JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – With furniture giant IKEA planning to open a store near the St. Johns Town Center, many residents are concerned about adding traffic to the already congested area.
Many would describe the area off Gate Parkway and Interstate 295 as a mess during rush hour, and Wednesday's announcement of home-furnishings store IKEA setting up shop nearby has some people worried.
"Traffic isn't really that great to begin with," Dan Murphy said. "The traffic can be pretty congested. You have three lanes that merge in just to the two, so all of a sudden you get a lot of backup at Gate and I-295."
Murphy uses Gate Parkway and I-295 daily to get to work and said he will have to change his schedule when IKEA arrives.
"It's certainly going to make it more inconvenient," Murphy said. "I'll have to adjust when I go to work and go home."
According to the Florida Department of Transportation, more than 5,500 people drive along Gate Parkway daily and nearly 100,000 drive along I-295 by the site of the new IKEA.
Construction could begin on the Jacksonville store as soon as summer 2016, with the store opening planned for fall 2017.
Though many people agree traffic will pick up significantly after the store opens, some said the site is still an ideal location.
"It's nice and calm over here, so it'll bring more traffic, but I think right by the highway it'll be easy on and off for people," said Daryl Berman, owner of Saucy Kitchen on Gate Parkway.
The IKEA will be located right off of I-295 on Gate Parkway about 3.5 miles south of the St. Johns Town Center. There are several undeveloped plots of land surrounding the location of the new IKEA. It's also surrounded by a few business complexes, restaurants and neighborhoods, including apartment and condo complexes.
Many people said the area will be anything but quiet after IKEA opens up shop.
"We actually picked this location because it was away from all the Town Center traffic, where now it takes you about 20 minutes just to find a spot and walk to where you're going," Berman said of his modernized cafe.
Although he's not so happy about the traffic, Berman couldn't hide his excitement about the exposure his business will be getting.
"A major international retailer like IKEA that draws thousands of people every day is going to be right across the street," Berman said. "We could get some of that traffic over here before or after they go shopping."