Residents of Greenwood Avenue in Avondale may be losing at least partial access to the riverfront pocket park at the end of their road.
After receiving a report of children playing or climbing on its on-site equipment, JEA’s security had a contractor begin installing a fence to block it off.
The pocket park is a favorite spot among residents for picnics or enjoying the tranquil views of the St. Johns River. Riverside and Avondale feature several pocket parks on residential streets ending at the river.
Many of these parks have gravity-fed sewage system stations, due to the lack of elevation in Florida. Pump stations with on-site generators were installed several years ago so storm surges and power outages don’t disrupt sewage flow, preventing sewage discharges into creeks and rivers. Forced action by pumps at the end of the streets at the river transport solid waste back to sewer main lines and, eventually, on to treatment centers.
Typically, JEA Community Relations and Project Outreach Manager Greg Corcoran said neighbors are alerted to this kind of project before it begins. In this case, however, that did not happen, and the missed step sparked swift and strong neighborhood outcry.
Corcoran held an informal public meeting at the pocket park on Thursday, March 27, during which he apologized for the lack of communication.
“That is 100% on us, that is 100% on me. My job is to communicate that information to the community, so I apologize for that. We’re here to make that right now,” he told residents.
He also answered questions and advised that the new footprint for the fencing will be 18-by-44 with a four-foot-wide access gate.
“It went from something much more substantial to something that I think is very doable,” Corcoran told residents.
According to Corcoran, JEA is complaint-driven and must respond to and evaluate complaints, particularly where safety and security are concerned.
Amy Gay has lived on Greenwood Avenue for 30 years, attended the meeting and asked Corcoran how many complaints JEA received about this equipment, to which Corcoran replied it was “not a large amount.”
“What you’re looking at here is a large amount of people, and we are complaining,” Gay told him.
While Corcoran acknowledged the neighborhood opposition to the fence, he informed residents that JEA’s priority must be safety and security.
“I 100% understand that, but one child is just as important. So I need to worry about one child getting injured, and I have to look at that over everything else.”
“I think it’s disappointing,” Gay told Resident News in an interview after the meeting. “I think it feels like overkill.”
Gay said she’s raised two children in the neighborhood and has utilized the pocket park for years.
“I want to say no to the fence,” Gay added. “…It’s just ‘no’ and it seems like the neighborhood doesn’t have that option to just say no.”
In a March 28 interview, Corcoran said that JEA frequently works with RAP for projects like this within the Riverside Avondale area. RAP Executive Director Shannon Blankinship said JEA’s response to this situation was swift.
“The JEA public affairs folks [have been] extremely responsive, recognizing that it was a mistake, stopping work immediately and then going to the extra mile to say we just need to start over with this because this isn’t how it should be,” Blankinship said.
Corcoran reiterated that the neighborhood meeting was one of several conversations JEA has had regarding the fence and, though he acknowledged an agreement on the fencing would likely never be reached, he feels the final product is a fair compromise.
“I think we’ve done a good job of taking everything into account, certainly listening to the homeowners, doing what we can to limit that footprint using a fence that, we think, is an attractive fence,” Corcoran said. “We’ve offered lighting, which they [the residents] declined; we’ve offered to clean up the park area, which is not our responsibility. So I would say that we’re doing a good job of balancing priorities here.”
In an e-mail following the neighborhood meeting, Corcoran said JEA anticipates having the fencing installed and any landscaping overgrowth cleaned up on the property within the next two to three weeks.
