08/28/2026
With the Construction Phase to Widen SJHP coming closer I want to have a conversation about the Inception of this Project. Long before I was elected, and possibly when I was still a young child this Parkway began planning. I hear a lot of people saying that it should have been built 4-lanes and I want people to understand how horrible of an idea that would have been. Let us break down the real story behind the St Johns Heritage Parkway and why it was built with just two lanes at first. It all comes down to a simple rule in cost effective city growth. The existing taxpayers should not have to pay for brand new housing developments to move into our city. They are making Millions and should be held accountable for the burden on our infrastructure. Years ago, Palm Bay and the county did not have tens of millions of extra tax dollars sitting around to build a massive four lane highway through empty land. If the city had forced current residents to pay for all four lanes upfront, local property taxes would have skyrocketed to build a road that mostly benefited future neighborhoods and investors that did not even exist yet. Remember this was pastures and land that in some portions were eminent domaine from farmers for an "evacuation route". By building just two lanes first, the city created a basic path to unlock the land. Once the road was open, developers bought the surrounding land and started building houses. To get permission to build, those private developers are required by law to pay heavy impact fees and widen the road to four lanes and fund infrastructure themselves. In short, waiting for developers was the only way to get the full road built without draining the pockets of current Palm Bay taxpayers. Nor should we pay for it.
Transportation experts do point out that widening a road while thousands of people are already driving on it causes massive traffic headaches, construction delays, and higher costs down the line. But from a pure dollars and cents perspective, starting with two lanes was the most responsible way to make private developers pay for the growth they created instead of dumping that massive bill on you and me. Remember..
CONSTRUCTION BEGINS ON NEW PARKWAY(Palm Bay)—After more than 20-y...
