JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Dozens of San Marco residents and business owners gathered at Balis Community Center Thursday to voice their thoughts about road closures scheduled to happen next month.
“The town hall is for the residents and business owners to have the front row seat and Haskell, the contractor, to be there to answer any level of detail question that they have,” said Jacksonville City Councilman Joe Carlucci.
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It’s all part of the LaSalle Street Drainage Project, which will mitigate flooding on LaSalle Street and surrounding neighborhoods by upgrading the stormwater collection system.
Anyone familiar with the area knows it is prone to flooding during severe weather events and heavy rainfalls.
Related: San Marco flooding relief project could soon be one step closer to completion
Construction will force partial street closures of San Marco Blvd and LaSalle street in April, then in May the full closures begin. This is leaving some business owners worried.
“I totally understand the frustration, but I want them to know we are going to be doing everything we can to make sure that there’s still as much accessibility to your business and to your home as possible,” said Councilman Carlucci.
“I don’t have a lot of foot traffic, but when I do events here, I need people to be able to access the parking lot,” said business owner Chase Zimmerman.
Zimmerman is the owner of Chasing Paper. Her business is located on the corner of Riviera St and San Marco Blvd, which will be impacted by the construction. Despite her concerns about her business, she believes the project is necessary.
“The flooding really does worry me,” said Zimmerman. “I’m really glad they’re trying to do something to alleviate the flooding.”
The project is set to get started next month.
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