Improvements to New Kings Road and the intersection of San Pablo Road and Butler Boulevard are among the priorities for regional transportation planners.
The North Florida Transportation and Planning Organization presented its most desired projects to Jacksonville city councilors Monday.
People are walking on the grassy shoulders of New Kings Road this Monday afternoon. It’s because a few miles past Edward Waters College, the sidewalks end.
New Kings is on the North Florida TPO’s priority list for improvements. Planners want to add sidewalks and crosswalks to this area.
New Kings Food Mart is a few miles up the street from the college. In front of the store, a short section of sidewalk starts and ends a few feet later. People outside say more sidewalks would be helpful because so many people walk in the area.
Doyle Carter was one of three council members to meet with transportation planners at City Hall Monday.
“We’re meeting to set out priorities ... for next year’s five-year plan,” he said.
Planners list seven new projects as priorities — some because of safety, like New Kings Road, and others to combat congestion, like an interchange design around the San Pablo-James Turner Butler intersection.
The list also includes new lane alignment for Cemetery Road and interchange redesigns for the I-295-Collins intersection and the JTB-Gate Parkway intersection.
But the projects aren’t a sure thing. Next, the Jacksonville City Council will have to approve a resolution in support of the list, and then the state transportation department will have to find funding.
Some projects already have support. Mayo Clinic is willing to fund $2.5 million of the San Pablo interchange redesign to clear up congestion for it’s employees.
Editors Note: The North Florida Transportation and Planning Organization is a WJCT underwriter.
