Author Topic: Downtown's Blighted Surface Parking Lots Under Fire  (Read 29782 times)

iloveionia

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Re: Downtown's Blighted Surface Parking Lots Under Fire
« Reply #30 on: December 08, 2010, 02:58:27 PM »
"The latest maps produced by the JEDC show that over 40% of downtown is now parking lots, or empty land being used for parking."

^still caught up on this.
When I first drove through and explored downtown Jacksonville in 2007 I could only describe it as "abandoned blight."  No offense to exisiting businesses, but golly gee, not much in downtown Jax, is there? 

MetroJacksonville has done great articles on other downtowns across the US.  To bad, no one pays heed.  Meet, consult, meet, consult.  Anyone ever DO anything?? 



Keith-N-Jax

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Re: Downtown's Blighted Surface Parking Lots Under Fire
« Reply #31 on: December 08, 2010, 03:09:07 PM »
^^^  This and people continually run to the defense of COJ and yet all you have to do is take a drive DT and see it for what it really is. NO not much gets done but pretty diagrams, ideas, and catchy logos. While most of the world got busy during one of the biggest constructions booms in recent history, we agured over parking spaces, courthouse, school board building so on and so on.

Bativac

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Re: Downtown's Blighted Surface Parking Lots Under Fire
« Reply #32 on: December 08, 2010, 03:12:22 PM »
"The latest maps produced by the JEDC show that over 40% of downtown is now parking lots, or empty land being used for parking."

^still caught up on this.
When I first drove through and explored downtown Jacksonville in 2007 I could only describe it as "abandoned blight."  No offense to exisiting businesses, but golly gee, not much in downtown Jax, is there? 

MetroJacksonville has done great articles on other downtowns across the US.  To bad, no one pays heed.  Meet, consult, meet, consult.  Anyone ever DO anything?? 

That's the name of the game in Jax. Talk about it, have meetings, commission studies, go on trips, and do nothing. Or, make terribly wrong-headed decisions, like tear down block after block of old buildings, or like luring developers to build giant condo towers, thinking (I guess) that businesses would follow. Why would people want to move someplace where there's nothing to do? Shouldn't you try to lure businesses first, make the area an exciting place to be, and allow demand for living space to grow naturally?

But I am not an expert, I'm just a guy who was born and raised here who hates that downtown is such an empty, abandoned place.

Ocklawaha

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Re: Downtown's Blighted Surface Parking Lots Under Fire
« Reply #33 on: December 08, 2010, 03:16:07 PM »
Using an average of 100-150 spaces per acre, we're looking at 35,125 surface spaces... add to this the 1,600 metered spaces along the city streets and around 5,000 garage spaces in city owned garage spaces. Somewhere in the 41,725 spaces downtown with less then half that many people... INTERESTING.

A flat fee of $2.50 per month - per assessed spaces would bring in $1,250,000 per year or about DOUBLE what the city grosses on metered spaces. That money could then be reinvested in parking beautification and/or meter elimination.

Anyone else find it side-splitting funny that the whole JRTC (Jacksonville Terminal) area owned by JTA is unacceptable? Maybe if they would ever finish a project they wouldn't be in such a mess...?



OCKLAWAHA

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Re: Downtown's Blighted Surface Parking Lots Under Fire
« Reply #34 on: December 08, 2010, 03:23:41 PM »
^I find it funny :)

hillary supporter

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Re: Downtown's Blighted Surface Parking Lots Under Fire
« Reply #35 on: December 08, 2010, 03:54:14 PM »

MetroJacksonville has done great articles on other downtowns across the US.  To bad, no one pays heed.  Meet, consult, meet, consult.  Anyone ever DO anything?? 


I did! I moved to riverside!
Ones action should be focused to the top. The mayoral election in march. MetroJacksonville has always had the right ideas towards urban development of Jacksonville. And they have routinely been ignored. The jedc is just the worst. This report is pure garbage (in our faces!).
Pick the mayoral candidate that represents the OPPOSITE of "our" current administration.
Glorious Johnson is the best choice for a metropolitan Jacksonville.

Overstreet

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Re: Downtown's Blighted Surface Parking Lots Under Fire
« Reply #36 on: December 08, 2010, 04:38:10 PM »
mmmmmm............if I was a property owner and would get stiff fines for my surface lot..........I'd be tempted to close the lot fence off the property and leave it bare. If the tax burden was high I could hold on until the tax leins and then pay them off or let it go. Meanwhile being ............what abandoned looking?

Raise capital so the city can direct me further?....... naw .........There's more going on in the burbs .

Ocklawaha

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Re: Downtown's Blighted Surface Parking Lots Under Fire
« Reply #37 on: December 08, 2010, 05:36:36 PM »
The idea is not so much to tax the property owner (who would pass on any fee to the customers) rather it is to eliminate meters throughout downtown, making it more business friendly with a very small reallocation of funds and sources. Parking enforcement marches right along with new FREE PARKING zones marked off as hourly, 30 minute, 2 hour, etc...  Moreover a transit sweetener could be tossed into the mix... For example, if your company WAS required to provide parking for xx employees, you could opt out by providing transit passes at a attractive discount...

Just saying...
 

OCKLAWAHA

Captain Zissou

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Re: Downtown's Blighted Surface Parking Lots Under Fire
« Reply #38 on: December 08, 2010, 05:40:50 PM »

MetroJacksonville has done great articles on other downtowns across the US.  To bad, no one pays heed.  Meet, consult, meet, consult.  Anyone ever DO anything?? 


I did! I moved to riverside!
Ones action should be focused to the top. The mayoral election in march. MetroJacksonville has always had the right ideas towards urban development of Jacksonville. And they have routinely been ignored. The jedc is just the worst. This report is pure garbage (in our faces!).
Pick the mayoral candidate that represents the OPPOSITE of "our" current administration.
Glorious Johnson is the best choice for a metropolitan Jacksonville.

I moved to Riverside from downtown as well.  I couldn't be happier.

strider

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Re: Downtown's Blighted Surface Parking Lots Under Fire
« Reply #39 on: December 08, 2010, 05:46:30 PM »
I seem to be reading that to some extent, the surface parking lots and therefore their owners are being blamed for the downtown blight.  Yet, again, it seems that the City of Jacksonville set up a policy that insured it was to the owners benefit and even perhaps the owners only option to tear down an unused building and use it for parking.  It just all sounds to familiar.  A symptom of reckless policy is being blamed for what the bad policy is at fault for. The only cure is to change policy or, in this case, to elect some who may see what the real facts are and who are willing to help rather than just continue to hinder.
"My father says that almost the whole world is asleep. Everybody you know. Everybody you see. Everybody you talk to. He says that only a few people are awake and they live in a state of constant total amazement." Patrica, Joe VS the Volcano.

sheclown

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Re: Downtown's Blighted Surface Parking Lots Under Fire
« Reply #40 on: December 08, 2010, 06:37:46 PM »
Quote
Perhaps it would be different if the parking lots didnt dominate downtown politics and panels.

Help us to understand...How many owners are there?  Are we talking about a large group of people or just a few?  Are these politically powerful folks?  

sheclown

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Re: Downtown's Blighted Surface Parking Lots Under Fire
« Reply #41 on: December 08, 2010, 06:45:28 PM »
Who are these people?  How did they gain their political power?  Money, GOB network? 

sheclown

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Re: Downtown's Blighted Surface Parking Lots Under Fire
« Reply #42 on: December 08, 2010, 06:52:14 PM »
What have these Pimply Parking People got against downtown?  Why aren't they taking care of their properties?

urbaknight

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Re: Downtown's Blighted Surface Parking Lots Under Fire
« Reply #43 on: December 08, 2010, 06:53:59 PM »
I think parking garages with apartments on top would be a way to bring more residents downtown. and reduce the lack of parking. Think of the strand in san marco, or that building on bay st, across the street from the city hall annex building.

I believe that the best way to start bringing life back DT would be to prioritise with residential buildings and jobs need to come back to fill the vacant storefronts and vacant office buildings. Then, we can add to our skyline from there.

hillary supporter

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Re: Downtown's Blighted Surface Parking Lots Under Fire
« Reply #44 on: December 08, 2010, 07:09:45 PM »
What have these Pimply Parking People got against downtown?  Why aren't they taking care of their properties?
Who are these people?  How did they gain their political power?  Money, GOB network? 

money and the nature of the BID structure
Is it right for me to conclude that this parking lot/ abandoned properties is connected to speculation on parking for the new courthouse? When trying to buya warehouse DT,  all that i was hearing in the circles at wormans from my own lawyer was the business boon that the new courthouse will bring.