The Fuller Warren's Future

[jjoshjl]

By Melissa Ross

First Coast News

JACKSONVILLE, FL -- An advance look at a city Public Works study opens the door to building a new fishing pier in downtown Jacksonville, but does not recommend refurbishing the old Fuller Warren Bridge for such a purpose.

First Coast News has obtained a draft summary of the report. The full study results are expected to be released Monday at a meeting of the Jacksonville Waterways Commission, and according to the summary, analysts estimate that fixing up the Fuller Warren would cost around $2.5 million, an amount they theorize would be better spent building a new pier.

The reason: the Fuller Warren's relative inaccessibility.

Parking near the bridge or walking to it is difficult.

Advocates for both saving and dumping the structure have been waiting for the study to be released.

It was requested after the enthusiastic public reception for the new Jacksonville Beach fishing pier caused City Hall to reconsider demolishing the structure.

The Florida Department of Transportation had partially destroyed the bridge until permitting issues stopped the process.

The FDOT wants to finish the job. In the interim environmental groups such as St. Johns Riverkeeper have argued for keeping the Fuller Warren.

"People are hungry to get out onto the river, and we support any decision calling for more access," says Riverkeeper's Neil Armingeon.

While the summary report discusses the advantages and disadvantages of keeping or scrapping the old Fuller Warrren, Public Works spokesperson Marcy Cook emphasizes it is only a draft, not the finished product. More details are expected Monday evening at 6pm at the Waterways Commission meeting, held at City Hall.

Created: 4/21/2005 9:40:07 PM

Updated: 4/22/2005 12:16:41 PM

Edited by Melissa Ross, Reporter

[RiversideGator]

The truth is the old Fuller Warren may not be the best location for a pier either. I think if the City could do a Navy Pier like development elsewhere downtown with rides and entertainment on it, this would be preferable to keeping the old structure for the sake of nostalgia. The City should take possession of the pier on the LandMar development and do its own Navy Pier, in my opinion.

[La Florida]

^ I too vouch for the removal of the fuller warren and building a new one. Make it wider, and an aquarium to it and you'll have a definate attraction in the heart of downtown jax. Correct me if im wrong but what other city can boast an aquarium on a pier?

[richjagr]

^ I too vouch for the removal of the fuller warren and building a new one. Make it wider, and an aquarium to it and you'll have a definate attraction in the heart of downtown jax. Correct me if im wrong but what other city can boast an aquarium on a pier?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

From everywhere I have been Chicago would be the only I know of that comes close. Their Planaterium is at the end of an earth pier with the aquarium at its base and the Art Institute of Chicago, a marina, and Soldier Field, and a couple of very nice parks right there. that area anchors the Lake paths at one end.

Chicago's "Museum Campus" website

[DavePaulk]

Wow. I had no idea chicago was such an amazing city. All this talk i have heard of them lately has left me in awe.

[Urban_Legend]

^Me too, Dave!

[richjagr]

^Me too, Dave!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I traveled to Chicago every week for a year, there are allot of things that are terrific there. Not that everything was great. They celebrate diversity in specific areas of the city, have an ok Heavy rail system; I could not find any trash or graffiti in the urban core. There are neighborhoods that are to be avoided, but others that I felt safe in the middle of the night. I used to walk from my hotel to a movie theater off of the miracle mile and then walked home at 1 am.

I was however always amazed to find the shops all closing very early in the urban core, even the miracle mile. 5 pm for jewelry, 6 for clothing, 7 for electronics seemed to be the average. I was amazed at those hours, but also could easily walk from my hotel to the museum campus, 2 movie theaters, 4 borders/Barnes&Noble/Virgin stores, loads of restaurants, etc. The truly amazing thing is none of this was "on the lake". The lakefront is all park in most cases a couple hundred feet wide with an expressway then the CBD and High-rise residential.

Of course this is also where overnight parking cost me $38 a day, and my food per-diem was 40% higher than every other place in the country other than New York.

The investments in the parks there are amazing, even with underground parking garages for the largest ones, which also had allot of river access.

If you ever fly into O

[scongro]

I agree about Chicago. I was up in Chicago about every 6 weeks when my girlfriend was in grad school, and I thought it was a great city.

The one thing that I didn't like was navy pier (except for the ferris wheel-that was OK). I felt like I was in a tourist trap - especially when I paid $15 dollars for two ice cream cups. Personally, while the pier itself was cool, I can do without all of the tourist trap garbage.

Outside of the downtown area of Chicago, my favorite area was Wrigleyville (the area around Wrigley Field). It would be great to have an area like that around our sports complex. It was filled with bars, clubs, restaraunts, and comedy clubs.

The key to all of this - Residential. The area around wrigley field is famous for the houses right by the stadium, and I couldn't keep track of all of the new hi-rise condos/apartments going up. Within a four block radius of Michigan Avenue, there has to be at least 15-20, no joke.

[vicupstate]

An excellent Letter to the T-U editor:

Call a town meeting

I commend the May 15 editorial titled "Old Fuller Warren: Food for thought."

It recommended that the mayor and city remain open to the idea of saving part of the old Fuller Warren Bridge for use as a promenade/fishing pier.

Some time has passed since the revelation that the bridge might be demolished, with its debris simply dropped in the St. Johns River, American Heritage River status and lack of an environmental impact study notwithstanding.

All interested citizens should read the report prepared for the city's Department of Public Works so we can focus on the facts.

Also, let's promote a town meeting on this topic at which all stakeholders would be present, as well as a tour of the area in question.

In 1997, Jacksonville Community Council Inc. issued a study report titled "Improving Public Dialogue." It has been frustrating following the decision-making trail on this bridge issue.

My experience corroborates two of JCCI's observations: 1) a sense of "a lack of interest among many public institutions in taking strong action to encourage and facilitate public dialogue" and 2) that "the complexities of how to communicate effectively with the maze of governmental entities are not well explained by government nor well understood by private organizations and citizens."

The JCCI report recommends that "future mayors" continue Mayor John Delaney's practice of "convening frequent town meetings to engage citizens in all parts of Jacksonville in public dialogues about important community issues."

Why don't we employ that tradition for this significant issue?

ANDY BRUCK, musician, Jacksonville

[wolfdawg54]

Well, I am surprised that Jacksonville doesn't already have an aquarium downtown. It would be a nice attraction that I would frequent. i would like to see Jacksonville develop a nice pier and entertainment district sometime soon.

[Captain Obvious]

I love aquariums, and I've been to most of the major American ones ... but they usually don't turn profits. Often they are giant money pits. It's a frustrating reality.

[wolfdawg54]

The one in New Orleans is really neat. It seems like it makes a decent amount of money because so many people visit it each year.

[vicupstate]

Littlepage editorial on Fuller Warren Pier

One thing that Littlepage left out was that to DEMOLISH the pier will cost a lot of money too. I seem to remember that it would cost $2,000,000 to demolish it and $2.6 to convert it. That $600,000 could come from just one councilman's annual allocation.