Suffolk News-Herald

Despite opposition from residents of the Cedar Point and Sleepy Lakes subdivisions, the Suffolk City Council on Wednesday voted 5-2 to give a developer the go-ahead to build several shops, a restaurant and office space on Bridge Road.

Mayor E. Dana Dickens III and Councilman Calvin Jones voted against the project.

The 9.5-acre development would be built at the entrance to the Governor’s Pointe development, an upscale 141-home community planned for the intersection of Crittenden Road.

Nearly all of the standing-room-only crowd at the council meeting was opposed to the move, citing that the stretch of U.S. Route 17 running through Crittenden is already too congested. The proposed retail development would produce approximately 1,900 extra cars per day.

&uot;The traffic situation is going to get worse with Governor’s Pointe,&uot; said resident Nancy Franklin. &uot;I would like to ask the council vote against the zoning change.&uot;

Mary Hill, president of the Hopson Civic League, agreed.

&uot;Those projects are only going to generate additional traffic on Crittenden Road,&uot; Hill said. &uot;Hobson residents are already walking on streets because we don’t have sidewalks and infrastructure we need.&uot;

Councilman Charles Brown recommended approval of the proposal, saying it met all the criteria set in both the Unified Development Ordinance and the city’s 2018 Comprehensive Plan. Councilwoman Linda T. Johnson supported the project, however, she recommended that the city conduct a traffic study along the U.S. 17 corridor.