by Bradley Parsons
Staff Writer
The Downtown Development Authority board will recommend against building a pedestrian bridge connecting the Main Library to its parking garage.
DDA managing director Al Battle asked the board to draft a statement, discouraging the bridge’s construction. Following a series of meetings with mayor’s office representatives, Battle said he concluded the bridge was out of step with downtown’s master plan and zoning overlay, both of which encourage pedestrian traffic.
“We have to look at the fact that the location of the St. James Building (City Hall) and the library was chosen to bring back pedestrian traffic to the area around Hemming Plaza,” said Battle. “People walking the sidewalks encourages retail, adds life to the streets and is an important component, moving us toward a 24–hour downtown.”
The Library Board recommended the $250,000 bridge in November as an accommodation for disabled library users. Downtown business leaders have lobbied City Hall against the bridge for weeks, fearing the bridge will divert pedestrian traffic away from downtown sidewalks and businesses.
Mayor John Peyton will make the final decision on whether or not to use the bridge to connect the library to its 600–car garage after receiving more input from the disabled community.
“The mayor has not made a decision on the library pedestrian bridge and will not until he hears from the disabled community next week,” said mayor’s office spokesperson Heather Murphy.
The idea for a bridge was discussed and rejected by the DDA’s Design and Review Committee and the building’s designer, said Battle. Opposition there was driven by the fundamentals of urban design strategy, he said. For the City’s master plan to work, Battle said planners must adhere consistently to those strategies.
“I understand the special concerns of the disabled community, but the facilities are all accessible, and we need to abide by the documents we live and breathe by,” said Battle, referring to the master plan and zoning overlay.
Board member and DRC member Denise Watson said the DRC typically uses the master plan as its foundation to judge the appropriateness of proposed designs. She said the bridge would, “fly in the the face of what we’ve tried to accomplish so far, using the master plan.”
Watson also suggested the bridge could establish a precedent. Board member and Auchter company vice president David Auchter seconded her concern.
“We want to be very careful about setting a precedent for connecting parking garages to buildings downtown,” said Auchter. “If we’re going to make our decision based strictly on what’s right four downtown, there’s clear support for the viewpoint that building a bridge won’t work.
“I can’t imagine how it would make sense for us [the DDA board] to support this.”
In addition to swelling the pedestrian crowd around Hemming Plaza, Auchter said scuttling the bridge would save the City $250,000 in construction costs.
“We’d see substantial savings if they don’t have to install a third, elevated entry with security,” he said.
Watson cited Dallas as an example of covered pedestrian walkways causing urban design headaches. On a recent leadership conference, several Jacksonville representatives listened to Dallas planners complain about a series of underground tunnels that keep walkers off the streets.
Library spokesperson Stacie Bucher said the Library Board has not been a part of the mayoral staff discussions about the bridge. She said the board wanted to provide the bridge as an option to people leaving the garage.
“It’s not the only option, but they wanted people to at least have the option to use the walkway,” said Bucher. “They still felt that some people would choose to use the street.”