Years of Complaints Vindicated: Study Finds Port Truck Problems in Fernandina Neighborhoods

By Mike Lednovich/Editor

FERNANDINA BEACH - For years, homeowners living along Dade, North Second and North Third streets near the Port of Fernandina have complained about tractor-trailers arriving before dawn, idling and queuing on neighborhood streets, trucks straying from designated routes and port-related debris and dust affecting nearby properties.

Now a new traffic study commissioned by the North Florida Transportation Planning Organization has documented many of the same truck-traffic problems and recommends changes ranging from new signs and a modified circulation route to a $700,000-$900,000 off-street truck staging facility.

The August study, conducted by transportation consultant Benesch at the request of the Port of Fernandina, concludes that Fernandina Beach's streets have ample capacity for the current traffic. Instead, the problems are largely operational: trucks arriving before their appointments, inadequate space for them to wait, poor signage, navigation systems sending drivers to the wrong location and no convenient route for trucks turned away at the port gate.

The report recommends:

• Install improved truck-route and wayfinding signs along North Eighth Street, Dade Street, Franklin Street and surrounding port streets to keep trucks on designated routes and reduce wrong turns. Estimated cost: $13,374.

• Replace and correct parking/staging signs on Dade Street, including the signs that currently cite the wrong Florida statute. Establish port-restricted, 30-minute truck staging areas.

• Amend the city Code of Ordinances to make Dade Street truck-staging and parking restrictions clearly enforceable, including designated zones, hours and penalties.

• Modify the Calhoun Street barrier wall and guardrail to create a circulation route for early-arriving or misdirected trucks. Trucks could travel via Second Street, Calhoun Street and Third Street and return to Dade Street instead of wandering through surrounding streets. Estimated cost: $10,000.  

• Use Franklin Street for overflow truck staging. The city, port and Smurfit Westrock should formalize use of the stabilized shoulder, where mill trucks already wait, and determine whether additional stabilization and maintenance are necessary.

• Develop a dedicated off-street truck staging lot near North Eighth and Escambia streets. The proposed buffered facility would serve trucks waiting to enter either the port or Smurfit Westrock and get them off public streets. Estimated cost: $700,000-$900,000.

• Coordinate with Nassau County on the truck restrictions on 14th Street south of Atlantic Avenue. The study suggests clarifying or changing the restriction so port-related trucks could qualify as “local” traffic and use the proposed circulation/staging route.

• Correct GPS and digital mapping information so Google Maps, Apple Maps and commercial truck-routing systems direct trucks to the actual port entrance on Dade Street instead of Warehouse 1 or unsuitable neighborhood streets.

• Evaluate automated truck-staging technology, including computer vision/AI systems that can identify available staging spaces and communicate assignments or instructions to drivers by text or app.

• Improve appointment and queue management using Intelligent Transportation System technology to provide real-time information, reduce waiting and better coordinate trucks with available staging capacity.

• Start with the low-cost fixes. The study identifies improved signage and the Calhoun Street barrier modification as an initial implementation phase costing about $23,400 combined, before undertaking the much larger Escambia Street staging project.

Those conclusions echo complaints that residents of the historic neighborhood surrounding the port have taken to both the City Commission and Ocean Highway and Port Authority for years.

For the past several years, North Third Street resident Tammi Kosack addressed the problems at Ocean Highway and Port Authority meetings. In August 2021, she told city commissioners that 33 neighbors had attended a meeting concerning port operations. Among the issues residents raised were truckers idling and spending the night near the port. She said the city had responded with signage changes and additional police patrols, while the port director had agreed to install a camera.

Port Authority records from that period also document the complaints. Minutes from an OHPA meeting note that a Dade Street resident had previously complained about trucks parking with their engines idling. At a subsequent meeting, the resident reported there had been no additional idling incidents since the earlier complaint.

Residents have also complained about the effects of port cargo operations beyond truck traffic, including material and debris escaping the port and reaching nearby homes. Previous Observer reporting documented complaints about trucks backing up on Dade Street during early morning hours.

During a 2023 City Commission discussion over port operations, residents again raised concerns about dust, dirt and odors from breakbulk cargo so close to homes and the historic district.

The conflict is hardly new. An earlier Port of Fernandina master plan acknowledged that trucks commonly arrived during the morning period and that during surges "several trucks" could queue at the entrance before the gate opened.

The new study puts numbers behind the continuing neighborhood complaints.

The port's designated staging area on the north side of Dade Street between Third and Fifth streets has room for only about two or three trucks. Consultants conducting counts this spring found trucks already staged between 6 and 7 a.m. — before the port's regular container gate opens.

Report states The City of Fernandina should codify the restriction in its Code of Ordinances to enable enforceability.

The report bluntly identifies "points of friction with residents" as heavy trucks queueing outside the designated staging area, idling their engines and arriving before 7 a.m. for appointments. Once the staging area fills, the study says, there is no other designated off-port waiting area and trucks can stack westbound along Dade Street.

That is particularly significant because the port already operates an appointment system intended to prevent precisely that kind of congestion.

Its main container gate operates from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekdays, with appointments scheduled in 30-minute increments. Drivers arriving early cannot enter. Trucks mistakenly arriving at the port while bound for Smurfit Westrock also are turned away and must find a way back to North Eighth Street.

The study found 629 trucks arrived at the port during February 2026, about 70 more than in a normal month. The busiest arrival periods were 7 a.m., 9 a.m. and 1 p.m., while Wednesdays and Fridays were the busiest days.

Despite the highly visible truck traffic, the consultants found that the surrounding roadway system isn't close to capacity.

FDOT data show about 3,300 vehicles per day on Eighth Street and 700 on Dade Street. At estimated peak-hour volumes, Eighth Street operates at only about 15% of the maximum service volume for Level of Service D, while Dade Street operates at just 2.5%. Both currently operate at Level of Service C.

Heavy trucks, however, make up an unusually large portion of the traffic.

Using the 2024 truck percentage and 2025 overall traffic volume, the study estimates about 1,300 heavy-truck trips on Eighth Street during a typical weekday and about 86 on Dade Street. Consultants said 2025 truck percentages were artificially low because FDOT conducted its counts during Smurfit Westrock's annual January outage.

The consultants also discovered that some of the city's existing attempts to control the truck problem need fixing.

"No Parking or Standing Anytime" signs along Dade Street cite Florida Statute 316.081, which deals with driving on the right side of a roadway. The study says the appropriate statute for prohibiting stopping, standing or parking is 316.1945.

The consultants recommend replacing outdated signs with port-restricted 30-minute parking signs and having the city establish the restrictions in its Code of Ordinances, including hours, designated areas and penalties, so the restrictions can be enforced.

Signage elsewhere is also inadequate. The study includes photographs of a Port of Fernandina directional sign on North Eighth Street partly obscured by vegetation and another deteriorating port sign that blends into surrounding vegetation.

Navigation technology is creating another problem.

The study found searches for the Port of Fernandina on Google Maps and Apple Maps can direct drivers toward Nassau Marine Terminal Warehouse 1 between Calhoun and Dade streets rather than the actual truck entrance.

Consumer navigation systems generally seek the fastest route rather than a route appropriate for commercial trucks, potentially sending unfamiliar drivers onto narrow streets with parked cars, trees and residences. The consultants recommend updating commercial-routing databases and relocating the port's digital entrance pin to the gate and scale on Dade Street.

Another recommendation directly addresses what happens when a truck reaches the port and is refused entry.

A barrier wall along Calhoun Street prevents large trucks from making a convenient loop back toward Dade Street. The study recommends removing a portion of the wall so trucks could travel along Second Street, Calhoun Street and Third Street and return to Dade Street.

Part of the wall would remain to preserve a buffer between port operations and nearby residences.

The estimated cost of modifying the wall and replacing a guardrail is $10,000.

Another $13,374 would install directional and wayfinding signs at key locations along Dade, North Eighth and Franklin streets and around the port. Together, the two immediate improvements would cost approximately $23,400.

But the most significant proposal would address the neighborhood's longstanding complaint about trucks waiting on residential streets by giving them somewhere else to go.

The study proposes constructing an off-street staging lot southeast of North Eighth and Escambia streets adjacent to an existing retention pond.

The facility could accommodate trucks waiting to enter either the port or Smurfit Westrock and would be surrounded by natural buffers to reduce its impact on the neighborhood. Because the city owns street rights-of-way within the proposed site and Smurfit Westrock owns the remaining property needed, the project would not require acquisition of residential property.

The estimated cost is $700,000 to $900,000. The study suggests the city, port and Smurfit Westrock could jointly develop the facility through land contributions, labor, in-kind services and financing.

A cheaper interim alternative would use the stabilized shoulder of Franklin Street for overflow staging. Trucks serving Smurfit Westrock already wait there, according to the study. The port, city and company would have to agree on how the staging area would operate and whether the shoulder requires additional stabilization.

The report also recommends automated truck-staging technology using computer vision and artificial intelligence to identify available waiting spaces and communicate instructions to drivers by text message or an app.

None of the recommendations has been reviewed and approved.

The study calls for cooperation among the city, Port Authority, port operator, Smurfit Westrock and Nassau County, particularly if the proposed circulation system requires changes to county restrictions on large trucks using 14th Street.

The report recommends starting with the inexpensive signage and Calhoun Street barrier modifications before pursuing the larger staging-area project.

Benesch is expected to present its findings to the Fernandina Beach City Commission, although the final report lists the presentation date as still to be determined. Presentations to OHPA, North Florida TPO committees and its board also remain unscheduled.