JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Road and safety improvements could be on the way to the Riverside and Avondale area as part of the Florida Department of Transportation's proposed State resurfacing project.
Wednesday night, FDOT held its first public meeting for the community to ask questions.
The proposed improvements would expand from for more than three miles, from San Juan Avenue to I-95. This is for resurfacing, the addition of bike and shared use lanes, sidewalks, signs, and lighting upgrades. However, some parking will be removed to improve the line of sight, causing some to have mixed feelings about the project.
"Removing on street parking we fear would encourage cars to speed up in this corridor rather than drive the speed limit so it would make it less safe for both walkability as well as bikes in this area," resident Sarah Blankenship said.
During Wednesday's meeting, the removal of street parking spots and addition of bike and shared lanes in its place were the topic of discussion between residents and FDOT officials.
"Our neighborhood is walkable and beautiful, and the tree line, streets. People would benefit from these beautiful bike lanes in the neighborhood," one resident said.
Among more than 400 street parking spots along the project route, the Florida Department of Transportation says the removal of some of those spots is to improve intersection and driveway sight lines.
"85 parking spaces over three points roughly 3.5 miles are proposed for removal," FDOT Public Affairs Specialist Nathan Pick said.
FDOT Public Affairs Specialist Nathan Pick says the 85 selected street parking spaces were suggested to be removed based on the history of crashes and studies performed on the use of the spaces in the area.
"In front of my house it's hard to get out of the driveway when there's a car parked here and here and across the street there are blind spots and cars are coming quick from the shops," another resident said.
Some agree that the removal of the spaces would improve the neighborhood's safety, but others say street parking is vital to the function of a neighborhood.
"There'll be no place for contractors to park anywhere people that fix the roof. The Plumbers, all these trucks are much larger than they were when these roads were built in these homes were built in 1910, resident John Damico said.
State representative Angie Nixon was also in attendance and says she will be working with FDOT and residents to determine changes to the proposed improvements. FDOT says improvements are scheduled to begin next summer and be finished by the end of 2025.
If you couldn't make it to Wednesday's meeting, you can still send your thoughts on the project to Jeff Daugharty at Jeff.Daugharty@dot.state.fl.us or mailing them to Jeff Daugharty, 2198 Edison Ave., Jacksonville, FL 32204 until February 26, 2023.