How many of you are sitting here reading this thinking that you really need to lose some weight in the New Year. Historically, “losing weight” has been one of the most popular New Year’s resolutions. So I decided to take a tour of the options in our neighborhood. (In case you are wondering I did do this tour as a walking tour, hoping to shape up a little in the process).

Let’s start with the walkability of our neighborhood. San Marco has consistently ranked as one of the top walkable neighborhoods in Jacksonville. Walking rather than driving throughout the day can dramatically impact health and weight. We can walk to shops, restaurants, bars, theaters, coffee shops, parks and the river. Rather than driving to the Town Center for dinner on Saturday night, walk up to one of our neighborhood hot spots, like Taverna or AIX.

If you are looking for something a little more high impact, try a personal trainer. The sheer guilt of canceling on someone will increase your likelihood of working out on a regular basis. Cross Training San Marco at 1722 Hendricks Avenue (619.3113) offers group sessions, individual sessions, corporate training, and boot camps. The gym is friendly and welcoming and has a certain family feel that will keep you motivated to attend the punishing workout session. Definition, located at 1950 San Marco Boulevard (398.6442), has been in San Marco for 12 years and has provided cross training and core strengthening workouts to most of the neighborhood. Definition also offers boots camps and workout sessions for children.

Personal trainer sounds too scary? Time to dance the weight away with Dance Trance. We know you’ve seen the commercial and every time the words “Dance Trance” dance in your head for hours after. The ladies at Dance Trance are successfully shaking their groove things and shaking the pounds off with day and evening classes. Guys, the workout is not just for girls, it is good for you too. Plus you might meet someone…Located at 1515 San Marco Boulevard (390.0939).

Yoga, super hot or in a continuous series of poses, San Marco has it all. Bikram Yoga at 1630 Hendricks Avenue (399.2355) practices the bikram style in a room at 105 degrees with a humidity level of 40%.  Bliss Yoga at 1615 Thacker Avenue (514.0097) practices the Vinyasa method in the living tradition of Krinshnamacharya at a comfortable 80 degrees. Vinyasa yoga connects postures and movement to breath.

Don’t be one of the 75% of people who abandon their New Year’s resolutions in the first three months, take advantage of our neighborhood resources.

Dear Neighbors,

Welcome to summer in San Marco!  As your City Council representative, I’d like to update you on a few things our office has been working on in the past several months.

We, along with the City’s Public Works Department and RAM Professional group, hosted a community meeting in May to discuss the 90% plans of the San Marco Boulevard Streetscape Project. The designers and engineers listened and worked with local residents and merchants, including the San Marco Preservation Society, over the past few years to create a plan that has addressed concerns, logistics and aesthetics for the area.  The work will be done in eight, two-block segments from Naldo Avenue to Gary Street and should begin in January, 2010, just after the 2009 Holiday season. It’s projected to take about two years.  The finished product will boast two traffic circles (round-abouts), one at Landon and one at Naldo, historic light poles, underground utility wires, pedestrian-friendly eight-foot wide sidewalks and lots of great landscaping.  One more meeting is planned to give the community a chance to meet the contractor and discuss traffic flow and time-frames before the projected construction start date. You can go to http://www.ramprofessionalgroup.com to see meeting minutes, maps and details on this project, or to leave comments for our engineers.

Greenscape Celebration Park at Lasalle Street will be our newest pocket park in the neighborhood. Construction has started and we expect it to be complete by September. Along with Greenscape of Jacksonville and our Parks Department, we will be hosting a ribbon-cutting ceremony at that time and look forward to celebrating with everyone. Also, at its completion, funds will be released to place benches and trash cans at Jim Rink Park, the first San Marco “Pocket Park” on the river, a block to the north at Cedar Street.

A request from the San Marco Preservation Society came in several months ago to install dog waste clean-up stations in five local parks.  We were able to fund the purchase and (forthcoming) installation of “Dogi Potis” for Greenridge, Fletcher, Landon, Largo, and Brown L. Whatley Parks. The additions of these Dogi Potis will assist our dog-walkers to clean up after their pets, creating a healthier, cleaner environment for all. This request was a follow-up to the successful installation and use of two Dogi Poti Stations that were placed in River Oaks Park in 2008.

I will be meeting soon with local residents and members of the San Marco Preservation Society to discuss the possibility of creating a landscaped walking path within FEC Park, located at 1620 Marco Place. The tentative, preliminary (and contingent upon funding) plans consist of a six-foot wide sidewalk winding through the back area of the park, connecting River Oaks Rd. to Marco Place, with five to six shade trees planted along the way. This design concept came about from local residents and members of the San Marco Preservation Society as a way to maximize the beauty and layout of this unique neighborhood green space.

We like to hear from you so please feel free to contact me with your questions or concerns, ideas or suggestions regarding San Marco or the City of Jacksonville, at my Council office at 630-1382 or by email at ashad@coj.net. Also, please call 630-CITY to report any Code Enforcement, Traffic, Public Works, Solid Waste, or other city concerns or complaints. This will generate a CARE issue (Citizen Active Response Effort), which is immediately sent to a specific City department for immediate response. This is a good tool to track common complaints and issues and helps the City determine where (and how often) problems exist and what has been done to address them.

Thank you for your efforts at maintaining San Marco’s beauty and charm. It is a pleasure to represent this unique area of Jacksonville. I wish all of you a happy and safe summer and look forward to seeing you in the neighborhood.

Greetings to all! As the Councilman for District 5, which includes beautiful San Marco, I am delighted to be able to assist my neighbors in beautifying and restoring our historic area. The San Marco Town Center is complete and a new sign has been installed at the south entrance of the Square at the corner of Hendricks Ave. and San Marco Blvd. welcoming everyone to this unique neighborhood. The beauty and organization of San Marco Square, a jewel of Jacksonville, would not be possible without the tireless work of our San Marco Preservation Society and the San Marco Merchants Association. These two groups are on top of issues in the Square and surrounding San Marco neighborhoods and come to us and the City with their concerns and suggestions, from landscape maintenance to Sheriff’s Office issues. We work with them closely and listen to their needs. They are indeed the voice of this unique area and they get things done.

San Marco is a vibrant, dynamic community and there are always projects keeping everyone engaged. Several infrastructure projects have been completed recently and a few more are in the planning stages. The Children’s Way Pump Station was completed in August, 2008, and has greatly reduced flooding in the north end of San Marco, just in time for our busy hurricane season. The aging Lake Marco bulkhead on Largo Road will be replaced, and the Riverfront Park (San Marco Beach) bulkhead area is being studied for refurbishment, as well. The San Marco Boulevard Streetscape design is underway and should be starting within the next six months. This project will mirror last year’s Hendricks Ave. Streetscape Project and will combine the historic cleaned-up look of the area, with decorative light poles, pavers, landscaped medians, and round-a-bouts, easing traffic-flow into and out of the Square.                San Marco is home to over fifteen city parks, and we have a new one in the works at the end of Lasalle Street at the river. Plans and permitting are underway for Greenscape Celebration Park and shovels should hit the ground, soon, with a ribbon-cutting ceremony just in time for spring.
                Old South Jacksonville City Hall on Hendricks Ave. is open and renovations are complete. It is now home to the San Marco Preservation Society, whose board members meet there monthly. With grants from the State of Florida and funds from the City, the Preservation Society undertook the refurbishing and renovating of the 1915 building that housed the seat of government for South Jacksonville. The Hall serves as a museum, as well as a meeting space and can be rented out for functions.
                There’s always something new happening in San Marco and it’s certainly a great place to live, work and play. If you have any ideas, suggestions, comments or concerns regarding our neighborhood or the City of Jacksonville, please don’t hesitate to contact me at my Council office at 630-1382.