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Residents say proposed truck plaza near Crestwind would bring noise, traffic and safety risks
Summary
Neighbors and elected speakers urged the council to block or subject to stricter review a proposed truck parking plaza at the dead end of New York Avenue, citing proximity to an active-adult community, floodplain and wetlands, expected traffic on narrow two-lane roads, and lack of an independent traffic siting study.
Residents of Crestwind and adjacent neighborhoods told the Valuchia County Council on April 21 that a proposed truck plaza at the end of New York Avenue is incompatible with nearby 55-plus housing and sensitive environmental areas.
"To get to this potential truck plaza, trucks and cars will have to exit I-4, decelerate, then accelerate, then decelerate again to turn on to New York Avenue," said Debbie Stillwell, who identified herself by address and neighborhood. She and other speakers said the site requires travel along a narrow, two-lane dead-end road with minimal shoulders and that nightly truck traffic would create safety, noise and property-value concerns.
Ed Costrisco and other Crestwind residents said heavy truck traffic and overnight parking would increase noise for older residents who bike and walk the neighborhood streets. Eric English and several others said the franchise's other locations are sited away from residential areas and are located at interchanges equipped to handle heavy truck egress.
Speakers also pointed to county history of opposing truck plazas along the I-4 corridor (resolutions in 2016 and 2018) and asked the council and planning staff to apply the same scrutiny now. Multiple speakers said a traffic authority or FDOT study has not identified this location as optimal and that other, less-sensitive sites exist.
The council did not vote on the project at this meeting; public comment was filed for the record. Staff noted the application will move through the planning review process and may come before the council on appeal after Development Review Committee action.
