by Bradley Parsons
Staff Writer
A prominent urban design firm unveiled Wednesday its plan to repair a Brooklyn neighborhood that has disintegrated since interstates split the area following World War II. But to implement the plan, the City will likely have to work around new road construction separating the struggling neighborhood from valuable riverfront property.
During an hour-long presentation to the Downtown Development Authority, Urban Design Associates president Don Carter flipped through a slideshow depicting the neighborhood’s deterioration and its promise. One aerial view showed how residents melted away after interstates 10 and 95 cleaved the area into quadrants. UDA’s plan stitches Brooklyn back together using parks, ponds and canals.
The plan also hopes to join the neighborhood’s blighted northern section with the thriving commercial development along the St. Johns River’s Northbank. Even the name of the master plan was changed to reflect a close association. But the sought-after connectivity faces an obstacle: 70 feet of asphalt.
As Carter showed the DDA renderings of what Brooklyn could become — pedestrians strolling tree-lined streets — the Florida Department of Transportation was moving ahead with its plans to widen Riverside Avenue. When finished, the project will deposit six lanes of traffic between Brooklyn and the river.
Neighborhood advocates have protested and threatened legal action to get the State to change its plans, but the FDOT said too much work had been done and too much money spent to consider changes now.
“We’re not going to do anything that adds time or money to that project,” said FDOT spokesperson Mike Goldman.
The State began public meetings on the project in 1992. Since then, the FDOT has spent $25 million on expanding Riverside and nearby Forest Street. To redesign now would cost about $15,000 for every day delay, according to the FDOT. That money would likely be taken from other Duval County road projects.
The expansion has the support of City Hall and some of Riverside’s prominent corporate tenants. Mayor John Peyton’s primary concern is keeping the project on schedule and on budget, according to a spokesperson.
UDA questions the need for the expansion. A study from their transportation consultant showed that four-lane roads could handle area traffic for the next 30 years. Still, Carter said he would look for ways to implement the expanded roads into UDA’s plan.
Carter said FDOT has shown a willingness to work with UDA on certain aspects of its plan. The State said it might move retention ponds to accommodate UDA and said it might open roads that would better connect the neighborhood to the streets. Carter suggested compromises on the road, including on-street parking and a wider median, both of which would make the crossing less daunting. But the FDOT is unlikely to make changes that take away lanes, said Goldman.
UDA’s plan envisions retail, residences, an entertainment corridor and a hotel and a central park, which would cover about four square blocks. Parks would stretch around Brooklyn’s perimeter, connecting the neighborhood and providing corridors to the river.