Traffic on local roadways is continuing to increase and the Ponte Vedra Municipal Service District Board acknowledged the issue by inviting Ben Bright and Rodney Cooper with the St. Johns County public works department to speak at its Dec. 13 meeting.
They spoke primarily about traffic calming and what goes into determining the degree of assistance a road needs with its traffic.
“It is a very data-driven process,” Cooper said.
Several factors are considered when collecting traffic data on a roadway, such as the speeds of its travelers and pedestrian traffic.
Each data figure is awarded points that are totaled up and used to determine how much calming a road needs.
Cooper acknowledged that speed bumps are one of the first solutions people come up with but stated that there are advantages and disadvantages to that route.
An example he gave as a possible solution would be to put striping down the center of San Juan Drive.
The board of trustees voted to make a formal request to the county to have traffic calming studies done on San Juan, Solana, Le Master Drive and Rutile Drive.
Trustees Holly Kartsonis and Mack MuCuller pushed to see action also taken to have studies done to see about adding sidewalks in the future.
As a result, the board approved to spend up to $10,000 to hire an engineer to begin an assessment of what it would entail, including estimated costs of a sidewalk project.
Chairman Brad Wester provided an update to the MSD that off-duty Sheriff’s deputies have begun selecting certain dates and times that suite them to give an added police presence in the MSD.
Trustee John Cellucci stated that he had not seen an increased presence south of Corona Road and said he would be interested to see a list of patrol data.
Wester said that feedback like Cellucci’s can be used moving forward to make sure certain areas are getting their proper presence. He will forward the patrol data once it is sent to him.
According to Wester, there is currently a rotation of about 14 officers that are consistently putting in to work off-duty in the MSD.
In other business, board attorney Wayne Flowers informed the board that he was asked to look into a matter in which Wester sent a letter to the county that inferred the MSD had approved dual driveways on Ponte Vedra Boulevard.
Wester admitted that the “error I made was the verbiage” within the letter that he sent. He said that he would update and correct the letter for the county.
“The letter was sent without authorization from the board,” Trustee Gary Jurenovich said. “That’s the issue.”
According to Jurenovich, it was not a good look because it made the MSD look like it was in partnership with Steven Diebenow, an attorney who recently proposed changes regarding area zoning regulations but dismissed his proposals following push back from residents.
Trustee Kitty Switkes defended Wester, stating that she was at the Ponte Vedra Zoning and Adjustment Board meeting in question and that the matters pertaining Wester and Diebenow were presented separately.
“I don’t see any conflict of interest,” Switkes said.
