Piedmont Park: A Destination, Not A Pass Through

[Metro Jacksonville]

Piedmont Park: A Destination, Not A Pass Through



In this periodical series, Metro Jacksonville highlights sites in peer cities across the country that have become destinations and not pass throughs. We ask if Jacksonville is ready for the challenge and willing to invest in itself to compete for economic development in the 21st century. Today, we visit Atlanta's Piedmont Park.

Full Article
http://www.metrojacksonville.com/article/2012-apr-piedmont-park-a-destination-not-a-pass-through

[Anti redneck]

Downtown Jacksonville could support a park that big, I think. Call it "Cowford Park". There you go, a little bit of history.

[Bill Hoff]

Klutho.

[Know Growth]

Note reference to planned neighborhood serving transit system (likely streetcars-  Ock,'ya gotta love it!!!),non motorized paths,redevelopment of approx. 2500 acres. Magnificent.

A lesson for Jacksonville;
Hogans Creek/Springfield Park
In recent personal conversation with City of jacksonville Engineering Division manager David D. Hahn,P.E ( cell 904 591 6875) Mr.Hahn noted comprehensive Hogans Creek restoration estimated cost at approx. 40 million.

Consider too our unique position to capture recreational boating destination drawing on the nationwide boating community.Downtown vessel slips,dockage could be enhanced, taylored to transient destination boaters rather than storage.There exists plenty of month to month vessel in water slip storage nearby.

[WmNussbaum]

We ask if Jacksonville is ready for the challenge and willing to invest . . .

The key word is "invest." I wish it were otherwise, but I fear the answer is "no." But consider:

The City and/or JTA and/or JEA own a helluva lot of land that could be turned into a decent sized park:

1.  Almost all waterfront land from Metropolitan Park west to the site of the present courthouse and  old City Hall. (Question: What is going to be done with the parking lots in front that are built on pilings over the river?)
2.  The closed Southside Generating Plant site on southbank.
3.  The Convention Center and most of the land to the north abutting I-95 for several blocks. There are a few privately owned parcels in that area, but the City could condemn them and possibly just arrange for a land swap to keep the operating businesses downtown - thinking mostly of the Interline Brands block. Turn the convention center into something else (Museum of Railroading?). The parking lot west of the main building could be kept if needed. The park would have great exposure from the interstate, and is a terminus for the ASE - making for more and easier access (if anyone chose to use it).

Getting back to that word "invest." I repeat: Show me the money!

[dougsandiego]

The photograph of Hogan's Creek says it all. It is bucolic and inviting. I can see pathways and shade trees along the watercourse. Add some activities and the momentum will build. Start small.

With all the activists you have on this site, there must be someone with the time and energy to spearhead the creation of a Hogan's Creek Conservancy?

[fieldafm]

The photograph of Hogan's Creek says it all. It is bucolic and inviting. I can see pathways and shade trees along the watercourse. Add some activities and the momentum will build. Start small.

With all the activists you have on this site, there must be someone with the time and energy to spearhead the creation of a Hogan's Creek Conservancy?

There has been. 

Cutting back the red tape from the MULTIPLE layers of government piddling around and lollygagging on Hogans Creek is another story. 

Did you know there is a little under $1 million sitting in a capital account for YEARS that will fund a Hogans Creek Greenway... but that three other government organizations point their fingers at each other, each playing chicken to see who starts their portion of the work first?

That's just one of about 12 different projects from various agencies all targeting various areas of the Hogans Creek Basin.  However no one knows what the other is doing.  Imagine having 12 legs with one brain for each leg and none of your brains are connected through a central nervous system.  Imagine how difficult it would be to walk?  That in a nutshell, is Hogans Creek's story.

Welcome to beauracracy.  It's mind blowing how difficult it is to navigate the maze that is Hogans Creek.  I have personally spent many late nights tracking all of the money and I still don't have an idea how it all works together. 

In the meantime, a huge opportunity is being wasted. 

[tufsu1]

great article Ennis....I visited Piedmont Park a few months ago and was stunned by all of the things that had been added over the past few years....their new aquatic center is absolutely gorgeous and the adjacent playground is very heavily used....also interesting is the modern art-inspired playground up the hill from there (not shown in the pictures).

[fieldafm]

To add:  The Beltline deserves a series of articles on it's own.  It's really a supremely ambitious and worthy project. 

I think Detroit's Dequindre Cut or Houston's Buffalo Bayou are examples that are more relevant to Jax.  Frankly, Jax could have a much better version than both of those with the naturally occuring amenities a complete Hogans Creek Greenway could offer tied into the S Line and Riverwalk.  But the Atlanta Beltline should certainly serve as an inspirational example of what happens when you have the courage to dream big and have the drive to make it happen. 

[thelakelander]

great article Ennis....I visited Piedmont Park a few months ago and was stunned by all of the things that had been added over the past few years....their new aquatic center is absolutely gorgeous and the adjacent playground is very heavily used....also interesting is the modern art-inspired playground up the hill from there (not shown in the pictures).

[fieldafm]

Buffalo Bayou



Dequindre Cut



Atlanta Beltline





Hogans Creek:

[mtraininjax]

Getting back to the original thread, Piedmont Park, I went to school at Tech and lived there for 5 years after graduation, through the Olympics. During that time, the "Conservation for Piedmont Park" decided it was better to move the largest event in the park, the annual Dogwood Festival, from the park to the concrete confines of Centennial Park. They did the same thing with the Arts Festival in the fall. Why did they move them? The complaint was that there was too much foot traffic and the number of festivals was killing the vegetation in the park.

It is a great park, a number of baseball fields, tennis courts, the new North side with Dog Parks, the Bot (Atlanta Botanical Garden off Piedmont), the restaurant at 10th and Monroe, with a great outdoor fire pit for the colder months, it is a great park, but for the article to insist that the park, itself, contributed to the growth of Midtown is an absurd exaggeration. What is now Midtown, in the 80s and most of the 90s was what our Springfield is now. Outside investors, much like in Buckhead, which has no real large park, the investors came in and leveled the smaller structures and built large apartment buildings throughout Midtown. There were also commercial developments and restaurants there, along the park, well before the latest explosion. The park continues to be a place for intown residents to enjoy.

Frustrated with the lack of transportation alternatives in Atlanta,

I don't know the rock that these Tech grads (probably UGA grads instead) lived under, but Atlanta has more transportation nodes and modules than any other city, I have seen in the south. Traffic downtown connector, no problem, get off and take one of the many side street options in the grid like system of Atlanta Traffic. That is harder to do in Jax, but thankfully, we don't have Atlanta traffic. Also, Atlanta, due to its size has an armada of cabs and pay for transportation, Super Bowls, NBA finals, Final Fours, Olympics, they are all possible due to a fantastic transit system.

Taking the old rail through Piedmont Park and turning it into light rail, is really unrealistic. At one end, the line runs into Decatur Street (perpendicular to the Atlanta-Hulsey yard), and the other ends up in the Norfolk Southern Y, on the other side of I85. Both Monroe Drive/Boulevard , and Moreland Avenue (US23) run North South over similar distances, with Monroe/Boulevard running the closest in parallel to the line. There are so many North South roads, it would be better for the City to turn the old tracks into what Indianapolis did with the downtown Monon lines in Broad Ripple, a pedestrian trail, similar to our Baldwin Rails to Trails program. Then there is also Marta rail line which is only a few blocks from the park.

Our Met Park is too far from real residential traffic, but could one day mimic parts of Piedmont Park. Look around where you live and see the parks people use. I/we use Boone Park and the other small parks in Avondale/Riverside. Its not Piedmont park, but I am thankful for what we have. We don't have the same downtown density to warrant this type of expense. We still don't have the promised parking for the Landing, for pete's sake and that thing has been going on since 1986!

[Jimmy]

If I didn't loathe the idea of taking another bar exam, I'd seriously consider the Atlanta area.  The community investment shown in places like Piedmont Park is a big part of the "why."

Now, we could be doing that here.  I loathe agreeing with mtrain almost as much as the thought of another bar exam, but he's right on the money here.  We have so many urban parks.  Why it will take years to turn a little corner of one of them into a dog park (I'm looking at you, Riverside Park/RAP), I have no idea.  It seems like with enough motivated urban residents, and a sense of community investment, these amenities could be added and maintained faster.  From the biggest to the best?  Let's have a little less talk and a lot more action.

[mtraininjax]

  I loathe agreeing with mtrain

Ya know, Timken said the same thing recently. Like Will Rogers said, "Always drink upstream from the herd".

Happy Easter!

[Jimmy]

Another smart guy said something about "all hat and no cattle."  Hope you've picked out a nice bonnet! (Totally kidding!)

Happy Easter!