JACKSONVILLE, Fla — For decades, McCoys Creek Boulevard has been a flood-prone area. Now there is a plan to address those concerns, which will include road closures.
Currently, McCoys Creek Boulevard is a main thoroughfare connecting Stockton and Cherokee Streets and it is heavily used.
"I have been here 50 years," said Bobbie Anderson.
A longtime resident, Anderson said she has watched the area suffer from benign neglect.
"Stuff wasn't being taken care of as they should have been," she said.
For the past two years, Anderson and other members of the community have been part of conversations about the future of McCoys Creek.
"It is okay to do progress but don't penalize the people already there," she said.
The City of Jacksonville has earmarked $60 million, over three years, for a project that will impact about 2.8 miles of the creek and over 100 acres of land.
Part of the plan calls for the closure of McCoys Creek Boulevard. Anderson said that means cul-de-sacs and redirecting the traffic to Edison Avenue.
The proposed redevelopment will also bring new bridges, recreational spaces, bike paths and more, but it is the road closures that concerns the community.
"I like the idea but I am not in favor of them closing off the streets to do it," said Phyllis Brown.
Can they have one without the other?
"You are cutting us off in our neighborhood keeping us blocked in," said Anderson.
On Your Side reached out to the project partner and they are very aware of the community's concerns and said in part:
We have heard residents’ concerns that the McCoys Creek Blvd closure may limit access to and from the neighborhood and we are working very hard to come to the best solution. The six roads that are impacted will remain open on one end and become landscaped cul-de-sacs on the other end with access to the newly built Emerald Trail. Alternate routes into and out of the neighborhood have been mapped.
It is also important to note that at the request of residents, a traffic study was conducted to understand the impact of closing McCoys Creek Blvd. Those results were shared with the taskforce and show that the major roads in the area- Stockton, King, Edison - will still have excess capacity after traffic is rerouted.
We also reached out to the District Councilman Garrett Dennis who said.
I support redevelopment in the McCoys Creek area, and citizen input on significant changes is an important part of the process.
At the end of the day, these infrastructure are the people's projects using the people's money. They need to have a say and I am going to listen.