

This is our once-in-a-lifetime chance to finally fully begin the process of bringing this bustling thoroughfare into the modern era by pushing for a more intuitive and aesthetically pleasing design that provides safe facilities for all modes of traffic.

At present there exists a glut of commercial vacancies lining Blanding between Harlow-Wesconnett and FSCJ Kent campus.
Taking a close look at how the paved road width between curbs can be more fully utilized is a great cost-effective first step which doesn't require turning dirt or long term delays and detours.

Speaking up for your community and working together to hurdle the challenges can deliver the vibrancy needed to once again make the Westside the bestside! 
The built environment of Blanding and San Juan can be made over to better complement and serve the areas they penetrate and presently detrimentally sever from our wonderfully unique Historic Districts.

Please come ask questions and share your thoughts and ideas! 

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https://www.facebook.com/events/228984457433870/

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http://www.jtamobilityworks.com/Pages/BlandingBlvdCorridorImprovements.aspx

[tufsu1]

Thanks for posting!