Downtown Jacksonville Public Pier

[Ocklawaha]

Now in our 50's,my Jax native wife with deep roots in the community and I are becomming inclined to move away.For folk like us life is too short for endless unfounded anticipation.

Conversely for many of us in that age bracket (and I'm going over the top) we have vague memories of standing in the street screaming our lungs out for our causes. We were so passionate then that we sometimes did that to the tune of our brothers and sisters being shot or beaten to death. For veterans of "The Peoples Park", "Haight and Ashbury," or some damn rice patty in Southeast Asia all they have done is REALLY piss us off!

http://s0.ilike.com/play#Buffalo+Springfield:For+What+It%27s+Worth:40664:s502076.10985824.14110625.0.2.67%2Cstd_54916568897849528e46f623a9c00142

   There’s something happening here.
    What it is ain’t exactly clear.
    There’s a man with a gun over there,
    Telling me I got to beware.
    I think it’s time we stop, children, what’s that sound?
    Everybody look what’s going down.

    There’s battle lines being drawn.
    Nobody’s right if everybody’s wrong.
    Young people speaking their minds,
    Getting so much resistance from behind.
    It’s time we stop, hey, what’s that sound?
    Everybody look what’s going down.

    What a field day for the heat.
    A thousand people in the street,
    Singing songs and carrying signs,
    Mostly say, “Hooray for our side.”
    It’s time we stop, hey, what’s that sound?
    Everybody look what’s going down.

    Paranoia strikes deep:
    Into your life it will creep.
    It starts when you’re always afraid.
    You step out of line, the man come and take you away.

GET MAD, GET EVEN, GET HAPPY, GET ER DONE, GET, GET OVER IT, GET INTO IT, GET THEIR MINDS OPEN, GET NOW...  But NEVER, EVER, EVER, EVER, GET OUT AND GIVE UP. Never surrender, never give up!

OCKLAWAHA

[CS Foltz]

Code: [Select]

[url]http://www.naplesnew.com/news/2010/...crease-no-lay/ Wonder what you Forum members think of this?[url]

[Ocklawaha]

http://www.naplesnew.com/news/2010/...crease-no-lay/ Wonder what you Forum members think of this?

Did a bit of house cleaning on that post CS, when posting a url you don't need ANY sort of bracket or code. Now for part II, WTF? what are we supposed to find at this site? All I got was a news page that says Naples, Florida, etc... Was there a particular article? If so pull up the article, then copy the ENTIRE url on the top of your page and post that. Otherwise it's like sending some newbie to MJ without a certain thread to look at, they'll be lost.

Thanks good buddy!


OCKLAWAHA

[fieldafm]

Snapped a few more pics on my bike ride this morning.  I did some very scientific measurements on the width of the pier.  I wear a size 13 shoe and I counted 44 paces in length.  So the pier is somewhere over 40' feet wide.














This is the view of the Berkman marina looking West from the pier.





Here is where the Riverwalk ends at the Berkman property line.





Here you can see the work done to the bulkhead, so you can see extending the Riverwalk wouldn't be all that difficult.





And just for referance, this is the public restroom facility I mentioned along the Northbank Riverwalk at the foot of the Acosta Bridge.

[thelakelander]

On Google Earth it looks to be 50' x 685'.  The other two are 40' x 400' and 50' x 590'.

[stjr]

Lot's of piers here.  Which one are we talking about?  Do they all stay?  What happens to the others?

Help the rest of us out here, please.  Still waiting for an answer to the above.  Thanks.

[thelakelander]

Stjr, the long proposed public pier is the long one on the left.  I believe Landmar had plans to take the others out and convert that area into a marina.  Now that the city may be getting the property back, I assume they will all be staying for a while.  Personally, I think it makes sense to keep all of them and use them for a mix of uses.  For example, one could be a public pier, another a public fisherman's wharf and another a marina. 

[Noone]

Just sent a letter to all council members to defer 2010-604 because it didn't go to Waterways. After Tues. city council meeting the next day in Waterways it was discovered that certain pieces of legislation are being cherry picked that should be brought to Waterways.

I remember being at a Waterways meeting and the plan that Landmar had was a 150 slip marina and not one slip for the Public. They had also had negotiated to have the option to shut down the Riverwalk 12 times every year. An example would be Florida/Georgia football weekend. How wrong.

Shutting down the Riverwalk happened to my wife and I during Super Bowl XXXIX when it was closed in front of the Times Union Center. What a disaster. We needed to get back to RAM.

The Pier needs to be separate. The Sportsmans container can test the waters so to speak that could be a springboard to the fishermans wharf. Yes and open up a marina. take some small steps that will build on little successes.


 
 

[fieldafm]

Bill passed unanimously last night.  No amendments for the pier to be seperate. 
It is quite obvious they want to land bank the entire site in the hopes of getting the close to 50% decline in property value since the last appraisal.  The powers that be seem convinced Class A office space is the best use for this property, citing Fidelity's flirtation with the property nearly 8 years ago.

The only way that would happen would be for a Fortune 500 company to relocate here flush with cash and ready to develop the entire 44 acre site.  I frankly think that's pie in the sky talk.

Currently, the only use this property is getting is as a parking lot for football games.

[Garden guy]

The leaders of this city are so lost. They are mostly blinded by their conservative ideas and actions. They'll probably take this land deal and screw it up like they did the last time. I've been to the meetings and they prove themselves every time that they really could care less about the average citizen on this city. Most really only care about how their decisions are going to effect their friends and their pocket..I say for a change lets let the people have a public marina and fishing pier. Of course with the leadership in this state...the fish caught on that pier would probably be tainted. This city has waisted to much money it's not funny. The world is laughing at us all and our leaders keep doing the same thing...and many of you out there keep voting them back into the same positions...nothing will change for another  200 years...

[Noone]

Sat.Times Union story by Matt Galnor and the 7 Mayoral candidates responses to what their plans would be for the Shipyards/Landmar property would be goes to At large  Jacksonville city councilwoman Glorious Johnson and her remark that the people of Jacksonville need to never forget about the Promised Downtown Public Pier. Councilwoman Johnson has just told the People of Jacksonville that if elected Mayor there will be a Public Pier that will have Public and Private business. That's a homerun in my book.

This is a city wide city council and mayoral campaign issue. As soon as the legislation clears 2010-604 and the city has clear title there are other current council members that could introduce legislation that could make the 680' Promised Downtown Public Pier separate from the other 44 acres. Keep score.

The issue of a 680' Promised Downtown Public Pier can escalate to a statewide joke if the City of Jacksonville very quickly unless our current elected legislative representatives fail to act with legislation to keep the pier separate.

1. Sept.15,16 the River Summit and telling the other 11 counties that the current administration is opposed to this Promised Downtown Public Pier.

2. Oct. 20 the start of JCCI and their 71st Community Engagement Study (I've participated in two)
this one is called
Rcession Recovery and Beyond:
Job Creation, Employment and Improving Northeast Florida's Competitiveness

Lets see......
Job Creation....680' Promised Downtown Public Pier
We are a port city. 14 Ports in the state of Florida.
Using containers for immediate job creation and Public Access.

3. We are getting a new Executive Director for JPA.
Lets see......
We are a port city. 14 Ports in the state of Florida.
The opening of the Panama Canal for larger container ships.
Using a shipping container for tourism on a pier in the heart of our Downtown Jacksonville Overlay Zoning District could create a BUZZ if its not being done anywhere else.
We want to take the Port to the next level.

4. 4 new members on the Jacksonville  Waterways Commission and one of their first votes could come Sept. 15  will be to bring a Navy ship to Downtown. Who is going to say No to the Navy. But we can't keep a Promised Downtown Public Pier separate for the people of Jacksonville.

Has anyone talked with councilman Gaffney about this issue?

[thelakelander]

Do you have a link to the TU story. I would like to see all of the candidate's answers.

[debo]

make it a small amusement park

[JeffreyS]

Small city initiatives remove fence, throw some grass seed and connect the ten feet between the shipyards and riverwalk.  Then try to make the processes as painless as possible for some fisherman and street vendors to operate in an area totally public.  Some organic growth may spur some future grand developments.

[ChriswUfGator]

Small city initiatives remove fence, throw some grass seed and connect the ten feet between the shipyards and riverwalk.  Then try to make the processes as painless as possible for some fisherman and street vendors to operate in an area totally public.  Some organic growth may spur some future grand developments.

I know, COJ suffers from the same affliction that blew up SPAR over in Springfield. They have unilaterally determined that it will either be a vacant lot or a $400million giant development, and the market be damned. Well, ok, the market won't be damned and now big shock it's still a vacant lot. It's time to wrap our heads around the fact that, as adults, we can't always have everything we want.

Let's do what we can with it...and the sooner the better.