Mike Clark: Get rid of the one-way streets in Downtown Jacksonville

[thelakelander]

Wouldn't it be refreshing if, just once, Jacksonville was ahead of the game Downtown?

While peer cities like Norfolk have already reformed their festival marketplaces, for instance, Jacksonville remains mired with the orange-roofed Jacksonville Landing eyesore as an icon.

While cities like Indianapolis and Nashville have used clear themes to market their cities, Jacksonville remains mired in a continuous identity crisis.

And cities like Oklahoma City have turned their downtowns more inviting for pedestrians by getting rid of one-way streets, Jacksonville is barely talking about it. Pedestrians here must dodge cars that speed because the streets are designed to make it easy to race out of Downtown.

Full article: http://jacksonville.com/opinion/columnists/2017-10-10/mike-clark-get-rid-one-way-streets-downtown-jacksonville

[Tacachale]

Good idea. We've been saying this for years.

[Adam White]

I realize I risk getting burned at the stake since at this point it seems that to Urban Planners these days, suggesting one way streets is akin to saying the world is flat.

However, indulge me a simple question (and I fully understand that I am Waaaaaaaaaaaay out of my element here)

Why can't one way streets be great for pedestrians? With one way streets, isn't more room hypothetically available so we have greater flexibility to use it for something more beneficial than more asphalt? It seems to me that designed correctly,we could accomplish the various goals of safety, vibrancy, efficiency, etc.

Or am I just looking at the Ocean and saying the edge looks pretty flat to me......?

Reading your comment caused me to Google this, as I wasn't really aware of the reasons, either. There were a number of articles - this one seemed to cover the points, as far as I can tell:

https://www.citylab.com/transportation/2013/01/case-against-one-way-streets/4549/

[Jim]

While 2-way streets can be beneficial if the planning along with it is properly addressed, the boogie man of car dodging is absolute BS.  In truth, if they were 2-way, then you have to "dodge cars" from both directions.  And the only ones that are really "speedy" are State and Union streets and they serve a different function than say Hogan or Duval streets.

[Tacachale]

Woods' comments are on point. There are really a few different issues with the way Downtown Jax's streets are handled:

One way streets can become arterials that drivers speed through. This is especially true when they're designed as we've done, where we cram in extra lanes to move cars through and out of downtown. This can and does make it more difficult for pedestrians to cross. It's easier to cross at Laura Street than Main Street, because traffic on Laura is calmer.

The grid pattern is also unintuitive and confusing in downtown Jacksonville. It doesn't necessarily have to be that way, but there's no consistency to which streets are one-way, and whether they even make it all the way out of downtown. Part of this is that we've allowed blocks to be combined such as at the Courthouse, Omni, and LaVilla School of the Arts. Streets also transition between one and two ways without warning. In addition to making it a pain to drive around and find destinations, it encourages cars to stay on the main arterials which compounds the problem for pedestrians.

There are probably cases where one way streets make sense, but I have yet to see one in Downtown Jacksonville.

[FlaBoy]

There are a lot of other issues downtown. I think maybe making Bay a fully two way street would make sense in the near term. Hopefully with the Trio/Barnett bringing life to DT, you could think about it with Forsyth and Hogan. Then Adams and Monroe down the line although the interstate access portion would probably need to remain until there were funding for that.

[thelakelander]

This one way conversion stuff isn't rocket science. It's pretty frustrating to see simple things like this still being debated in Jax when other places just went ahead and implemented things 15 to 20 years ago. Other than State & Union, and perhaps Main and Ocean, we could get rid of all of our one way streets without significant impact to traffic congestion. Anyway, you do have to dodge cars when crossing State and Union. Drivers routinely make turns, regardless of if the pedestrian has the walk sign or not. JSO could rack up a lot of money issuing tickets to drivers not following the law at intersections. We have a pretty uneducated population of motorist in this town.

[Wacca Pilatka]

^ I understand why State and Union are one way, but that's a significant, frustrating barrier to fusion between downtown and Springfield (obviously there are others, like the streets that randomly end and the pre-1970s planning that deliberately made it difficult to travel between the two).  Absent two-way conversion, is the theoretical solution to this just getting more pedestrian-friendly development on State and Union and counting on the presence of destinations along those streets naturally making the traffic flow into less of a speedway?

[thelakelander]

Yes. I'm convinced that the streets aren't the barrier, the land uses and the lack of priority are. State and Union's traffic should be more of an asset for infill urban commercial development. I spent some time in Maitland and Winter Park last night. US 17/92 is starting to take on a completely different feel since those cities changed their zoning to more a form-based code.

[acme54321]

I don't mind one way streets all that much.  What I do mind is when they all run one way and you have to drive three blocks until you get to the next street that runs the other direction.

[thelakelander]

Just read the editorial. I'm not sure two-way streets have a better impact on the pedestrian than one way. Southside Boulevard is two-way but you'll be hard pressed to find a pedestrian there. Land use and traffic calming bring life to streets, no matter what direction they travel in.

Stimulating visibility and accessibility for downtown retail is where two way streets really make the most sense.  Also, as others have mentioned, DT's system of one ways happens to be pretty dysfunctional. As a lasting legacy from a failed downtown redevelopment plan decades ago, our one ways were designed to be a system of loops. Since that time, various blocks have been eliminated for projects like the Duval County Courthouse. Thus, we have weird configurations where on has to travel several blocks out of the way, to make a turn to head south.

[Kerry]

Returning downtown to two-way streets is one of the biggest advancements the City could do in recreating downtown's former glory.  Streets were made one way for the sole purpose of getting cars out of downtown as fast as possible - and it worked perfectly.  This isn't a new concept being tried for the first time in Jacksonville.  Cities all over the country are doing it with tremendous success.  Heck, even ATT made it a part of their requirements for expanding their operations in downtown Dallas.

https://www.dallasnews.com/business/att/2017/04/12/dallas-closes-shrinks-two-ways-streets-keep-att-downtown

AT&T made the call in October to keep its headquarters in downtown Dallas by spending $100 million on its revamped campus.

But the decision to stay in the city rather than flee to the suburbs was contingent upon several major requests, chief among them the significant alteration of some major downtown streets for a so-called "Discovery District" filled with shops, restaurants and other pedestrian-friendly amenities.

On Wednesday, the Dallas City Council agreed to give the communications company what it wants, including the closure of two streets, the narrowing of another and the conversion of two others to two-way traffic around AT&T's headquarters at Akard and Commerce streets.

[lowlyplanner]

Making downtown streets two-way has been a cornerstone of every downtown plan since at least 2001 (the Downtown Master Plan).  In that time we've managed to make about 2 streets two-way (Laura Street and parts of Pearl).

I looked into a couple of years ago, and it looks like the City was spending about $100,000 per block to go from one-way to two-way (outside of other improvements).

[Steve]

My feeling is the first priority should be the north-south streets, and make Bay Street 2 Way. Heck, make it easier and put off Main, Ocean, Broad, and Jefferson for now.

Then, do the East-West Streets as it comes up. These are MUCH less confusing (outside of Bay), because they alternate in sequence. The only exception to that is around the courthouse because of Monroe.

[acme54321]

My feeling is the first priority should be the north-south streets, and make Bay Street 2 Way. Heck, make it easier and put off Main, Ocean, Broad, and Jefferson for now.

Then, do the East-West Streets as it comes up. These are MUCH less confusing (outside of Bay), because they alternate in sequence. The only exception to that is around the courthouse because of Monroe.

Exactly.  The north- south streets not being in sequence is the big issue IMO.