ST. JOHNS COUNTY, Fla. – Dozens of Ponte Vedra residents packed a community center Tuesday night to voice concerns about the Florida Department of Transportation’s plan to redesign several intersections along A1A — and many left unconvinced the proposal will make things better.
The meeting, held at The Players Community Senior Center, drew such a large crowd that attendees spilled into the hallway. Some people walked in, couldn’t find a seat, and left.
FDOT is proposing changes to six areas along a stretch of A1A running from Gnarled Oaks Drive in St. Johns County to the Duval County line.
What FDOT is proposing
The six proposed improvements include:
- Fairfield Boulevard/Sawgrass Drive West: Re-routing of eastbound/westbound through and left-turn movements
- TPC Boulevard/Country Club Boulevard: Re-routing of eastbound/westbound through movements; northbound and southbound left turns offset at both intersections for improved visibility
- Sawgrass Village Drive/L’Atrium Drive: Re-routing of eastbound/westbound through movements
- Solana Road: Re-routing of northbound left-turn and westbound through movements
- Merchants Plaza to Professional Drive: Extension of the southbound auxiliary lane to improve merging from J.T. Butler Boulevard (State Road 202)
- Ponte Vedra Lakes Boulevard: Extension of the eastbound right-turn lane
FDOT Public Information Officer Meg Ross said nothing has been finalized and the agency is actively gathering public input.
“We’re bringing these proposed ideas to the public during this time so that members of the public are able to speak on the record and their opinions and thoughts can be taken into consideration while we move forward with the proposed changes,” Ross said. “Nothing’s yet finalized.”
Ross added that safety and congestion relief are the agency’s top priorities.
“Our main goal with this project is to decrease congestion while also increasing safety — specifically at certain intersections like Solana Road, TPC Boulevard, and Sawgrass Village Drive,” she said.
Residents want simpler solutions
Many residents said they appreciate that FDOT is addressing the corridor but believe the proposed redesigns are more complicated than necessary — and could create new problems.
Resident Steve Russell said the community is not satisfied with the direction of the plan.
“We’re not real happy with the design they’ve put forward, nor have they defined a reason that’s justifiable for the expenses,” Russell said.
Russell argued that adding solid traffic signals would be a more straightforward fix.
“They’re saying, well, we can’t do that because it’ll outdo the sequencing and it’ll back things up. They’re doing it today with a flashing yellow. How much more time does it take to add in a solid turn angle? And how much more money can we save?” he said.
Resident Chris Grens echoed that sentiment, pointing to the dangerous conditions at one intersection where two lanes merge into one with vehicles traveling at high speeds.
“Right now you have two lanes merging down to one right here. There are cars coming down here doing 55, 60 miles an hour. A traffic light to me would solve the problem,” Grens said.
Resident Jeannie Sanchez raised concerns about safety for younger pedestrians and said the stretch has already seen fatal crashes.
“We’ve had too many people killed at that particular light and I think it’s time for a better change,” Sanchez said. “We need to go back to common sense — not looking at the engineers like, let’s try to twist it around like a puzzle.”
Resident Joan Grune said the proposal doesn’t adequately serve the people who live in the area.
“They should be looking more to accommodate the people who live in the neighborhoods, not the people who are trying to bust down A1A to get wherever they’re going,” Grune said.
How to submit public comments
Residents who missed Tuesday’s meeting can still submit comments through the FDOT website until July 7. Public comments will be entered into the official record and considered as the project moves forward.