Peytons Pocket Park Disaster

[Metro Jacksonville]

Peytons Pocket Park Disaster



Seventeen months ago, Metro Jacksonville began warning the Mayor's office that their plan for a pocket park on Main Street was not well thought out and had several serious design flaws that would impede its success. The mayor himself vowed to look into the issue to determine if our concerns held any merit. It was determined they did not and the $700,000 park proceeded as planned.

Full Article
http://www.metrojacksonville.com/content/view/613

[tufsu1]

I drive by the park every morning on the way to work and walk by/through it several days a week.....this is the first time I've seen trash strewed about this way.

You all need to remember that the $ was from an FDOT grant and had to be used on/adjacent to a state road....its not like the City wasted $ from their own budget.

As I said many months ago, GET OVER IT!

[Lunican]

Why is it ok to waste state money?

As we said many months ago, there are plenty of existing parks along state roads that could have used the money.

[thelakelander]

Wow, what a case study!!  In any event, I guess could say the park is not officially completed.

I drive by the park every morning on the way to work and walk by/through it several days a week

I've seen trash out there a few times and I'll say the city normally does a pretty good job of quickly getting out and picking up the trash let over by vagrants.  Anyway, for those who do drive by on a regular occassion, do you see people reading books, eating lunch or playing in the grass during various times of the day?  For whatever reason, other than the occassional dog watering the grass, the completed portion does not seem to be getting much usage when I drive by.

You all need to remember that the $ was from an FDOT grant and had to be used on/adjacent to a state road....its not like the City wasted $ from their own budget.

Are you sure about that?  The park was NOT funded by the FDOT grant, the Main Street streetscaping was.  As mentioned over a year ago, the park was funded by the city's tree mitigation trust fund.  The money used for the construction of the pocket park could have went towards the improvement of many existing parks littered across the city.  Here's a quote from a May 6, 2006 Times Union article on the funding breakdown.

"The cost of creating a pocket park and planting new plants along Main Street is estimated at $1.8 million. A Florida Department of Transportation grant will provide about $610,000. Another $990,000 will come from a tree mitigation trust fund and the rest from leftover bond money for parks, according to Peyton spokeswoman Misty Skipper. The trust fund has about $11.5 million that comes from developers who don't replant protected trees torn down during construction. The City Council will need to approve using the fund for the landscaping projects."

Here's a link: http://www.jacksonville.com/tu-online/stories/050306/met_21774622.shtml

Unfortunately, we did invest $700k in that site.  Instead of getting over it, maybe we should add it to a list of shame and use for an example of how "NOT" to do things, when we plan for future projects.

[thelakelander]

Why is it ok to waste state money?

Although we live in Florida, it did not come out of our pockets, its free money that raineth from the heavens.....duh.

[Jason]

Where are the 100 year old oaks that the rendering shows?  I think we got ripped off.

[thelakelander]

As we said many months ago, there are plenty of existing parks along state roads that could have used the money.

Lets see....in downtown....

Confederate Park
Friendship Fountain
Treaty Oak Park
Northbank Riverwalk
Southbank Riverwalk
Brooklyn Central Park
Bay & Broad pocket park
Forsyth & Newnan pocket park (across from the Florida Theater)

its not like any of these parks need money for improvement anyway.  Other than a few pumps not working on a fountain and a riverwalk falling into the river everything looks peachy clean and pristine.  Besides, like the Skyway....it was free money that came from outside of Duval's county limits.

[Lunican]

At the time, the mayor and friends were insisting that the $700,000 was just a "drop in the bucket". Now that they are trimming $10,000 and $20,000 at a time in order to approach a balanced budget, maybe that was a foolish stance afterall.

[Jason]

I'm glad to see the park getting used by at least one person.

[tufsu1]

and I suppose the parking lot that was there before was better....

many people on this site say the land should have been made available for private development....I agree.....but there are plenty of vacant lots downtown and not very many developers stepping up to buy and redevelop them! 

[brooklyn-ite]

Confederate Park
Friendship Fountain
Treaty Oak Park
Northbank Riverwalk
Southbank Riverwalk
Brooklyn Central Park
Bay & Broad pocket park
Forsyth & Newnan pocket park (across from the Florida Theater)[/size][/size][/size][/size]

There is NO such thing as a Brooklyn Central Park yet - The city has bungled that too thinking they were going to get the dirt for cheap by eminent domain.  What they didn't think about is taking square blocks off of the market also takes them off of the tax rolls and potential tax rolls from developers that do want them.  There is no way they are going to get that Park thru City Council in light of the Riverside Park's proximity (.25 mile) and the tax base potential that those blocks hold.

[thelakelander]

and I suppose the parking lot that was there before was better....

ummm.....yes.  It did not cost $700k and was no more of an eyesore to the area then the surface parking lots still in use next door.  No matter which way it is spinned, its tough to justify spending $700k for a half a block of elevated sod at that particular location.

many people on this site say the land should have been made available for private development....I agree.....but there are plenty of vacant lots downtown and not very many developers stepping up to buy and redevelop them! 

Actually, in the last few years several have stepped up to the plate and purchased vacant buildings and lots for new uses.  Chamblins, Burrito Gallery, Churchwell Lofts, Cesery's Lofts in Springfield, 122 Ocean, the Lerner Shops Building, etc.  However, before we can get to that point, we have to make the property available first.  Like the city's vacant lots in Springfield, that was never allowed and especially not advertised in this case.

[downtownparks]

Speaking of City Owned Springfield lots.

071446 0000 6th and Laura,(on Laura) third lot from NW corner

070943 0000 3rd and Market (on E 3rd), two lots down from NE corner

072643 0000 3rd and Ionia,(on E 3rd) 2nd lot from SW corner

071272 0000 5th and Hubbard,(on E 5th) 3rd Lot from NW corner

073132 0090 Perry, across from Cottage (This maybe a parking lot for emergency services)

071083 0000 4th and Laura, (on Laura) 2nd lot from NW corner

072783 0000 2nd and Market, (on Market) third lot from SW corner

071936 0000 8th and Market (on Market), 3rd lot from NW corner

072429 0000 4th and Liberty (on liberty), 3rd Lot from NE corner

072480 0000 4th and Ionia (on Ionia) third lot from NE corner.

And all of these were over grown, and it took nearly an act of congress to get them mowed, and some of them never did...

Supposedly the city is working on a plan to dispose of them. I guess we shall see.

[thelakelander]

For those who may have designed this park or are familiar with it, I have a question:

How we get from the bottom of the park to the top?  Are we supposed
to step over the retaining walls and cross through the dirt to access each level of greenspace?

[fsujax]

Jason, I agree with you, where are those 100 year old oaks?  To be honest I drive past that park everday and have never seen anyone sitting in it, reading a book or doing anything for that matter.