JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Forsythe Street and West Adams Streets are officially two-way roads from Liberty Street to Jefferson Street starting Wednesday in downtown Jacksonville.
Wednesday morning, Jacksonville Mayor Donna Deegan and city leaders announced the new changes that have been part of the master plan for downtown Jacksonville.
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“Two-way streets mean better visibility for our small businesses, improved pedestrian safety, and a more intimate connected street environment,” Mayor Deegan said at Wednesday’s announcement.
While Jacksonville officials are hopeful the changes will improve traffic flow downtown and help small businesses in the city’s center as a result, Jacksonville neighbors like Andrea Johnson just hope it makes driving downtown way less confusing for newcomers to the downtown area.
“When I first moved here in ’07, I actually went down a one-way downtown,” Johnson recalled to Action News Jax. “And everybody’s honking at me crazy, and I was like ‘oh gosh, know what I’m saying, I don’t see why it should be one way anyway, I got plenty of space.”
Neighbors are also excited for what the project has in store for phase two: wider sidewalks and beautification of downtown’s streetscapes.
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“Give me something good to look at and something to look forward to coming downtown to the theater or to a game,” Johnson said.
“I think that’s wonderful. Get a shot of this right here,” Jacksonville neighbor Andrew Goble said, pointing to a barren downtown sidewalk. “I’d love to see a flower, anything.”
The city of Jacksonville’s public works director, Nina Sickler, says it will be about eight months of design stage for the second phase, with the construction timeline set to be decided at a later time.
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