Attention all surfers and mountain bikers who frequent Hanna Park : Starting soon, all cars will be charges $5 for entry and all bicycles will be charged $3... a 200% increase for bikers. I explained I have an annual pass on my vehicle but since I live so close I like to ride my bike up. I was told the annual pass has to be on your vehicle window. They refuse to laminate a pass for me so I wont have to pay an additional fee for my bike. As of now, I have an annual pass around $80 a year, and pay an additional $100-$150 a year to ride my bike up. When I explain Im trying to be green and not burn gas to drive my bike up, I just get a stupid smile stating its the law. Is it really a law or are you just trying to take advantage of the citizens of Jacksonville and surrounding beaches residents by squeezing every penny from us. National Parks give you a card as a pass, as do Florida State Parks. Why cant the city? The first 5 acres were donated so the citizens would always have an oceanfront park. So our tax dollars pay for the park, then I would say the local surfers and mountain bikers pay a large sum and then there are the campers. When was the last time you saw some improvements going on at Hanna, and please dont include that piss poor example of craftsmanship on the walkway from the poles parking lot. The people who approved it and who built it should be shot. Meanwhile they have cut back park hours, write citations for staying in past 8, and continue to charge more. The infrastructure is dilapidated, with some parts closed to park goers because of safety concerns. We need to take back our city park. Security is an issue as everyone who parks at the poles knows. They have over 10 cameras at the front gate and inside the main office to read your tag numbers...why? You are park employees not the police.. Perhaps a better use of cameras would be in the parking lots where the crimes are actually taking place. When was the last time they had a crime at the front gate...never. If it was downtown and the jags played there, Im sure it would be on the priority list. Downtown is ok, but tourists dont come to our area to visit downtown...THEY COME FOR THE BEACHES! Charge out of towners, not the taxpayers who pay for the park and its employees. We need to organize, and tackle these issues. Im taking my camera down and start documenting our poorly ran park and the infrastructure in need of desperate repair. This all falls under Alvin Brown who seems to be doing nothing. Can you think of any other cities that charge it citizens to access their public spaces. Imagine if New York charged to enter Central Park. Other than the ocean front parks, the city doesnt charge entrance fees. They no longer allow surf contest, or allow mountain bike races, and the bike trails are maintained by a separate group of volunteers. They need to cut staff as part of the solution because a lot of the maintenance is performed by people doing community service. The time is now to make a stand. We need to make a strong presence during city council meeting and contact our representative over Hanna Park. Its time.
Posted on: Mon, 11 Aug 2014 17:58:18 +0000
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