Residents score victory for road safety with rejection of new Deerfield development

ST. JOHNS COUNTY, Fla. — Residents of three St. Johns County neighborhoods are celebrating after the St. Johns County Commission said no to greenlighting a new development Tuesday afternoon.

The intersection of Watson Road and U.S. 1 was at the heart of residents’ concerns.

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They argued the intersection is dangerous and adding 63 new homes would make the problem worse.

Neighbors told us one of the main reasons is because the lanes of Watson Road are misaligned as it crosses U.S. 1.

Cars have to adjust about 20 feet just to stay in the correct lane and the road is the only way in and out of the Deerfield neighborhoods.

Drone video we received from a neighbor shows multiple people running red lights at the intersection.

An FDOT crash report we obtained documents 73 crashes resulting in 83 injuries and four fatalities at the intersection, dating back to 2011.

Deerfield resident James Masters witnessed two of those fatal accidents.

“A motorcycle at that intersection all over the road. It had just happened a little before I got there,” said Masters.

The safety of Watson Road was one of the main concerns raised by residents of neighborhoods during a meeting of the St. Johns County Commission Tuesday.

The body was considering a rezoning request that would have allowed for the development of 63 new homes in the area.

Neighbors worried the additional traffic would have made the road even less safe.

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“This would actually equal something like a bad crash every six and a half weeks. That’s without all the development at the corner and the development behind us,” said Deerfield resident Carleen Bagnall.

The developer had committed to invest more than a million dollars to widen a section of Watson Road and install a new turn lane, but the plan was rejected by the commission, primarily due to drainage concerns raised by residents.

Residents we spoke with told us there is no set plan to improve safety at the intersection.

“And that’s what keeps driving all of us to coming back because we’re our only advocates,” said Adrienne Villa, president of the Deerfield Meadows Community Association.

Residents said the battle to fight additional development on Watson Road has been going on for many years and has shown no signs of ending.

There is now talk about adding hundreds of apartment units nearby, which residents fear could make the intersection even more dangerous.

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