commute from eagle harbour area to intersection of commonwealth and edgewood (Plantation: cul-de-sac, rentals)

[mpr19]

Hi, can anyone comment on commute from the EH area to commonwealth to work. Will it be a bad one? Better through 17 or 295?

Thanks

[FLPL75]

17 to 295 to Commonwealth will be more highway and less lights.
I have done the 17 straight down to McDuff then down McDuff to Commonwealth then left on Commonwealth to Edgewood.
Depending on the time you will be driving you may experience congestion on 17 around NAS which taking 295 will avoid.

[mawipafl]

Not a bad commute 17 to 295 to Commonwealth. Depends on time of day of course, but our commute from EH to Pritchard (well beyond Commonwealth) was 25 minutes if we left before 7 am. The commute home wasn't bad either. The only congestion area is where 17 and 295 meet, and sometimes on 17 between Kingsley and 295, but really nothing that makes the commuter tear his/her hair out. (Buckman Bridge, going the other direction on 295, is a whole different story.)

[mpr19]

Originally Posted by mawipafl

Not a bad commute 17 to 295 to Commonwealth. Depends on time of day of course, but our commute from EH to Pritchard (well beyond Commonwealth) was 25 minutes if we left before 7 am. The commute home wasn't bad either. The only congestion area is where 17 and 295 meet, and sometimes on 17 between Kingsley and 295, but really nothing that makes the commuter tear his/her hair out. (Buckman Bridge, going the other direction on 295, is a whole different story.)

What about leaving at around 7:30am and back a little after 5:00pm. Will the commute take over 45min then?
Do you know if the commute would be worse from Argyle or Eagle landing? Thanks

[mawipafl]

Originally Posted by mpr19

What about leaving at around 7:30am and back a little after 5:00pm. Will the commute take over 45min then?
Do you know if the commute would be worse from Argyle or Eagle landing? Thanks

Definitely less than 45 minutes - in my opinion, the longest would be 30 minutes at either time of day, but I'll bet even less. At the moment there's a bit of a slow-down on the Doctors Lake Bridge because of construction, but that should be completed within a year and the bridge will be six lanes (currently just four).

Oakleaf/Eagle Landing is a different story, at least it was about 1 1/2 years ago when we were househunting. Perhaps things have improved (and someone who's familiar with today's traffic can confirm yes or no), but back then it was difficult to go between 295 and Eagle Landing without sitting in a lot of traffic especially at Blanding/295 and Blanding/Argyle Forest.

[mpr19]

Originally Posted by mawipafl

Definitely less than 45 minutes - in my opinion, the longest would be 30 minutes at either time of day, but I'll bet even less. At the moment there's a bit of a slow-down on the Doctors Lake Bridge because of construction, but that should be completed within a year and the bridge will be six lanes (currently just four).

Oakleaf/Eagle Landing is a different story, at least it was about 1 1/2 years ago when we were househunting. Perhaps things have improved (and someone who's familiar with today's traffic can confirm yes or no), but back then it was difficult to go between 295 and Eagle Landing without sitting in a lot of traffic especially at Blanding/295 and Blanding/Argyle Forest.

mawipafl thanks for the info, you seem to know this area fairly well. We are considering a rental first to then decide on a community. I have been looking at these areas and others close by. Are all of these areas mentioned before fairly safe to live? Also, I noticed a few rental sfh in the area of Argyle Forest Blvd and Branan field rd, I think 32244 zip code. Do you know if this area is also safe? We are trying to stay below $1800 per mo. for a rental.
Thanks again!

[mawipafl]

I don't know enough about zip code 32244 area, nor much about neighborhoods outside of the masterplanned ones of Oakleaf, Eagle Landing, Eagle Harbor, Fleming Island Plantation, etc. However, these communities are as safe as safe can be - yes, there have been instances of vandalism and bike thefts on occasion (and I deem them rare occasions really), but I have no problems whatsoever about walking around my community after dark or going down to the boat dock before the sun has come up.

We did our homework before househunting which included a lot of 'net surfing, and once here on a househunting trip, we did a ton of driving around. Masterplanned communities became our favorite (just our personal preference), and there were many to choose from. At the time, there weren't a heck of a lot of rentals, but times have changed.

On Fleming Island, along Hwy 17, there's Harbor Island, Pace Island, Oak Creek (Denmark), Eagle Harbor, Fleming Island Plantation, Margaret's Walk, and closer to Green Cove Springs is Magnolia Point. Each has either no community amentities or full amentities or something inbetween. Along Hwy 220 there's Habersham Harbor and Captiva. Sprinkled between some of these masterplanned communities are many subdivisions (mostly on the east side of Hwy 17) such as Hibernia.

Obviously I'm biased because I live here, but we like Fleming Island/Eagle Harbor for a bunch of reasons. Except for a bookstore, we have all the shopping right here. We're a little sparse on the restaurants, but it could be worse I suppose. We're closer to the beach by a little bit than from Eagle Landing/Oakleaf, and we have two choices for getting to I-95, either via 295 or heading south on 17 to 16 east towards St. Augustine.

We chose Eagle Harbor over Eagle Landing because EH was essentially built out and we wouldn't have to compete, if we had to sell, with brand new houses. We also didn't care for the traffic congestion on Blanding. We also chose EH over Fleming Island Plantation because we preferred the street layout of EH. EH has more drive-through streets whereas FIP has more dead ends and cul-de-sacs. For some people, the latter is definitely preferred - again, just a person preference for us.

Depending on where you're relocating from, you might find the traffic a piece of cake or a nightmare or you might find residents incredibly friendly or not friendly enough or houses in your price range might feel like mansions or shoeboxes.