JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Crews are wrapping up construction on a new road project that connects four different neighborhoods in Jacksonville.
The Park Street Road Diet project, which cost nearly $11 million, is expected to make the area better for people who bike and walk.
There will be a ceremony on July 21, starting at 10 a.m., to officially end construction on Park Street from Forest to Water streets, which is a little more than half a mile.
According to Downtown Jax, the road will go from four lanes down to two, sidewalks will be wider and bike lanes are being added.
City leaders think this will also attract businesses. Lacey Greeson, who works a few blocks away, thinks so, too.
“It will make the roads safer,” Greeson said. “I think it is a cut off between right there. It will cut down on people’s drive to work and their commute and things like that. I think it would make it a little smoother out here.”
For the first time ever, the city is going to have what is called a two-way cycle track, also known as a bikeway. It is a separate path or route catered toward bicyclists that cars cannot go on at all.
But people can also walk on the path.
Patricia Orange and Emily Honeyman-Mistisshen work a few blocks away from the construction site. They’re welcoming this change.
“I think having wider, safer spaces for pedestrians and bicycles to move through is better for everyone,” said Honeyman-Mistisshen, who is a barber at House of Shaves-Riverside. “Obviously, they have more room.”
“It would be nice to have that option for different ways to be able to navigate around the area,” said Orange, the co-owner of The Nest Coworking. “Parking is becoming more and more of an issue. With bicyclists, I think that is going to be great.”
The project connects Brooklyn, Five Points, Riverside, LaVilla, and the Emerald Trail.
There are going to be some roundabouts and planted trees, and the city has also removed some traffic signals.
According to the city of Jacksonville, people will have access to parking at night and on weekends in the Florida Blue garage on Forest Street.
