A simple reconfiguration of the existing roadway offers a business-friendly way to reduce vehicle speeds, increase parking supply and accommodate a higher concentration of pedestrian and bicycling users without reducing traffic capacity along Edgewood Avenue. These simple changes can not only physically tie in the roughly 1-mile-long commercial district, but similar efforts in countless other peer communities have been shown to increase property values, generate additional local tax revenue, spur business development opportunities and enhance the quality of life within the neighborhood. Such a reconfiguration could be accomplished by simply restriping the lanes in conjunction with a scheduled resurfacing project, as was the case with the enhancements to San Marco Square completed in 2013.

Between Cassat Avenue and Post Street, Edgewood has a maximum daily capacity of 31,121 vehicles but only 7,344 daily vehicle trips meaning only 23.6% of the available traffic capacity is presently used day in and day out. Between Post St and Roosevelt Blvd, of the 24,336 maximum daily vehicle capacity available, only 10,080 vehicle trips are generated. Even along the busiest stretch of Edgewood, less than half of the available traffic capacity is used. Based on these numbers, Edgewood Avenue is statistically suitable for a roadway redesign.

Not only would a redesign of Edgewood Avenue be possible, it would be practical given its large amount of excess traffic capacity. Given the economic benefits realized in peer communities from context sensitive street redesigns coupled with Edgewood’s demographic advantages, it would seem that investing in such an infrastructure project could pay for itself in the form of new business tax generation, an increase in sales tax revenue and property tax increases due to the appreciation in value of the surrounding area.

What would a redesign of Edgewood look like?

Existing roadway conditions along Edgewood feature four 12’-wide vehicle lanes, two 18’-wide diagonal parking lanes and two 6’-wide sidewalks. Sketch and Modeling: Ledia Durmishaj and Ennis Davis.

As shown in the image below: Edgewood could be reconfigured to include two 11’-wide vehicle lanes, two 7’-wide bike lanes buffered from adjacent vehicular lanes, a 12’-wide center median, two 18’-wide parking lanes and two 6’-wide sidewalks. As on-street parking is an important asset to both businesses and customers along Edgewood, this depiction keeps existing parking facilities intact while adding safe accommodations for bicyclists and enhancing pedestrian safety by eliminating unprotected, mid-block crossings.

A cross-section depiction of a business and neighborhood-friendly ‘right-sized’ Edgewood Avenue. Sketch and Modeling: Ledia Durmishaj and Ennis Davis.

Another alternative (shown below) would be to reconfigure Edgewood keeping the two 11’-wide vehicle lanes, two 7’-wide bike lanes and 12’-wide center median mentioned above, but to widen sidewalks along both sides of the street to 15’-wide to enhance outdoor seating opportunities, while slightly modifying on-street parking facilities- replacing angled parking with 8’-wide parallel parking stalls along both sides of the street.

A cross-section depiction of a business and neighborhood-friendly ‘right-sized’ Edgewood Avenue, featuring an extended sidewalk with enhanced outdoor seating areas. Sketch and Modeling: Ledia Durmishaj and Ennis Davis.

What are the benefits to a reconfiguration of Edgewood?

A good example of the kinds of positive results that could be expected from a redesign of Edgewood Avenue would be to examine the success of the Lancaster Blvd (now named ‘ BLVD’) road diet in Lancaster, CA. Edgewood Avenue and Lancaster Blvd share remarkably similar land use characteristics and a strikingly comparable quantity of building stock, building height and massing. However, the surrounding socioeconomic characteristics in Murray Hill when compared to the demographic profile of downtown Lancaster suggest that an Edgewood reconfiguration represents an even greater opportunity to effect a positive economic impact than ever existed within Lancaster.

According to the latest US Census data, Lancaster has a population density of 1,656 people per square mile. The Murray Hill neighborhood in Jacksonville has a population density of about 5,671 people per square mile, while the adjoining Riverside/Avondale neighborhoods have a population density of about 7,057 people per square mile.

Downtown Lancaster was platted by the Southern Pacific Railroad in the late nineteenth century as a simple grid of streets, much like many other California railroad towns. Over the next century, Lancaster became a sprawling suburb with Lancaster Boulevard serving as its Main Street. During this time the City lost much of its traditional downtown character. The nine-block stretch known as the Boulevard (BLVD) suffered from high-speed traffic, poor pedestrian facilities, excessive parking and reduced retail activity. Murray Hill’s history is intertwined with rail as well, having served as a streetcar suburb to the nearby rail terminal in Lackawanna. The First Block of Edgewood terminates at the CSX A-line railroad tracks, and historically served as the terminus for Jacksonville’s former streetcar system.

In 2008, the City of Lancaster retained retained Moule & Polyzoides to redesign the Boulevard’s streetscape. The Moule & Polyzoides vision focused on establishing a new image for downtown Lancaster. It is centered on reconfiguring the Boulevard into a rambla and designing adjacent streets, plazas, paseos to generate a superior public realm.

‘Ramblas’ feature a hardscape promenade with a double row of trees, occupied by angled parking most of the time and periodically a public market and other special events. The ramblas feature highly visible and well marked crosswalk plazas, providing pedestrians a safe refuge in between on-street parking facilities that also produce a convenient series of replicating sidewalk grids between stretches of long blocks.

On the left: A scene from Lancaster Blvd. On the right: The First Block of Edgewood Ave.

Jacksonville’s Edgewood Avenue was originally designed to be a boulevard with a wide landscaped median. The landscaped median was never installed. Along the First Block, two travel lanes were eliminated to include a modified version of a rambla (without the crosswalk plazas typically found in modern-day rambla designs). The similar physical characteristics of both Lancaster and Edgewood, along with Edgewood’s partial modification from its original design, provides comparable evidence that a similar lane reduction coupled with some type of center facility (be it a landscaped median or a rambla featuring on-street parking and mid-block pedestrian islands) could be a component of an Edgewood makeover.

On the left: A scene from the mid-block area of Lancaster Blvd. On the right: A scene from the Mid Block area identified on page 1 of this article along Edgewood Ave.

Other key elements of the BLVD redesign include wide, pedestrian-friendly sidewalks, awnings and arcades, fewer travel lanes, enhanced crosswalks, abundant street trees and shading, and added lighting, gateways and public art.

Since reconstruction, Lancaster Boulevard has been transformed into an attractive shopping destination, a magnet for pedestrian activity and a venue for civic gatherings and community events, which will help ensure long-term economic prosperity.