by Max Marbut
Staff Writer
The Laura Street improvement project entered its eighth month this week and work is in full swing in the block between Bay and Forsyth streets.
The intersection at Laura and Bay Street is expected to be complete next week, said Paul Crawford, deputy executive director of the Jacksonville Economic Development Commission and the City’s project manager for Laura Street.
The installation of “Belgian blocks,” the cobblestones that were also used in the roundabout in front of the Landing, is helping achieve one of the project’s goals – to slow vehicular traffic and create a more pedestrian-friendly environment.
“It’s only posted in a few places, so a lot of people don’t realize the speed limit Downtown is 30 miles per hour,” said Crawford. “People are still flying through that intersection, but they’re realizing you can’t go through there at 45 miles an hour.” He said the concept involved is called “traffic calming.”
Another part of the design is the widening of the sidewalks on both sides of the street. Currently, Laura Street is 46 feet wide. After the project is complete, it will be 36 feet wide, which will offer pedestrians more feet of walkway. It will also allow the existing planters to be removed and replaced with Cathedral live oaks, which will create a shady tree canopy when the trees are established.
Digging up streets almost always uncovers unexpected urban artifacts. So far, the work between Bay and Forsyth streets has revealed some cracked drainage pipes that are being replaced.
“We’re glad we found out and we’re going to fix that,” said Crawford.
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