ST. JOHNS COUNTY, Fla. — An accident waiting to happen.
That’s how one man described a stretch of A1A in St. Johns County where three pedestrians have now been hit by cars in less than two years. Two of those three died.
Now, residents in the North Beach and Vilano Beach communities are pleading with the Florida Department of Transportation to fast-track a crosswalk in the area.
On A1A – also called Coastal Highway – in the North Beach community, there are no crosswalks.
Carol Anderson leads the north Beach Community Alliance.
“This particular part of A1A has a speed limit of 50 miles per hour,” she said.
Anderson believes that fast for a spot that has so many people converging.
Where A1A and tiny Euclid Avenue meet, there’s the Reef Restaurant. It has an overflow and employee parking lot across the highway. On the west side of the highway, there’s the North Beach Campground. And nearby there is a recent boom of short term rental homes.
All of these bring people want to cross A1A in order to get to the beach and to the Reef Restaurant.
“It’s just sort of an accident waiting for a place to happen,” Jeremy Ticehurst said Monday. He is the General Manager of the Reef Restaurant.
“I’ve seen in increase in 5-6 years in both foot traffic and automobile traffic,” he noted.
He, Anderson, and more than 500 people who have signed a petition say this part of A1A needs a crosswalk… now.
Earlier this month, a man was crossing the road when he was hit by a car. He was taken to this hospital. His condition has not been confirmed. In less than two years, that makes three pedestrians who have crossed A1A (in this area) who have been hit by cars. The other two died.
Anderson tells First Coast News the Florida Department of Transportation has crosswalks planned for four places on A1A in Vilano and North Beach areas, including one here at Euclid Avenue.
That one is scheduled to be created in fall of 2024. Ticehurst and Anderson say that’s too far out.
“Honestly the sooner the better,” Ticehurst said.
Anderson said, “Time is of the essence for this whole corridor.” She added, “In the summer time, there are people who will go out into the road and do this.” She held up her hand as if to stop traffic, “and then they motion their whole family to come along.”
First Coast News reached out to the DOT about this issue. Hampton Ray, a FDOT spokesperson, “Our hearts break whenever we learn of a death or serious injury on the roadway. To that end, reviewing crash reports is critical to understanding causation and prevention of crashes.”
Ray continued, “As is standard operating procedure, FDOT reviews all reported crashes on state roadways and interstates – a special emphasis is placed on fatalities. If there are improvements that can be made to enhance the safety of the facilities, FDOT will work to implement the improvements. This process includes careful analysis by professional engineers and other evaluations that may be warranted.”
Ray added, “When improvements to the roadway can be made, these improvements are studied, designed, programmed and constructed after careful evaluation to ensure taxpayer dollars are equitably allocated across the region.”
Ray confirmed that the crosswalk for the Euclid Avenue/A1A intersection is slated for creation in fall 2024.
That is too far into the future for some people who work and live in the area.