Situated between the city of Jacksonville, Florida, the mouth of the St. John’s River, and the Atlantic Ocean is the busy harbor of Naval Station Mayport.
NS Mayport is one of the largest U.S. Navy bases in the Southeast. The Base neighbors the historic working waterfront community of Mayport Village, a lesser-known corner of the City of Jacksonville.
Helen Cooper Floyd Park–to locals, “Little Jetties”–lies right between the St. Johns and the side of State Highway A1A, affectionately known as Jimmy Buffett Memorial Parkway. To the other side are large swathes of salt marsh, characteristic of the coastal plain with miles of tall Spartina grasses and hidden wildlife. Little Jetties is a popular community spot for fishing, birdwatching and scenic views of the estuary.
The problem with a narrow band of park alongside a highway: erosion creeps up fast. High tides on one side and heavy vehicle use on the other have led to land losses and greatly reduced the buffer of protective vegetation that stabilizes the shoreline and the highway.
The University of Georgia Institute for Resilient Infrastructure Systems (IRIS), in partnership with UGA Marine Extension and Georgia Sea Grant, is working to help.
As part of a collaboration with representatives Naval Station Mayport, the City of Jacksonville, Mayport Waterfront Partnership, and other stakeholders, IRIS is working to develop a recommended shoreline restoration and stabilization design for the park. The effort seeks to balance public access and recreation with protection for the roadway and the natural resilience of the park.
This design process isn’t done behind the scenes: through active, regular engagement with the local community, stakeholders, and coastal restoration experts, the project team has gathered thoughts about what matters most, ideas for what to focus on, what techniques to use and what restoration should look like.
“Little Jetties is a poster child for the need for public investment in resilient coastal infrastructure to address critical vulnerabilities and preserve community values,” said project lead Ben Carswell, Implementation Specialist for IRIS.
Last August, the UGA Carl Vinson Institute of Government collected survey responses from Mayport Village residents and visitors to the park. Of the 85 respondents, 31% visit the park several times per week, and 85% showed significant concern about the changing shorelines. While the community placed high priority on maintaining access to the park, there was also interest in managing public use to protect against shoreline loss, wildlife harm and litter.
With exposure to powerful currents and the wakes of frequently passing ships, protecting Little Jetties will likely require some traditional “gray” infrastructure solutions, such as rock breakwaters. The project team is also looking to implement green infrastructure solutions, such as living shorelines–stabilization methods that incorporate natural features like oyster reefs or the native salt marsh features.
A mix of these green and gray methods has the potential to balance strength and dependability with the resilience of natural features and the habitat they can provide for fish and wildlife.
“This project presents a prime opportunity to leverage multi-objective infrastructure strategies,” explained Zak Ruehman, IRIS Director of Engineering Services. “The main objective is to provide an engineered solution that offers protection to the shoreline and A1A. However, by thoughtfully combining both natural and gray infrastructure mixed with recreational considerations, the project can also offer ecological and societal benefits alongside that shoreline protection. Creating a space that serves many purposes.”
This past May, the project team held a design charette in Mayport Village to discuss potential solutions and ideas to be incorporated into the final design. By the end of 2026, they aim to have the first phase of engineering design, plus a roadmap to implementation, ready to deliver to community partners.
This type of planning and design guidance helps communities take action with meaningful information at their sides.