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Northside residents hope to get traffic light to increase safety after council approves $1.5 million project

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Road improvements can possibly be seen next year on Jacksonville’s northside after the Jacksonville City Council Finance Committee approved $1.5 million for infrastructure.

The money will go toward the Dinsmore area near Dunn Avenue and Braddock Road.

The district’s Councilman Reggie Gaffney Jr. said these projects are for road safety.

“Right now, people are fearing for their life when they go out on Dunn Avenue, where they have to make a left or right from Braddock Road,” Gaffney said.

On average the area has seen 41 crashes at the intersection in the last five to six years, Gaffney said. Now they are working to add a traffic light to prevent more from happening.

Residents like Lynette Thomas said they want something placed in the area to get people to slow down.

“It’s just getting so bad where it’s hard to get out our own driveway, and the traffic the speed limit is 45 mph, and they’re doing like 60 or 70,” Thomas said.

She said she has been living in the area for over 20 years and has witnessed several crashes.

“One was fatal with my neighbor about four doors down,” Thomas said. “They got hit from the mailbox. He ended up passing. We had two young people to get hit right out two doors over to my right, and maybe about two or three months ago, some young people ran into a tree.”

Gaffney said council is in the middle of the budget season but will make a final vote for next year’s budget in October.

Some of the money will also go toward the Dinsmore project, which will help place sidewalks in that area as well.