Self Sustaining Dog Park Headed To Riverside

[ChriswUfGator]

In terms of making the DOT clean up their mess, the question is who actually owns the land?

[Charles Hunter]

^  Good news!  Final design drawings are on the Riverside Avondale web site too.  Looks like it is going to really nice looking.  Entrance will be from College Street and there is also a proposed plan for FDOT to redo that part of College St. with narrower lanes and angle parking.

Now that there is no longer an entrance to I-95 there the road is too big and will be put on a diet.

Isn't College a city street?  Why wouldn't the City being the ones putting it on a diet and adding parking?

[Dog Walker]

I've been told that the part of College St. from Myra to Rosselle, the part the goes under I-95, is still FDOT roadway.  It is probably because so much of that section is on FDOT right-of-way for the expressway.  The person who told me that is pretty knowledgeable about these things.

[Charles Hunter]

Interesting.  Guess its a hold-over from when there were ramps there.

[Dog Walker]

I've just been given correct information.. I must have misunderstood what I was told.  FDOT does not own that section of road, but is being approached to fix it since they made it so wide in the first place.  My bad!

There are other streets and intersections that they have since turned over to the City that they should pay to fix as well since their designs have created problems now.

[MissMinda]

Is this still happening? Any recent updates?

[Josh]

The groundbreaking ceremony was last week.

http://jacksonville.com/current/town/2016-02-02/story/construction-begins-john-gorrie-dog-park-riverside-park

[InnerCityPressure]

If I remember correctly, the initial idea for this park was to charge for key fobs to enter the gated dog park.  Is that still the case?  Love's comments lead me to believe that has changed?  DogWalker, any insight?

[Steve]

^No fobs. The cost of maintaining the system was too expensive. The thought was to charge a nominal fee for fobs, but once the numbers were analyzed, the cost that would have to be charged to people was much more than nominal - kind of kills the spirit of a community park if it's exclusionary.

[Dog Walker]

Thanks to Mrs. Weaver and Councilman Love and a lot of donors through RAP, it is a free to everybody city park.  FDOT is also going to fill in those ugly mosquito ponds under the expressway, pave the space and let Riverside Arts Market expand into that space.

Leadership on the whole project came out of the RAP Board of Directors.  Sometimes visions do become reality.

I live nearby and me and my dogs are going to be regulars!  (If I can get my terrier to quit wanting to fight every other dog she sees!)

[mtraininjax]

they are making progress, at annual rap meeting, said would probably be open in May/June timeframe.