Regarding the "Arlington Expressway" (there has to be a better name since Arlington is across the river) west of MLK, the City has plans. But not to bring it down to grade between Liberty Street and MLK. The City is looking to replace the section on embankment immediately east of Liberty with bridge. The goal is to "daylight" Hogan's Creek as part of the restoration of the creek to a more natural course. I don't remember if the Emerald Trail is involved here.
My guess is that the entire bridge structure needs to be replaced, from Liberty Street to A. Philip Randolph Blvd. - it was built in the mid-1950s and does not meet current design standards.
Emerald Trail is included, yes:
I'm of the opinion that a boulevard conversion would be well-served here. We're gearing up to pour a billion dollars or more into the sports complex, between EverBank, the Armada, and the ongoing Ballpark work. That's on top of the Four Seasons at the other end of APR, a redo of Rise Doro, and before you get to wherever a future convention center goes, wherever UF goes (if it's Fairgrounds or FSCJ), the return of Lot J or something along those lines, and the ongoing investment into the Historic Eastside. Spending the money in 2024 for more traffic to speed
over all that instead of truly reconnecting the community feels like a bigger miss than the Hart Expressway replacement was.
For the 'real' Arlington Expressway, the North Florida TPO did a study of "boulevarding" the section between University Blvd. and Southside Blvd. a few years ago. As with most studies, it sits on a shelf somewhere. It isn't on the NFTPO website, so it must have been done before 2015 (or the TPO chose not to put it on the website). If I remember correctly, it just presented options and made no recommendations.
As
previously discussed on this forum! Now that we're
9 years removed from that (and the Matthews will be 80 in another 9), it's a shame we don't seem ready for something like the
Mega program, where we could perhaps package the replacement bridge with boulevards on both sides, and even transit (something faster than just a bus) accommodations.
But yes, the fountain. It looks great! I'm a little surprised by no railing, hopefully people falling in won't be an issue (or perhaps will become a great local joke like FSU's fountain). More importantly, I hope we'll find the money to upkeep it going forward instead of needing another rebuild in a decade like previous efforts.
