Orange Park Council to meet, discuss beltway impacts
ORANGE PARK – Orange Park Town Council wants to hold a meeting with the stakeholders involved with the First Coast Expressway in order to help the Town prepare for possible consequences the road …
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Orange Park Council to meet, discuss beltway impacts
ORANGE PARK – Orange Park Town Council wants to hold a meeting with the stakeholders involved with the First Coast Expressway in order to help the Town prepare for possible consequences the road brings with it.
Seat four Councilwoman Connie Thomas proposed the motion July 19 to start the conversation between the council, and representatives from the Board of County Commissioners and Clay County Economic Development Corp. The council amended the motion to include a representative from the Florida Department of Transportation.
An open dialogue will help the town prepare for the large increase in traffic the council unanimously believes will follow the FCX’s completion, but it will also give the council a chance to voice their disapproval of the project.
“I have been attending some of the ECD [EDC] meetings for the county, and I know I’ve expressed this before, but they’re talking about 100,000 people moving in within the next 15 years,” Thomas said. “There’s a lot we need to think about.”
The limited access toll road will connect Interstate 95 in northern St. Johns and Interstate 10 in Duval with the majority of the toll road running through Clay County from Green Cove Springs through the Middleburg area and into and through Oakleaf.
The expressway’s northern section, which will connect Blanding Boulevard to Interstate 10 in Duval County, is under construction and scheduled for completion this summer. Construction for the southern leg stretching from I-95 to Blanding Boulevard is in a preliminary design phase.
The expressway has the potential to invite large business headquarters to the largely undeveloped south end of Clay County. Seat five Councilman Gary Meeks said FDOT’s plans were largely already underway when they contacted the town about it, they “were just being courteous and notifying” the council.
“It doesn’t solve problems for us, in fact it may create some,” said Town Manager Jim Hanson. “Traffic is playing a bigger and bigger part in Orange Park and having detrimental effects in many ways.”
The council will set a date for the meeting and invite representatives from each organization to talk about the effects FCX will have on Orange Park.
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