Traffic signal to be installed at Clay County intersection after multiple deadly crashes

CLAY COUNTY, Fla. — Action News Jax has learned the Clay County Commission will install a traffic signal at Eagle Landing and Oakleaf Plantation parkways. This comes after we reported multiple deadly car crashes in the area through the years.

Neighbors told Action News Jax these traffic lights were desperately needed to slow down speeders.

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Action News Jax reported on a deadly early February crash at this intersection. Last year, two Clay County teens died in a car crash along Oakleaf Plantation Parkway.

In 2019, another teenager was killed in a crash in the very same area. Neighbors and homeowners in the area say they remember those fatal crashes. They suspect it’s all due to drivers speeding and drag racing in the area.

RELATED: Mother identifies teen daughter as one of two teens killed in Clay County car accident

“Everybody has been speeding like crazy out here,” resident Logan Maners said.

“I see a lot of speeding going on,” resident Peg Graves said.

“Especially in the Eagle Landing area because my children live around the street. More importantly, my grandchildren live across the street,” resident Azalea Stepp said.

RELATED: Fatal crash reported by Florida Highway Patrol in Clay County

So, they took this concern to the Clay County Commission and asked for more traffic lights as a potential solution.

“It was one of the things I heard in that general area to get a traffic light. I said, ‘OK let’s look into it,’” District 2 Clay County Commissioner Alexandra Compere said.

The county commission did just that after conducting a study that showed a signal was warranted at the intersection, based on traffic volume.

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Compere said the installation will begin in the coming weeks and should be fully operational in mid-October.

“Like every other traffic light, it is a signal to slow down,” Compere said.

Residents were encouraged by the development.

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“I’m so glad this neighborhood is going to have it,” Stepp said.

“It should have been done a while ago but it’s getting done now. I think it will start getting people to drive better out here,” Maners said.

The project will cost $200,000 which will come from the county’s budget.

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