VILANO BEACH, Fla. – Vilano Beach residents turned out in large numbers to a St. Johns County Board of County Commissioners meeting on April 7, sharing concerns about traffic congestion and public safety in their community.
Speakers described a neighborhood with one way in and one way out, where growing congestion has made it increasingly difficult for emergency vehicles to reach residents in need.
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“There’s only one way in and out and you know that, it’s over the Vilano Bridge,” one resident said.
The growing area constantly sees traffic issues because of development, which is increasing population rapidly, and beach visitors, who come to take advantage of the Porpoise Point beach access, which allows vehicles on the beach.
Porpoise Point has been closed for a resiliency project, but will reopen on Saturday, which will likely exacerbate the traffic issues.
Several residents described situations where emergency vehicles struggled to reach people because of traffic. One resident made the stakes personal.
“If this incident would have taken place at 3:00 on a Saturday or Sunday, I would have bled to death before I got to the hospital,” the resident said.
Commissioners listened to the concerns and discussed possible next steps.
“It might be worth having a town hall in Vilano with the sheriff, with Russ Martin for transportation, Greg Caldwell and his public works team,” said Commissioner Christian Whitehurst.
Commissioner Krista Joseph suggested the possibility of having a helicopter landing area for emergencies.
“Can they have a helicopter area cordoned off, it may be the Publix parking lot where it’s always open for a life light -- life flight like immediately?” asked Commissioner Joseph.
The chair of the St. Johns County Commission told News4JAX that a town hall with the Sheriff’s Office will be held in the future, which will be open to the public. An exact time and date have not been set.