Green Cove Springs consultants target $14 million in mobility improvements

Consultants developing the City of Green Cove Springs’ mobility fee have identified $14 million in transportation improvements within the municipality.

The City’s Planning Director, Mike Daniels, told city council members during their Nov. 15 meeting that the project list is still preliminary, and the final list will serve as a basis for fees charged to developers for new construction within Green Cove Springs.

Heading the list is a $4 million project to build roundabouts, turning lanes or signalization at four locations on Palmetto Avenue. Palmetto runs parallel to Orange Avenue (U.S. 17), one block west of the city’s primary north-south artery. A second project, budgeted at $3 million, would provide similar upgrades to Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard. A third, $1.5 million project would install roundabouts on Green Cove Avenue and Cooks Lane at two intersections.

Two more projects, costing $1 million each, would upgrade Orange Avenue intersections (U.S. 17) at Walnut Street and Ferris Street (State Road 16).

Vehicle capacity improvements at the intersection of Green Cove Avenue and Oak Ridge Avenue are budgeted for an additional $1.5 million.

The remainder of the project list consists primarily of pedestrian and transit improvements such as bus stops, trails, sidewalks and pedestrian crossings. Those 25 projects range in cost from $25,000 to $1 million.

The consultants also unveiled preliminary mobility fees, stating that the fee for a new residence with an area greater than 1,500-square feet would be $3,493.  The fee for a 10,000-square-foot office building would be around $44,000 and a fee for a 10,000-square-foot shopping center would be about $111,000.