JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A crash over the weekend that left two people in the hospital and a hole in a Murray Hill business is prompting the Florida Department of Transportation to review part of a road project on Edgewood Avenue.
This is not the first issue First Coast CrossFit has had with cars crashing into their parking lot.
The gym owner hopes that once all the traffic barrels are gone, the finished project on Edgewood Avenue will help keep more cars from crashing into the business.
“This intersection has definitely been a little tricky for us here," said First Coast CrossFit Owner Daniel Mattsson-Boze.
Mattsson-Boze said in five months of being open at the intersection of Edgewood and Quincy, he’s seen several wrecks, including one a few weeks ago that totaled his truck in the parking lot, and another after a truck crashed through the gym’s brick wall.
“The construction on Edgewood should help," said Mattsson-Boze. "The two-lane, one lane on each side, the center road parking, should slow things down a little bit.”
FDOT’s $7.6 million Edgewood Avenue project includes a roundabout at one end of the Murray Hill business district while knocking out the two middle lanes of the four-lane road to create central parking, more medians and turn lanes.
“When traffic comes onto a raised median, we tend to see traffic slow down," said FDOT Spokesperson Hampton Ray. "That obviously promotes safety. It also promotes a slower drive since this is a residential area on portions of Edgewood Avenue.”
While Mattsson-Boze is optimistic the new layout will help protect his gym, not everyone in Murray Hill is as enthused.
“It can get a little congested when there’s people trying to back out and get in the parking space, but I guess they’ve thought it out and think it’ll work okay," said Dreamette Assistant Manager Tierney Brown.
“It definitely put a lot more spots, but you’ve got to worry about getting hit as you’re backing out now," said Harry Jordan while shopping in Murray Hill.
Ray says the crash at First Coast CrossFit will influence the project as crews wrap up construction.
“We have teams that will review the crash reports, will look at things since it’s under construction," said Ray. "If there are design elements we can implement, we’re going to do that to make sure it’s a safe, reliable transportation system.”
The gym owner said he already saw crews at this intersection in the morning studying it and taking notes.
FDOT is hoping to have the Edgewood project complete by the end of the summer.
You can find more information on the project here.