From Jaxdailyrecord.com:
Downtown businesses, JSO hash out event traffic
10/09/2007
by David Ball
Staff Writer
A handful of Downtown business owners gathered at Burrito Gallery Monday for a meeting with the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, JTA and other City officials on how to ease traffic problems associated with football games at Jacksonville Municipal Stadium.
The meeting, hosted by Downtown Vision Inc., ended with traffic officials considering new approaches to parking policies, and business owners looking to be better informed on those policies and to convey them to patrons.
“I’ve heard that people can not get to their front door during a Jaguar game,†said Amy Harrell, director of improvement district services for DVI. “But at the same time, when you have fifty- or sixty-thousand people flooding Downtown, we want to encourage a compromise.â€
One of the top issues was the placement of bags over parking meters on streets in order to add two more traffic lanes for people leaving Downtown after a game.
Mark Hemphill, owner of Mark’s and The Dive Bar on Bay Street, said the bagging happens too soon before an event and scares away customers.
“I thought it was overly premature, to put it politely,†he said, noting the bags were placed on Bay Street meters on Friday evening before the Saturday Florida State/Alabama game two weeks ago.
Sgt. Leonard Propper with JSO special events and Director A.L. Kelly of patrol and enforcement said problems could arise when meters are bagged in the morning and cars are parked there from the night before. The cars would then be in violation and would have to be towed.
“It could be a double-edged sword,†said Kelly. “They are going to come to your business and say, ‘I was towed after coming to your restaurant.’â€
Propper said that although bags are placed the night before, parking is never really enforced until the day of the event. Business owners said they weren’t aware of that policy.
However, Propper said he would attempt to place the bags over the meters at 5 a.m. on the day of the next big event, which is the Oct. 22 Monday Night Football game when the Jaguars host the Indianapolis Colts.
“We can find out if it helps,†said Propper. “But I still need 45 minutes to get the majority of people (at the stadium) that’s going home, home.â€
Harrell asked the JSO and JTA to notify her when such meter enforcement was occurring, and then DVI could spread the word to business owners and use Downtown Ambassadors to inform the public.
Propper said he might not be able to give much warning in some instances, such as with the upcoming filming of the HBO movie “Recount†in Jacksonville.
“It’s our job to accommodate them a little bit,†said Propper, citing the economic impact filming adds to the city. “We inconvenience ya’ll, but they are all going to come to you to eat.â€
The group discussed the possibility of adding permanent signs to the meters that spell out the parking rules and times when a bag is placed.
“We’re all for it,†said Kelly. “It saves my guys a lot of time.â€
The group agreed that much of the frustration is likely to subside if plans to create more two-way streets in Downtown become a reality.
In the plan, Pearl Street changes from one-way south to two-way from Forsyth to Ashley; Julia Street reverses from north to south from Bay to Beaver and from one-way north to two-way from Beaver to Union; Laura Street changes from one-way south to two-way from Independent Drive to Monroe; Independent Drive changes from one-way east to two-way from Laura to Newnan: and Bay Street changes from one-way west to two-way from Ocean to Newnan.
David Hahn, from the City’s Engineering Department, said designs are still two months from completion, and construction should begin at the earliest by spring 2008.
“The two-lanes will be great,†said Tony Allegretti, one of the Burrito Gallery owners. “The fact that there’s stuff to do on the weekends Downtown is a little bit of a new phenomenon. They do such a great job of getting people out after a game, we just need to coordinate a little.â€