Southbank Charrette Report

[Urban_LA]

For those who attended / participated in the January charrette for the Southbank area, you can download a copy of the finalized document from the JaxPride website. There is a link directly to the PDF document on the main page.

The plan and a b/w copy of the document were "unveiled" at yesterday's Ideas and Actions luncheon. There was not much time to delve into the report or it's findings considering the amount of things that had to be covered, but it was there. Let me know what you think and how it compares to what you think is best for the area.

Thanks.

The 'Urb

[asonj23]

That is really great stuff!! There were some great ideas and issues addressed at

the charrette.

The idea for the interior marina and the roundabout looking intersections is great.

Keep up the good work!

[La Florida]

I love the interior marina idea too! How great would it be to have a canal connecting to the river thats lined with park space and retail. If this idea is actually brought to reality, small boats could be used to transport tourist and residents alike to and fro on the southbank

[Urban_Legend]

Oh cool, the PDF shows some new renderings of the San Marco Riverwalk Village. I like this master plan, and I hope they can actually accomplish some of these ideas, and not just talk about them.

EDIT: Also, I like the idea of getting rid of the Main Street expressway, and making that an at-grade thoroughfare.

[bobliocatt]

The plan is pretty much fairly simple, which is good. Streetscaping and adding shade trees, along sidewalks, as well as making more public access points to the riverwalk, are the best features, imo.

The only thing, I question is potentially digging a canal from Kings Avenue Station to the river. I'd rather see this idea implemented with Hogans Creek. It wouldn't be worth it to spend money doing this (in the Southbank), because a large portion of it borders I-95 and wetlands, thus meaning you can't develop that land into a taxable piece of property.

On the other hand, I think something very important that many have over looked is the possibility of extending the skyway from the Kings Avenue garage, south to Atlantic Blvd in San Marco, running parallel to the FEC railroad tracks. This will accomplish, at least three major things.

1. Enhances the connectivity between the Southbank and San Marco Square.

2. A Skyway connection to San Marco (a major destination point) would increase overall ridership and solidify the popularity of downtown living, in the Northbank and the Southbank.

3. Most importantly is the what this would do for Kings Avenue, which is pretty run down, south of I-95. This would open up large amounts of underutilized land between the FEC tracks and I-95, to dense Transit Oriented Developements (TODs). The economic boom from having several projects, just as large San Marco Place (for example), in the end would cover the costs for extending the skyway, less than a mile South of where it currently ends.

lol, btw, I'm now famous. I saw myself in the background of one of the pics, in this document.

[DavePaulk]

I think it is great that so many people are concerned about the future of our city. I suppose I shall add my two cents to the mix. I like the idea of putting an aquarium where river city brewing company is currently located, and i like the roundabout-esc intersections. However i think some of the stuff is a bit excessive. For example, the giant water recreation thing.... wtf. If hendrix avenue could be developed it would benefit the area greatly, since it already has a library and recreational facility with tennis courts. I also think they should take the huge surface lot across from baptist and put something huge on it. Well, there's my two cents. Feel free to comment positively or negatively.