JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – After years of planning, a goal to make major upgrades to a roughly 10-block stretch of Moncrief Road in Northwest Jacksonville is getting a big boost.
Legislation has been filed that would move $2.5 million into the Moncrief Road Beautification Project, as part of the city’s Capital Improvement Plan. The project will focus on significant road improvements between 34th and 45th Street to enhance safety in the area.
Longtime neighbors have said for years the traffic makes it dangerous for pedestrians and bicyclists. They told News4jax they’ve seen some close calls with accidents.
Craig Fuce, who has lived in the neighborhood for 10 years, spoke to News4JAX about the safety concerns.
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“You’ve got kids just crossing the street and traffic that is just flowing back and forth,“ Fuce said. “Upgrade everything that needs it.”
The most prominent improvement is a roundabout that will be placed at the intersection of Moncrief Road and 45th Street.
Laurie Santana, the city’s Chief of Transportation Planning, said other improvements include road resurfacing, crosswalks, a wide multi-use path for bicyclists and pedestrians, better pedestrian lighting, etc.
Santana said her goal, once this project is complete, is to build on its success by branching out to other neighborhoods.
“Sometimes people don’t know how it’s going to turn out,” Santana said. “And if we have something that shows how beautiful it is, we can say, ‘let’s do that in other places'.”
Councilwoman Ju’Coby Pittman represents District 10 and has pushed for this project since 2018.
She’s grateful to see this finally coming to fruition. She told News4JAX that making both safety and beautification improvements now will lead to even more positive changes in the future.
“It’s important because, over the years, there have been many broken promises in this community, in District 10,” Pittman said. “If we can take the opportunity and really clean up this area as well as visually make it aesthetically beautiful, with landscaping and historic lighting, we want the same things other communities want.”
Santana said the construction is expected to start in the beginning of 2026 and wrap up in late 2027 or early 2028.
