"Traditional countermeasures to address cut-through traffic such as bulb-outs, speed humps, raised crossings, etc. will not be perceived as significant deterrents to these vehicles and will become a constant nuisance to residents accessing these roadways."
That sentence comes from the Longleaf Pine Parkway traffic study prepared for St. Johns County Public Works, which the Durbin Crossing CDD posted with a one-page summary dated June 18, 2026. Speed humps on North Durbin Parkway would treat a symptom. The cause of the traffic on those streets is out on the main road, at the light where Longleaf Pine meets St. Johns Parkway (CR 2209). Until that intersection changes, the shortcut will keep running.
Where the morning detour comes from
The study covered 4.6 miles of Longleaf Pine Parkway, also known as CR 244, from Queen Victoria Avenue and William Penney Way to St. Johns Parkway. That stretch is a four-lane divided road with a 45 mph limit. It carries 12,700 vehicles a day and has four traffic signals, one of them at North and South Durbin Parkway.
In the field, engineers saw long morning queues of eastbound drivers on Longleaf Pine at Orchid Way, all waiting to turn right onto CR 2209. To get around the line, drivers detoured through three streets:
- North Durbin Parkway
- Sanctuary Drive
- Orchid Way
In the evening the same thing happened in reverse, as westbound traffic backed up.
So the shortcut follows the commute. It points toward St. Johns Parkway in the morning and away from it in the evening. When the eastbound right turn onto CR 2209 is slow, the bypass through those three streets saves drivers time, and they take it.
Why the study left the side streets alone
Once you see it that way, the recommendation for the bypass streets follows. Speed humps and bulb-outs on North Durbin Parkway would slow everyone down, including the people who live there. Drivers would still come, because the queue they're avoiding on Longleaf Pine would still be there. The study also found "no known safety or capacity concerns along these bypass roadways," and concluded that "further changes at this time are not warranted."
The CDD had already looked at another option inside the community. Its action items show that staff priced out widening the sidewalks along North and South Durbin Parkway. The district marked that item complete because the cost "is prohibitive to the funds that would need to be raised by the Districts residents."
That leaves the main road and its intersection.
What the study wants at CR 2209
The study found that the Longleaf Pine and St. Johns Parkway intersection "exhibited signs of operational strain, particularly in the eastbound and northbound directions." It recommended a comprehensive operational analysis there to measure the capacity shortfall. That analysis would look at "potential geometric improvements, such as additional turn lanes or lane extensions, that may be considered as part of a future Capital Improvement Project."
Each step in that chain takes time. First comes an analysis, then a design, and then a project that has to compete for space in a future capital program. A new turn lane is the kind of change that would shorten the eastbound queue, which is what keeps the detour worthwhile for drivers. Nothing in that recommendation can be done by the next school morning.
What has happened so far is smaller. At the CDD's Aug. 24 meeting, District Engineer Mike Yuro said the county had "hired a consultant to look at the timing of the lights by mid to late September." He added that the county was coordinating with the DOT for more traffic counts, and that "it sounds like it is all related to tying the lights that are near each other better." Retiming signals is quicker than adding lanes. Better-coordinated lights can move more cars through the same space, and the queue at CR 2209 is what feeds the shortcut.
The rest of the corridor, item by item
The cut-through is one of several Longleaf Pine issues the study and the CDD have been tracking. They are connected, because most of them deal with the same peak-hour traffic.
| Item | What was recommended or requested | Latest public step |
|---|---|---|
| Longleaf Pine at St. Johns Parkway (CR 2209) | Comprehensive operational analysis; possible turn lanes or lane extensions in a future CIP | County hired a consultant for a signal-timing review, reported to the CDD Aug. 24, 2026 |
| Crosswalk at Patriot Oaks Academy | Push-button flashing beacons | Installed by March 31, 2026, per News4Jax |
| Longleaf Pine at Scotland Yard Boulevard | Pedestrian hybrid beacon with a mid-block refuge island | Recommended in the study |
| Speeding sites on Longleaf Pine | Speed feedback signs that send live data to the Sheriff's Office | Recommended in the study |
| North Durbin Parkway and Sanctuary roundabout | Lighting | County told the district in January it does not fit the budget but may be considered later |
The Patriot Oaks beacons were the quickest change. News4Jax reported on March 25 that county leaders had met with Durbin Crossing residents about Longleaf Pine safety. At that meeting, District 1 Commissioner Christian Whitehurst said the beacons would go in "within the next 60 to 90 days." Six days later, News4Jax reported that the signals were in. Pedestrians press a button to start flashing lights that tell drivers someone is crossing. That crosswalk is in the 20 mph school zone between Orchid Way and Islesbrook Parkway.
The Scotland Yard recommendation is based on a count. The study recorded up to 35 people on foot and on bikes crossing Longleaf Pine per hour between 6 and 7 p.m. The federal minimum for a mid-block crossing is 20 an hour. In that same hour, 1,037 vehicles passed in both directions, and the full crossing distance, turn lanes included, is about 80 feet. This is also an evening problem, since crossings rose and fell along with car traffic, and both peaked in the afternoon.
The speed findings come from the same peak hours. With a posted limit of 45 mph, 70 to 88 percent of vehicles at the observed sites were going 53 to 57 mph. Those sites were between Knight's Lane and Tollerton Avenue and between North/South Durbin Parkway and Orchid Way, and the heaviest speeding was from 6 to 8 a.m. and 5 to 6 p.m. The study tied its speed-sign recommendation to enforcement. It said the signs are only worthwhile if they broadcast real-time speeds to the St. Johns County Sheriff's Office, so deputies can schedule patrols around the data. Sheriff Rob Hardwick told the March meeting that deputies had increased their presence on Longleaf Pine, according to News4Jax.
The roundabout on the bypass route
The North Durbin Parkway and Sanctuary roundabout sits on the route the study says drivers use to skip the Longleaf queue, so the two issues overlap.
The CDD has been pressing the county about that roundabout since Feb. 24, 2025. The St. Johns Record reported that District Manager Daniel Laughlin wrote to Commissioner Whitehurst on Feb. 12, asking the county to prioritize lighting there. The letter blamed low lighting for some of the crashes at the roundabout. The county had told the district in January that lighting "does not fit within its budget but may be considered at a future date."
The district's Oct. 26 meeting packet still lists that item as "In Progress." The same line says to "Monitor traffic study that may take place on Longleaf Pine," which ties the roundabout and the main road together. Another action item in that packet has a November 2026 target date. It calls for a letter to the county each year, 90 days before the county's budget cycle, asking the county to fund the projects the district has requested "so it can be adopted in their final budget approval."
That letter connects all of this. The district can't add a turn lane at CR 2209, build a crossing at Scotland Yard, or light a county roundabout. What it can do is put those requests in front of the county before the budget is set, every year.
Where to follow it
The CDD posts its agenda packets and minutes on durbincrossingcdd.com. The engineer's traffic updates appear there under District Engineer, and the open items are in the action-items table near the front of each packet. Board meetings are held at the Durbin South Amenity Center, 145 South Durbin Parkway. Questions about the intersection itself go to the county, through Commissioner Whitehurst's District 1 page. For speeding concerns, News4Jax pointed residents to the Sheriff's Office contact page.
Right now the work at CR 2209 consists of a signal-timing review. The study's larger recommendation is an operational analysis, followed by any turn lanes or lane extensions as a future capital project. The morning traffic on North Durbin Parkway, Sanctuary Drive and Orchid Way depends on how far that work gets.
Commute times and the planned roadwork around them matter when you're deciding when to list, or which part of Durbin Crossing suits your routine. Laura Worrell follows these county and CDD updates closely and is glad to walk you through how they apply to your street. Request a Consultation whenever you're ready to talk it over.
