The monthly meeting of the Municipal Service District (MSD) of Ponte Vedra Beach took place on Monday, Nov. 9, at the Ponte Vedra Branch Library.
The sidewalk project on San Juan Drive has been a major topic of discussion at the MSD board meetings for a while. This month, there were several residents who were both in favor and opposed to the project, in attendance.
One San Juan Drive resident who spoke at the meeting said he has seen several dangerous incidents and close calls occur on the road between pedestrians and cars.
“It is a dangerous situation and getting worse,” he said.
He stated that the board is not legally required to get a majority consensus before taking action. He also stated that the board does not need to obtain data to support the claim that a sidewalk is necessary.
“The board can act on the basis of common sense,” said the resident.
These comments were in response to a letter that another resident on San Juan Drive wrote in opposition to the sidewalk.
One of the arguments from residents opposed to the sidewalk is to examine the possibility of widening the road. One resident who spoke in opposition to the sidewalk named roads like Le Master Drive as an example of a road where pedestrians have plenty of space to walk.
“We have a problem on San Juan Drive, and we need to do something about it, but the way to do it is to widen the road,” he said.
Trustee White commented on the suggestion of widening the road and said it had already been examined as a possible solution.
“The county had no interest in widening the road due to costs,” he said.
Vice Chairman Burch, who also lives on San Juan Drive, said it is important to hear all sides of this argument.
“As a board, we are here to do the will of the residents,” said Burch.
Burch said that a project of this cost and impact was extremely significant and needed to be examined carefully.
“Out of respect for neighbors on the other side of the argument, I think it is important to make sure their voices are fully heard,” he said.
