ST. JOHNS COUNTY, Fla — Traffic on International Golf Parkway has increased over the last few years. Buccee’s and Costco brought more cars on the road near the I-95 exit. Now, Bass Pro Shops and Home Depot are coming to the same area.
One of the sticky spots is the intersection at International Golf Parkway (IGP) and World Commerce Parkway. It's where drivers who are coming off the interstate turn to get into the mega retailers and Buccee’s gas station.
"We’re already backed up on the interstate. There are two schools on IGP that are already overflowing into IGP. And we’ve only had 3,000 out of about 15,000 homes at Silverleaf already built. So it’s going to expand massively around here," Kim Kendall told First Coast News. She is a community activist. And, in full transparency, she is also running for state senate.
Kendall contacted First Coast News after it ran a story last week about traffic jams in the area. It turns out, she’s been coordinating with the Florida Department of Transportation and independent engineers to come up with traffic solutions in this area for months.
The latest concept blends the two ideas.
"Back in November, we were given a copy of a rending from the FDOT," Kendall noted.
While pointing to a map of that latest concept, she said, "This is the interstate and this is IGP and you've got Buc-ee's right here. So their solution is to come off the interstate and then almost like you're going back on and you do a small ramp into the commerce center loop."
She added, that this extra secondary exit would empty on World Commerce Parkway at the stores, "moving the traffic straight off the interstate to the commerce center loop and avoiding all the stuff on IGP and the stoplight situation."
Right now this is just an idea.
One of DOT’s urban planners told First Coast News the agency is assisting St. Johns County with the concept. Kendall says this idea is one way to tap into the state’s pocketbook for improvements because it’s a bigger purse than the county’s.
"The FDOT prioritizes interstate dollars, and we have a better shot of getting money from the state to help us get out the hole, this infrastructure deficit that we’re in,' she said.