Comments on Bike Jax: Laura Street Improvement Not An Improvement For Al...

Apparently the public is required to lend free com...

2010-10-24T08:15:31.564-04:00

Apparently the public is required to lend free common sense to an "economic development and community redevelopment agency" (JEDC) who are paid to design and plan.

The Laura street intersection design is clearly made without regard to practicality of usage. Design without content is decoration. I will not have any qualms if the definition of JEDC on COJ.net was changed to "economic decoration and community re-decoration agency". In fact, this will make more citizen come to the meetings to lend much needed 'content' to the decoration process, thus producing a coherent design.

No Beth, I am not saying only businesses have an i...

2010-10-12T21:09:11.772-04:00

No Beth, I am not saying only businesses have an interest. Public hearings and design planning sessions are open to the public and the newspapers are stuffed with public announcements of such meetings...not that anyone from Bike Jax would ever say such a thing much less show up. *yawn*

Heels aren't the only type of shoe that is dan...

2010-09-09T18:17:46.357-04:00

Heels aren't the only type of shoe that is dangerous on these cobblestones. I walked over it a couple weeks ago in flats. One stone caught the front of my shoe and I half tripped out of it.

Do you guys know that the cobblestones are being installed in every Laura Street intersection up to Hemming Plaza?

Beth, I never thought of the aspect of walking in ...

2010-09-01T03:26:11.723-04:00

Beth, I never thought of the aspect of walking in heeled shoes. I guess walkability was not even an after thought for the people responsible for designing a street in a Downtown environment.

"Did you take the time to participate in the ...

2010-08-29T00:50:35.412-04:00

"Did you take the time to participate in the design process alongside those invested in business downtown ..."

Anonymous, are you saying the only people allowed to make comments are those who own property or businesses in the core? Far more people have an interest in Downtown than those with the means to be part of the Downtown Development Review Board.

The cobbledaggers do a fine job of bringing all automobile traffic to a crawl at Laura Street and Independent Drive. Not only is it dangerous to ride a bike there, it's also dangerous to walk in anything other than flat shoes. As a cyclist and woman who loves heeled shoes, I find the cobbled section to be a nuisance.

JEDC is the agency responsible for the Laura Stree...

2010-08-04T19:15:09.248-04:00

JEDC is the agency responsible for the Laura Street improvements. Did you take the time to participate in the design process alongside those invested in business downtown or did you always intend to only toss grenades from the cheap seats?

Southside Rider, is there anyway you can have your...

2010-07-24T22:09:09.201-04:00

Southside Rider, is there anyway you can have your friend contact me or provide his contact information with his permission?

Hey, how are you today, I went to see a friend of ...

2010-07-24T19:36:56.721-04:00

Hey, how are you today, I went to see a friend of mine today and noticed that he had some cuts and bruises, he told me that he was on his mountain bike and he and a guy he was riding with touched wheels when riding over this mess and both took a spill. He was just glad he fell on the sidewalk side and not the cobbles.

i usually come off the bridge and am side walking ...

2010-07-19T16:27:19.172-04:00

i usually come off the bridge and am side walking it over there anyway but i do see your point. yes i believe it was to slow traffic down. not much for the cycle folks though.

Southside Rider, I'm glad you had the chance t...

2010-07-19T00:00:16.413-04:00

Southside Rider, I'm glad you had the chance to ride it and were able to experience for yourself just how bad it is. You are correct that the pictures do not amply portray how bad this surface is.

Also thank you for taking the time to check it out and for providing your feedback.

As a follow up, I think riding over the grate on t...

2010-07-17T17:16:53.097-04:00

As a follow up, I think riding over the grate on the main street bridge might be safer.

So I rode by the spot in front of the landing and ...

2010-07-17T16:35:58.327-04:00

So I rode by the spot in front of the landing and the pics don't do the fail statement justice. I have to wonder if the crew putting down the cobbles thought the plan was to put some in sideways or thought they were laying a foundation for a wall.

I've got to believe that they did this solely to force traffic to a crawl as it passes the landing, otherwise I can not think of any reason why they would build the surface that rough unless they plan to put another layer of aggregate down to smooth it out later.

I would not ride that unless I was riding a MTB or a cruiser.

> In wet conditions, every two wheeled mode of ...

2010-07-16T21:06:51.139-04:00

> In wet conditions, every two wheeled mode of transport that hits that very unstable surface at any speed is in serious risk of injury or worse.

What? Have you never ridden on cobblestones?

http://lmgtfy.com/?q=cobblestone+cycling

I will take up your challenge and go take a look a...

2010-07-16T12:21:53.552-04:00

I will take up your challenge and go take a look at them this weekend. In all fairness the cobles in france have been down for a hundred years or so, so the smoothness should be better, these are new, so I would expect a little more sharp edges, not to say I don't see your point, I would rather have a smooth surface, but will deal with this.

Anon & Southside, I suggest you both go ride i...

2010-07-16T12:03:16.564-04:00

Anon & Southside, I suggest you both go ride it and and then come back with how nice it looks. The cobbles of france are like glass compared to this mess. It at least has a consistent surface. These bricks are so uneven that it's near impossible to hold a straight line. And should you go down on this, there are so many sharp raised areas or "peaks" within this mess that flesh and bone will be damaged. That I will guarantee.

Go ride it.

Meh, I don't see these as being a huge issue. ...

2010-07-16T11:42:52.475-04:00

Meh, I don't see these as being a huge issue. As I look at the picture, it does not look that bad, they look fairly even. I mean we are not talking about the cobbles of Northern France here, it's a minor issue in my book.

Try riding when it is wet. Especially, since thi...

2010-07-15T08:35:17.144-04:00

Try riding when it is wet.

Especially, since this is a roundabout, vehicles (including bicycles) are expected to be turning and yielding. Those activities get pretty harrowing when the road surface is like this.

I ride a motorcycle when I am not riding bicycles and I would absolutely not want ride on that surface.

I dunno... this looks pretty good to me. As a bike...

2010-07-15T00:33:55.477-04:00

I dunno... this looks pretty good to me. As a bike commuter, I don't find cobblestone dangerous, just jarring. I don't mind riding on it for a couple hundred yards and it seems worth it for the traffic calming effect.

steel grate bridges now thats a different story, those are downright dangerous.