JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Whether driving or riding, Jeff Sheffield, director of the North Florida Transportation Planning Organization, says everyone depends on the same thing: roads, which is why the organization wants to receive input from the public for their roadway wish list.
“Making sure that people are getting where they want to go in a timely manner, whether that's work, or play, or shopping," Sheffield said. "And to do that [it] is not a single project or preferred project.”
Sheffield says the increase of new residents to the region has impacted more than just traffic, also conditions of roads.
“As we're looking at these growths rates in Florida that are excessively comparative to years past, we can see the demand coming,” Sheffield told First Coast News.
Sheffield adds that planning future projects now will help the organization stay ahead of the anticipated population increase of full-time residents or just tourists.
“Mainly when you drive, county lines, municipal boundaries don't mean anything," Sheffield said.
"You're trying to get where you're trying to get for whatever reason,” said Wiley Page, Atkins Realis Senior Transportation Planner."
Page has played a part in developing hundreds of roadway projects over the years, saying that adding people's input will help them decide which projects take priority.
“It's a very challenging thing because you're looking at projects that are needed within the next 10 years and we don't have the money to do it,” Page explained.
The organization wants to hear from people who commute every day in Duval, St. Johns, Clay and Nassau counties about what projects they should invest in now.
“Every trip has the potential to be a regional trip and we have to make sure that those connections are sufficient to take care of that,” Page told First Coast News.
To share what road conditions you think need to be improved, take the organization's survey here.