traffic

Authorities respond to 35 vehicle accidents in Florida and write 240 citations in St. Johns County  during the Memorial Day holiday.

The Florida Department of Transportation, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and St. Johns County law enforcement agencies teamed up on Memorial Day weekend for the “Click It or Ticket” Florida campaign, and more than 3,000 drivers learned they meant business.

The primary goal of the campaign was to save lives by getting motorists to buckle up.

During the 2006 Memorial holiday weekend, nearly three dozen Floridians were killed in motor vehicle crashes across our state. This year 35 people were killed on roadways statewide, with only one in St. Johns County. According to Lt. Bill Leeper, spokesman with Troop G of the Florida Highway Patrol, 65 percent of those fatalities involved drivers or passengers who were not wearing seat belts. There were 48 percent of the fatal accidents that involved alcohol.

By MARK PETTUS
mark.pettus@mystjohnssun.com

A black cow, a red goat and two developers were disappointed this week when the St. Johns County Commission voted not to name three new roads in the northwest after them.

Instead, the new roads will be known as St. Johns Parkway, Veterans Parkway and Longleaf Pine Parkway North and South.

County Road 2209, which will become a major north/south connector extending from Race Track Road south to County Road 208, will be known as St. Johns Parkway.

County Road 244 will extend west and south from Race Track Road to Greenbriar Road as Longleaf Pine Parkway North. From there until it intersects County Road 210 and Florida 16, it will be known as Longleaf Pine Parkway South.