ST. JOHNS COUNTY, Fla — A proposed neighborhood has some people scratching their heads. That’s because developers would build a new street that would connect two roads, and many residents say there’s no way those roads could handle the extra traffic.
Paul Mayo walked to his backyard Tuesday morning, pointing to a small gurgling creek.
"It's full of water all year long," he said. "24/7."
That little creek or ditch is the boundary line for Mayo’s property in Southern St. Johns County.
Commenting about a proposed neighborhood and road, he said, "That road will go right on the other side of this ditch. The only thing separating me and that road is the creek."
That road would be built as part of the proposed new neighborhood called Osceola Lakes. It’s a sizable project with 640 homes, stretching for one mile from Wildwood Drive to Watson Road. Currently, the land is timberland and undeveloped land.
Some people are concerned about the impacts on wildlife. Mayo pointed to the wooded area, "This is full of deer. Where are the animals going to go?"
Many people who live in the area, as well as in the large, nearby St. Augustine Shores neighborhood, are concerned about adding more cars onto Wildwood Drive.
Mayo said, "Wildwood can't handle it now because they [county leaders] just put two subdivisions next to Treaty Park that have 500 houses in there."
Secondly, most say 2-lane Watson Road certainly couldn’t handle traffic from 640 more homes.
"Watson Road is a very teeny road and both sides of it is swamp," Mayo added.
Greg Matovina is one of the developers working with the landowners who are proposing the project. He told First Coast News there is a proposed alternative loop road through the development to help alleviate some traffic on Watson Road. He also said Wildwood would see more traffic, however, at the moment it could withstand the extra cars.
There certainly is a need for more homes priced for the middle class. The developer wants to build the neighborhood under the workforce housing designation which would require 30 percent of the houses to be sold at $260,000 each. After two years, they can be sold at market price.
The project still has to go to the county commission for a final decision.