One day after Bass Pro Shops opened in the World Golf Village area, St. Johns County residents voiced concerns Nov. 21 about traffic congestion and overcrowding,
They spoke during public comment at the county Planning and Zoning Agency meeting.
Bass Pro Shops joined Costco and Buc-ee’s in World Commerce Center off International Golf Parkway near Interstate 95. Home Depot and a Fields Auto Mercedes-Benz service center have obtained permits there. A Walmart Supercenter is planned about 2.2 miles west.
“The pressure in that area is just building and building with the amount of traffic that’s going in there,” resident Charlie Hunt said. “And now with the big announcement of a mega Walmart in that area, right across the street from Tocoi High School, there’s a lot of concern about what size it would need to be in that stressful area.
“Just yesterday, there was the opening of Bass Pro Shops. There were so many people there and you couldn’t get in and out of that intersection for hours.”
Housing developments planned in the area are also an issue, he said.
“Traffic is a major concern,” said resident Chuck Labanowski. “We need to look at that whole entire area and start approving things that need to be done. I’ve already sent emails to the county commissioners about Walmart.
“Please, for future improvements, let’s put a slowdown on it and wait for a later date for these people to build anything more.”
Resident Suzanne Clulow said she is hoping for a “pause on any further decisions on anything along Florida 16 until infrastructure can catch up.” The road is about 2.4 miles west of the World Commerce Center.
She asked the PZA to support needed infrastructural improvements and encourage the St. Johns County Board of County Commissioners to prioritize them over further development and work to ensure there is state and federal funding for projects that would cost millions.
“We’re dying in a sea of traffic,” she said.
Because it was a public hearing, no action was taken and there were no comments from commissioners.
At recent commission meetings, the board voted unanimously to deny large housing projects in other areas of the county: an “Agrihood” off Florida 214 west of I-95, which was planned to develop 3,300 homes, and the Preserve at St. Augustine Lakes, which would have brought about 373 single-family homes south of Florida 16 and west of North Holmes Boulevard.
A vote for cottages at Compass by Margaritaville in Beachwalk was approved 3-2. Commissioners Henry Dean, Roy Alamo and Christian Whitehurst voted to approve the amended plans. Sara Arnold and Krista Joseph voted to deny the proposal citing concerns about traffic, lack of infrastructure and overall fit with the neighborhood.