Azari Johnson, left, checks out the new shade tree planted Thursday, Nov. 24, 1014, at a bus stop on Commonwealth Avenue. | Dan Scanlan, Jacksonville Today
Published on November 14, 2024 at 1:39 pm
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It was sunny and 78 degrees when Azari Johnson got to bus stop No. 5134 on Thursday.
As others sat on the steel bench on the sidewalk on Commonwealth Avenue, she saw the new live oak tree planted in the grass nearby. Then she learned the Jacksonville Transportation Authority had just put it there to provide shade for bus riders as they waited.
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Shade for bus riders is an “awesome” idea, Johnson said. But she had a suggestion for what the JTA should do with the bus stop bench currently on the sunny sidewalk near the newly planted tree in the Woodstock community.
“That’s a good idea, for a tree, because it is hot out here,” Johnson said. “Put the bench up under the tree, on the side of the tree, something, something for us to have more room to sit, and shade. That’s a great idea.”
The new tree, planted during a city ceremony, is part of a JTA pilot program that will bring more live oaks and elms to make six bus stops “more resilient, more customer-friendly,” said Cleveland Ferguson, JTA’s executive vice president and chief administrative officer.
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It is part of the city’s year-old Resilient Jacksonville plan, with 45 policies and programs designed for specific neighborhoods facing the effects of heat, flooding and other issues.
“We believe this pilot will be able to expand across the entire city, looking at all of our bus stops that don’t have shade so we can positively impact that urban island heat effect,” Ferguson said. “It will be here forever and it is part of the environment, part of the resilience. There is a transpiration effect that occurs by soaking in the water and cooling down the area, so we are very thrilled to be a part of that in partnership with the city.”
Resilient Jacksonville is a 50-year strategy to help the city adapt in the face of sudden, extreme events that threaten its communities, as well as long-term pressures that weaken a community’s fabric over time. The effort began Oct. 13, 2023.
One action provides for the city and experts to develop a compound flood model to measure the combined effects of coastal surge, tidal fluctuations, riverine flooding and inland stormwater flooding. Another is to combat heat by increasing the city’s tree cover in areas that suffer from heat.
Planting the new shade tree in front of the Westbrook library is a great way “to make people’s lives better,” Library Director Tim Rogers said during Thursday’s ceremony.
An investigation into average temperatures at every JTA bus stop over the past year is what led to this pilot program at six stops, said Chief Resilience Officer Anne Coglianese.
“They narrowed down bus stops based on which are most suitable for trees, looking at soil types and ridership numbers, making sure that the bus routes where we have the most people standing outside in the heat were some of the first to get trees,” Coglianese said. “This is really the first step in a long-term partnership with the JTA to make sure as we are growing our city, we are doing so in a smart way and a green way.”
Mayor Donna Deegan said the pilot program is a step toward increasing the city’s tree canopy at a time when the city has to prepare for more days with extreme heat. Some parts of the city are as much as 12 degrees hotter than other areas, and that has a lot do do with the tree canopy, she said.
The city’s first Urban Forestry Management Plan is underway to guide the protection and expansion of Jacksonville’s tree canopy to shade more areas that face high heat.
“This is another very big step,” Deegan said. “The plan will ensure that trees are properly maintained to ensure safety, provide ecological benefits and make our public spaces beautiful. It will serve as a guide for the city’s tree commission to distribute the city’s tree fund for planting the right tres in the right places.”
As for bus rider Azari Johnson’s comment about installing bus stop benches under the new shade tree, Ferguson said the JTA and city will look at the “best way to position all of this” as they move forward with the tree program.
The trees are being paid for out of the city’s tree mitigation fund, the JTA said.
