The Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) held a public meeting at its Jacksonville Urban Office Training Center on Thursday, April 25 to share plans and gather community feedback for its proposed Post Street from Cassat Avenue to Old Roosevelt Boulevard Resurfacing and Rail Safety project.
The project would bring an elongated roundabout to the intersection of Post Street and Old Roosevelt Boulevard along with other safety enhancements and updates, including updated ADA sidewalk upgrades and new signage, signals and lighting. The sidewalk enhancements will include six-foot-wide sidewalks, with 10-foot-wide sidewalks within the roundabout.
“This elongated roundabout concept has been studied to improve safety at the intersection in the following ways: reduce the number of travel lanes that intersect with the railroad crossing from seven to two, eliminate three traffic signals in order to help prevent rear-end crashes, and create more of a free flow of traffic, all while upgrading the efficiency of this location by increasing all users’ abilities to enter and exit the community quicker and safer while becoming less dependent on Edgewood Avenue,” said FDOT Community Outreach Specialist Jacob Pickering.
“This is just the proposed concept; community feedback is very important to the processes of the Department and how we design and build projects,” he added.
Alongside this intersection modification, Post Street would see milling and resurfacing from Cassat Avenue to Old Roosevelt Boulevard.
Public commentary at the meeting included safety questions pertaining to potential queueing issues with the roundabout, with one online attendee asking if a traffic simulation had been conducted.
“Simulations are routinely performed regarding queuing related to proposed projects, including this project,” FDOT responded. “The elongated roundabout is a free-flowing condition and will improve the existing conditions at the location in question. The proposed improvements have been designed and studied to improve the current conditions.”
The project is expected to begin early 2025 and end in the summer of 2026. It would cost an estimated $6.5 million.
Later this month, FDOT will be hosting an open house for the project SR 211 Resurfacing from San Juan Avenue to I-95, which has changed based on community feedback from the public hearing held in February 2023. These changes will be shared at this upcoming open house. The hybrid, in-person and online event will be held on Thursday, May 23 from 4:30-6 p.m. at the Jacksonville Urban Office Training Center (2198 Edison Avenue). To register to attend virtually, visit nflroads.com/VPH or call (562) 247-8422 and enter access code 478-681-968.
By Michele Leivas
Resident Community News
