Touring Jacksonville's S-Line Urban Greenway

Between Interstate 95 and Boulevard Street, the trail travels through an area known by many as the "bloody block". Highlighted in a 2007 Florida Times-Union article, according to the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office, during a three-year period from July 2003 to June 2006, the Lincoln Court and Venus-Mars area ranked highest in the city with 154 incidents of felony violence. Despite this area's struggles, the main campus of UF Health at Jacksonville lies within a stone's throw of the trail.  With vision, there is no reason that this section of the urban core can't become on of the Northside's most desired locations.



The first segment of the S-Line ends at Boulevard Street in Springfield.  Signs direct cyclist to utilize West 12th Street through the neighborhood.  West 12th is dominated by industry and the campus of Andrew Robinson Elementary School.  As an alternative, one can get a good taste of Springfield's character by traveling on West 11th Street between Boulevard and Main Streets.







Due to the presence of several active rail lines in the area, after traveling through Springfield a network of turns navigates the cyclist through the Springfield Warehouse District and New Springfield.  Both architecturally significant districts are early 20th century Telfair Stockton & Company developments.

Located at the junction of the Seaboard Air Line (SAL) and St. Johns River Terminal Company (SJRT) railroads, the warehouse district became an ideal distribution hub for a number early automobile, food and beverage companies, Auto related companies that once operated in the district included the Chevrolet Motor Company, Studebaker Corporation, and Fisk Tire Company. Food and beverage companies included American Bakeries Corporation, Dorsey Company Bakery, Ward Baking Company, Coca-Cola Bottling Company, and Mavis Bottling Company.  The district was also the home of the National Merchandise Company, the parent company of long time Jacksonville chain, Pic N' Save.  Today, Swisher International is the district's largest manufacturing plant. Located here since 1924, the cigar factory is the world's largest, covering nearly 700,000 square feet, employing 1,100 and producing as many as 8.5 million cigars a day.

New Springfield is an overlooked urban district sandwiched between railroads and expressways. It's streets are lined with a diverse amount of housing stock that includes a mix of architecturally significant single family, multifamily, and commercial properties.