Fleming Island - The Real Deal, Please...

[mawipafl]

1) Living in FI does not make one feel cut off from the rest of the world. I attend many events and festivals, visit museums, and take in shows, etc. in the First Coast area and it is not a major excursion to do so. I don't think twice about driving into downtown (30 minutes max during non-rush-hour.) Plus there's enough to keep me busy in Orange Park and Fleming Island and Eagle Harbor anyway. It's disingenuous to say that Fleming Island is any different than any other suburb of a city.

2) I live in a real neighborhood with real neighbors who socialize, borrow cups of sugar, take in each other's mail, wave to each other. We have nice homes, and we care about our properties (and not because the HOA tells us we have to). We walk or bike to our many parks and playgrounds, pools, tennis courts, and Doctors Lake and never have to take our life in our hands with traffic buzzing by. Nothing artificial here.

3) Obviously the basher poster knows very little about the suburbs. Same kinds of people? Bubble? Stale? Suburban living offers as much of a melting pot as does urban living. Hiding behind gates? Not many gates here - just three I can think of (Margaret's Walk, Magnolia, and Pace Island). A child growing up in the suburbs learns the best and worst -- crime is present no matter where you are in the world, so one has to lock doors and be mindful; but in the suburbs children can play football on their front lawns, ride their bikes to the bus stop and find their bikes still there at the end of the day, see and hear police cars screaming by to thwart some drug deal or other crime.

My point of all this concerns the OP's question about dealing with traffic: what is the commuter rush hour like and is it worth the minor frustration? And I do say "minor" - congestion here is nothing like Boston, New York, Washington, LA, Atlanta, Orlando - not even close.

Morning traffic on Hwy 17 from Fleming Island to I-295 is thickest between 6 and 7 am. It can take 15-20 minutes to go the 8 miles because of traffic lights. However, one does not sit through multiple light changes. Continuing on 17 towards downtown can take another 30 minutes - traffic is thick, but it moves. The hardest part is where 17, I-10, and I-95 converge. Or taking I-295 to JTB moves right along - 20 minutes max.

Evening traffic from downtown along 17 is thick between 4:30ish and 6pm. It moves relatively quickly from downtown to the I-295 area (perhaps 20-25 minutes). From I-295 down 17 to Fleming Island can take 30 minutes with the heaviest congestion at I-295 and through until Kingsley. After Kingsley it's still a bit thick because of the ongoing bridge construction over Doctor's Lake, but once that's complete (next year) and the bridge is expanded to three lanes, traffic will flow. Or coming from JTB, traffic creeps where I-295/9A and I-95 converge, and then on the Buckman Bridge to the ramp to 17. If you hit the Buckman between 4:30 and 5:30, your commute from JTB to Fleming Island could take up to an hour. If you're on the bridge before 4:30 or after 5:30 your commute is under 45 minutes and maybe only 30 minutes.

[joninclay]

I lived in the Harbor Island subdivision of Fleming Island, and here was my experience commuting:

* If I left my house before 6:15, I did not get caught up in traffic that was very thick.

* If I left my house after 6:20, I was caught in the traffic.

* Taking Hwy 17 towards I-295, there were far more cars heading south (i.e. towards the Buckman Bridge) than those that were heading north. You can take either 295 North OR South to get to downtown. You can also take Hwy 17 straight into downtown. As was stated, there are a bunch of stoplights, but traffic does tend to keep moving reasonably.

If you're heading towards JTB, then you need to take 295 South.

If you leave work at 4:00, then head home as quickly as you can, because it definitely starts piling up around 4:30 on 295 near the Hwy 17 and Blanding exits.

I love Fleming Island, and I spend a lot of time there (shopping, the YMCA, family events, etc.). It may not be for everyone, but lots of us really like it there.

[Joe 4520832257]

I don't want to exacerbate a general debate on the Southside vs the Westside; however, here is my take on the matter ...

If you are going to work downtown (and especially if you work off JTB) I don't see any reason to live in Fleming Island over somewhere in the Southside or St. Johns County.

The primary advantage of Fleming Island is that it's a nice, upscale suburban area for people who work on the Westside or Clay County - but neither wish to actually live in the Westside, nor drive a 45 minute commute from the Southside.

If you can get a shorter commute by living on the other side of the river, I'm hard pressed to think of a reason not to live somewhere on the other side of the river. You're closer to almost everything, plus better traffic.

[FLPL75]

Just to add my 2 cents
My sister lives in Flemming Island Plantation and works over on the Southside
She loves living there for all the reasons Mawipafl stated.

As joninclay said timing is everything 10 to 15 mins can make a difference. I would suggest if you come down for a visit do the drive at 15 min intervals

I would highly recommend 296s to 95 to go downtown
10E can be a nightmare in the mornings there seems to somehow end up with a back-up around 10 & Cassat/Mcduff

I love on the Southside near 9A/Baymeadows . My husband leaves to go downtown around 6:15 6:30 and it takes him 20 mins.

[bkJAX]

Excellent posts, thanks.

So, it looks like the drive to downtown or Southside will take about 40-45 mins from FI at the times I specified. I don't see any negatives aside from the commute, which isn't too bad.

It seems like the traffic is on Route 17, not the highways.

Thanks again, this is very helpful.