St. Johns County Commission approves $1.3 million to build controversial sidewalk in Palm Valley | jacksonville.com

St. Johns County Commission approves $1.3 million to build controversial sidewalk in Palm Valley jacksonville.com

St. Johns County commissioners voted unanimously this week to spend about $1.3 million to build a sidewalk along County Road 210 through Palm Valley, even though it could be removed for an eventual road widening.

The 5-foot-wide sidewalk will run from the Palm Valley Bridge east to the traffic circle at Mickler Road. It will also run eastward along Mickler and connect to an existing sidewalk at Neck Road. In addition, it will extend northward along Palm Valley Road to the Plantation Oaks subdivision and connect to the sidewalk on Landrum Road.

County Commissioner Jay Morris, who represents the Ponte Vedra Beach district, said he voted for the sidewalk because the widening of 210 may not happen for a decade.

The road widening "would cost about $10 million to $12 million, which we don't have," Morris said. "You're talking about something that wouldn't take place probably within the next 10 years."