PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — Traffic is one thing that WPTV hears about from viewers regularly, often telling us that there's simply too much of it.
Now, Port St. Lucie is trying to get ahead of the situation by planning for the continued growth that's coming.
WATCH BELOW: Port St. Lucie tackles future traffic troubles
WPTV spoke to resident Mike Cato on Monday about traffic in the city.
The former Jupiter resident moved to a new Port St. Lucie rental last year, but now he's wondering if it's already time to move on.
"There's such a giant volume of people coming ... and the infrastructure, you just don't see it," Cato said.
The development where he lives is part of the fast-growing Southern Grove area.
City Council members on Monday heard from the Treasure Coast Regional Planning Council. The agency will undertake a roads study focused on the southwest part of the city, along with the immediate neighboring areas of St. Lucie and Martin counties, which are also home to future large communities.
"Drivers don't know if they're in the city limits or not; they're just on a road," Dr. Kim Delaney with the TCRPC said. "So, we want to understand where folks are living and working and where they're going to, and do we have enough roadway capacity to get them there?"
Some projects in the area have approvals dating back two decades, and only in recent years have they seen development.
In fact, in this part of the city, 6,300 residential units are due to come online, along with 7 million square feet of industrial space.
At Monday's meeting, Port St. Lucie Mayor Shannon Martin used a new two-story Publix being built along Southwest Community Boulevard as an example of the need for faster road connectivity.
She said if you live on Becker Road, which now connects west from Interstate 95 to Range Line Road, it would be tough to shop there because the connection from Community Boulevard to Becker Road has yet to be completed.
The study from the Treasure Coast Regional Planning Council should be completed in about three months. That's when the city and St. Lucie County leaders will get together to discuss the future transportation networks.
