by Bradley Parsons
Staff Writer
Unless the City’s Hendricks Avenue project is changed to accommodate on-street parking, business owners from Landon Avenue to LaSalle Street could lose out on $400 a day in sales according to an area real estate owner.
Jack Davis of San Marco’s Davis Development and Investment told Mayor John Peyton in an Oct. 14 letter that area proprietors “are all for this project but do not want valuable front-door parking deleted in this commercial area of San Marco.”
The current plans for the Better Jacksonville Plan project call for 21 current on-street spaces to be eliminated in favor of 4-foot bike lanes. Davis suggested combining the bike lanes into one 8-foot lane on Hendricks’ south side. This “undesignated shoulder” could be used for biking, or could park up to ten cars.
However, a City project consultant said the decision was “pretty well set at this point” to follow the original plans. As a main arterial, Hendricks was required by the City’s comprehensive plan and MPO guidelines to provide bike lanes running in both directions.
“Mr. Davis has suggested one shoulder just running North,” said the consultant. “It would preclude bicyclists running with southbound traffic.”
He said the undesignated shoulder would only supply five on-street spaces. Although there would be enough room for more, he said the roadway had to be kept clear for 25 feet on either side of business or residence driveways, shortening the available space.
City Council member Art Shad whose district includes San Marco said he favored installing the bike lanes.
“It’s always a balancing act,” said Shad. “You have to balance the benefits of this project — its theme is beautification and bringing this into a more neighborhood, pedestrian-friendly-type street – with the concerns of the business owners.”
Shad said the spaces would be replaced through a lease with Lasalle Street’s Swaim United Methodist Church. Under the lease terms, the City will refurbish the lot and maintain it in exchange for its use during non-church hours.
Shad said the church lot would provide about 30 spaces “just a stone’s throw away,” from Hendricks. The lot is about a block away. Shad said the City was also negotiating with the owners of Hartley the Florist to lease several spaces at the corner of Hendricks and Lasalle.
Co-owner James Hartley has complained previously that the project would hurt his business.
In his letter to Peyton, Davis said he was concerned that the church’s parking commitment was short-term. The City has so far negotiated only a one-year lease. Davis said those spaces may not be available in the future. Shad said the City would keep good relations with the church, take good care of the lot and, hopefully, sign a multi-year lease in the future.
Even if the City gains spaces through the Swaim lease, Davis said Hendricks business owners — he owns five streetfront properties — would still miss the on–street parking. He forwarded an estimate from Realistic Transportation Alternatives, Inc., which put the value of on-street parking spaces in the area at “anywhere from $40 to $400 a day” in sales.
“You can’t replace storefront parking with parking two blocks up the street,” said Davis. “People park in front for the convenience; they’re not going to park up the block and walk.”
Davis and Hartley both complained that the City was rushing to complete the project for the Super Bowl. Davis said the business owners in the area should be the City’s first priority.
“I’ve heard people say that there’s no time to consider changes at this point,” said Davis. “They want to have this done so it looks good for the Super Bowl. Well, we have to live with this for the next 50 years.”
In addition to providing a bike thoroughfare, Shad stressed the four-foot lane’s safety function.
“Don’t underestimate the safety factor,” said Shad. “With the single, eight-foot lane you’d have SUVs and trucks running right up against the sidewalks.
“These lanes will provide a four-foot buffer between the UPS truck and the mom and her stroller.”
Davis said routing bicyclists through one of downtown’s busiest corridors would be unsafe for the riders.