Major changes coming to Jacksonville's parks (Memphis: move, designs, yard)

[jsimms3]

Originally Posted by fsu813

Well, jsimms, you are factually incorrect about a number of things in your post.

But thanks for your opinion.

Where am I factually incorrect?



Please provide me examples. I love my city and am proud of it where it truly leads and I am only being realistic about the dismal state of affairs of our park system. Our parks aren't even managed by a "Parks and Recreation" city department, but rather a whole long slew of divisions and subdivisions with little inter-communication with each other, citizens, or the city.

Bottom line, our parks are probably not the worst in the country, but they are closer to being the worst than to being the best, so therefore this Parenting Magazine ranking is one of the most bogus rankings I have seen, and as far as I can tell, must ONLY be based on the amount of land the city has either acquired or set up a negative easement to prevent development (in that respect we have the most "park space", but most of that space is pine forest that nobody uses). If you can prove me wrong, I commend you. The city that I currently live in has many parks that are at least 100 acres that are kept up and very nicely maintained and landscaped and MANY people use. We have virtually none.

[fsu813]

But wait....there's more!

Prime downtown riverfront property to be turned into public park space:

Jacksonville eyes park, public use after two failed Shipyards developments | jacksonville.com


This is just until the market recovers, who knows when, then th city will develop it. Convention center? High rise? Who knows. But in the meantime, it's gonna make a killer open space.

[Robyn55]

I think what jsimms is saying is there's a difference between open space and a park. Detroit is tearing down abandoned houses and creating a lot of new open space in the city - but it's hardly a sign that the city is healthy.

And the JAX Parks and Recreation budget is in for big cuts this year. Everything from cutting mowing to probable privatization of the Boone Park tennis complex (as a former metro league tennis player - I can tell you that it was an awesome public facility in its day):

http://wokv.com/common/pdf/jax/20100513BudgetCAO.pdf

Anyway - wish you could give me the name of the store where you buy your rose-colored glasses. Most municipal/local governments are in deep sh** these days - and JAX is no exception (I get constant reminders of that when the FTU is delivered to my house every morning). Robyn

[fsu813]

Originally Posted by jsimms3

Glad Friendship Park is finally being renovated, but I have to STRONGLY disagree that Jax is #1 in the nation for parks. I have explained myself thoroughly on the topic on Metro Jacksonville | Covering Downtown Jacksonville FL, Northeast Florida, Jacksonville Transit, History, Neighborhoods, Photos.

Our park system is the worst that I have personall seen, and local citizens have stepped up and done their part for funding upkeep and planting new trees, etc, but our city completely drops the ball. Cases in point: Boone Park, Klutho/Confederate Park (the Emerald Beltway between downtown and Springfield), Riverside Park, Memorial Park (to a degree), McGirts Park, and the list goes on. When I was growing up, everyone I knew in high school knew of and used the parks for illegal activities because they were run down and nobody paid attention to them (it wasn't until Stockton Park was privately renovated and redone that Ortega kids flocked over to McGirts Park to smoke and drink after school). Boone Park is essentially a pine forest with the shrubs cleared with less than satisfactory tennis courts on one end and a cheap plasticky playground that nobody uses on the other end (the end close to the Shoppes of Avondale).

The Emerald Necklace and Riverside Park both used to be spectacular parks that people used, and now one is kinda sorta maintained by the residents of Springfield with absolutely no city help or commitment and the other is used by a few events like an art show that I used to volunteer at, but the extent of the renovations once again included a simple plasticky playground that nobody uses.

Bottom line: We have NO great parks or unique parks (but tons that could be great). We have the lowest park budget per capita in the state by a long shot (some metros have per capita park budgets in FL that are 3-4x ours). Northeastern cities have similar per capita budgets for parks and recreation as ours, but also plenty of rich philanthropists to fill the gap. We have people donating (Stockton and Baker Parks in Ortega were completely privately redone and made pretty darn good, and are the most used parks in the city as a result), but not enough people donating because why should they when they don't have the money to keep up maintenance and security and the city does nothing to help.

Where are you incorrect?

Well...

- i'm not sure what what you did in school has anything to do with presetn day parks. I'm not very familair with McGirts Park, but the rest don't generally have teens smoking pot like you referenced. Perhaps that had more to do with the respective neighborhoods at the time, than anything else. The parks you mentioned in Riverside & Springfield, are located in areas that have seen significant improvements in the past 10 years, and 5 years especially.

- I don't know how the city has "dropped the ball" with Riverside Park, Memorial Park or Boone Park. All are nice and widely used. Klutho Park is a fair argument. Not because it's not a decent park, but because it could be much, much better. And there are plans to do so. Next time you're in town, visit the SPAR Council Office at 1321 Main Street to see the new Master Plan. It's pretty impressive.

- Noone really maintains Klutho or Riverside Park besides the city. Riverside Park, like I mentioned, is popular and widely used, and Klutho is decent and somewhat used as well. But noone besides the city regularly maintains them.

- we have many great parks. "great" is subjective, anyways. I would define "great" as reasonabley attractive, useable, functional (whatever that specific function may be), pleasant, and a place you want to spend free time. I can think of many that fit that criteria, and I'm not sure what else there is to ask for in a typrical, random park.

- We do have an extremely low parks budget, but also a low budget for many quality of life issues in general. Not coincidentally, Jax residents pay very low taxes.

That's it.

[fsquid]

I've noticed in my year here that sometimes a "park" is just a space of cleared land with a park sign on it. No benches, tables, nothing. I've thought that is weird.

[jsimms3]

Originally Posted by fsu813

Where are you incorrect?

Well...

- i'm not sure what what you did in school has anything to do with presetn day parks. I'm not very familair with McGirts Park, but the rest don't generally have teens smoking pot like you referenced. Perhaps that had more to do with the respective neighborhoods at the time, than anything else. The parks you mentioned in Riverside & Springfield, are located in areas that have seen significant improvements in the past 10 years, and 5 years especially.

- I don't know how the city has "dropped the ball" with Riverside Park, Memorial Park or Boone Park. All are nice and widely used. Klutho Park is a fair argument. Not because it's not a decent park, but because it could be much, much better. And there are plans to do so. Next time you're in town, visit the SPAR Council Office at 1321 Main Street to see the new Master Plan. It's pretty impressive.

- Noone really maintains Klutho or Riverside Park besides the city. Riverside Park, like I mentioned, is popular and widely used, and Klutho is decent and somewhat used as well. But noone besides the city regularly maintains them.

- we have many great parks. "great" is subjective, anyways. I would define "great" as reasonabley attractive, useable, functional (whatever that specific function may be), pleasant, and a place you want to spend free time. I can think of many that fit that criteria, and I'm not sure what else there is to ask for in a typrical, random park.

- We do have an extremely low parks budget, but also a low budget for many quality of life issues in general. Not coincidentally, Jax residents pay very low taxes.

That's it.

I never indicted myself in those activities just to clarify , but the parks I mentioned are in the wealthiest neighborhood in Jax, so it doesn't necessarily matter the area, teenagers are going to want to rebel and party no matter where they are to different degrees.

Also where has the city dropped the ball? FSU813, your comments indicate to me that you haven't actually been to great parks. Great parks are pristine, clean, HEAVILY used (Riverside and Memorial may be heavily used for Jax standards, but both are so small and I have seen both empty plenty of times). Also great parks have benches that invite you to sit on them (you won't catch me sitting on a park bench in Jax unless it appears kind of clean and I'm wearing work shorts). Jax parks have potential, especially the Klutho parks since they are at least sizeable and can accomodate more than a Memorial or Riverside (also Boone Park).

Let me restate my observations of Boone Park: It is a clearcut pine forest with a cheap plasticky playground on one end and mediocre tennis courts on the other end, and all of this separated by roads.

Great is certainly subjective and if we are comparing Jax Parks, then yea the best parks we have are in urban areas and the beach. If we are comparing Jax parks to other cities' parks, then there is no comparison. That's it.

^^^^And I second FSQUID's remarks.

[Robyn55]

Originally Posted by fsquid

I've noticed in my year here that sometimes a "park" is just a space of cleared land with a park sign on it. No benches, tables, nothing. I've thought that is weird.

Those are probably "dog parks" - places where you take your dog to do its business. Not like parks most of us are familiar with. Robyn

[fsu813]

dog parks are fenced

[fsu813]

Originally Posted by Robyn55

Those are probably "dog parks" - places where you take your dog to do its business.

Speaking of which, the new dog park that serves the general Downtown area (officially called the Confederate Dog park, in Springfield) will be getting it's final touches later this year.

It's been open for over a year now as is widely used (ie, 20 dogs there on random afternoon last week, but isn't 100% completed.

A playground is being installed with field turf, the same stuff NFL teams use these days (imitation grass). It'll be the first one of it's kind in Jax. And the section for small dogs is being upgraded to feature a doggy water fountain as well.

Confederate Playground Dog Park | Dog Park USA

[fsquid]

field turf must have gotten a lot cheaper over the years. My 4 year old plays her soccer games on the stuff.