A slimmed-down portion of Park Street in Downtown Jacksonville will soon reopen after months of construction.
The city has scheduled a ceremony at 10 a.m. July 21 to mark completion of the Park Street Road Diet project, a $10.9 million reconstruction of the roadway between Forest and Stonewall streets.
The work involved reducing travel lanes from four to two, adding bicycle and pedestrian accommodations and parking, and installing roundabouts and speed humps to reduce traffic speed. Workers also removed traffic signals and planted shade trees.
According to the city’s I Dig Jax website, jacksonville.gov/idigjax, the project is designed to “boost pedestrian and bicycle connectivity while improving safety for all users.”
“Enhancements include sharrows (“share the road”-type bicycle access), on-street parking, wider sidewalks, narrower roadway widths for safer crossings, and the addition of street trees for shade and accommodation of sidewalk cafes.”
The redesigned roadway will connect the LaVilla neighborhood with Brooklyn, the Five Points district and Riverside. The north end adjoins the Emerald Trail LaVilla Link, a 1.3-mile section of the 33-mile trail system under construction in and around Downtown.
The $8.9 million LaVilla Link, also known as the Model Mile, opened in May 2024.
When the Park Street road diet comes online, the city website says, it will “link Park Street to the Emerald Trail and McCoys Creek Greenway, fostering economic growth by creating an inviting and attractive environment for businesses and retailers.”
The site says patrons of shops and restaurants in the vicinity will have access to public parking on nights and weekends in the Florida Blue garage on Forest Street.
