Jacksonville, FL

[edwaleni]

Thank you all for the extra context on these items! I-295 North of Butler Blvd clearly is the area most in need of improvement, and as the area continues to grow, the traffic will also. As far as public transit, I can just say right now, even in Chicago it's been a challenge getting commuters to use the system after COVID. People tend to like the privacy and convenience of their car. Sadly, public transit can be more time consuming and costly to use. In Chicago, NYC, DC, etc, it's very much worth it and actually saves a lot of time, due to the chronic congestion and inadequate capacity on the Expressways in those locations. However, I would agree that Jacksonville is clearly a market better suited for highway improvements for commuters. Also, I can imagine 295 gets some bypass traffic for those heading South for vacations from spots in the Northeast.

While the locals complain bitterly about traffic, having been a former Chicago commuter by car and by Metra for several years, I find the traffic in greater Jacksonville fairly mild.

It's all a matter of perspective I guess.

While downtown Jax is beginning to improve itself, most of the traffic passing through downtown is regional, not necessarily driven by needs in the city center. It's changing with the recent increase in the population downtown in the past 6-7 years. The plans to replace the Mathews Bridge (1952) were dropped ages ago.  Central Jax doesn't have the density it once did and they have been so quick to tear down anything less than 25 years old that isn't occupied. Unfortunately, developers have been very slow to invest and in some cases take almost 5 years to break ground. For many years they couldn't get financing.  With Miami and Tampa pricing through the roof, Jax has gotten a recent injection of activity.