For years, drivers, cyclists, pedestrians, and transit riders navigating the intersection of Village Parkway and Tradition Parkway in Port St. Lucie, Fla., have dealt with chronic congestion and safety hazards. One of the city’s busiest intersections – and the first major crossroads west of I-95 – had become known for gridlock, near misses, and dangerous crashes as rapid growth in the Tradition area pushed traffic volumes beyond what the intersection could comfortably handle.

Local reports and traffic data indicate hundreds of crashes and a high volume of enforcement activity at the intersection, including an incident in which a 14-year-old boy on a bicycle was struck by a car and airlifted to the hospital, underscoring the urgent need for safety improvements.

To address these ongoing challenges, the City of Port St. Lucie tasked DRMP with redesigning the intersection to enhance safety, reduce congestion, and improve mobility for all users. In April 2026, the Port St. Lucie City Council approved a $1.5 million construction project based on DRMP’s design. Construction is expected to begin in August, marking the start of long-awaited improvements.

Responding to Complex Project Needs

The City initially retained Alta Planning + Design, DRMP’s partner firm, to create a quick build concept for a protected intersection. A protected intersection is one with enhanced safety features that help protect pedestrians and bicyclists through curb extensions and dedicated paths. Given the immense capacity needs of the intersection, a traffic analysis was commissioned to evaluate impacts and determine whether additional enhancements are needed. This resulted in elevating the needs of the intersection from a quick build into a reconstruction project to accommodate the vehicular capacity needs, while retaining the vulnerable road user safety needs.

The project transitioned to DRMP after Planning Group Leader Alia Awwad, PE, joined the firm, where she remains as project manager. As the project advanced into design, DRMP Boca Officer Leader and Roadway Group Manager Evhen Kyj, PE, assumed duties as engineer of record for the roadway design, while Patsy Fuschetto, PE, served as engineer of record for the traffic and lighting design.

The design process involved extensive coordination with staff, outreach to the community, and presenting to the City Council. At the same time, the surrounding area continued to grow rapidly, with new retail development and increasing traffic demand adding urgency to the effort.

The project became a true collaboration across DRMP’s disciplines. Roadway, planning, traffic signalization, lighting, signing, pavement marking, structures, and drainage professionals all played a role in delivering a solution for the City of Port St. Lucie at this important intersection.

Safety-Driven Design with Cost Efficiency

A key achievement of the design team was improving intersection operations and safety without compromising structural integrity or relying on unnecessary infrastructure replacement. While avoiding mast arm replacements resulted in significant cost savings, those savings were a byproduct of a safety-driven engineering analysis process, not the objective.

DRMP conducted extensive field investigations, documenting bolt configurations at mast arm foundations, evaluating structural loading capacities, and reviewing historical Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) design criteria. This analysis ensured that any design decisions improved safety under new signal configurations.

Through a detailed engineering review, the team developed alternative signal mounting solutions that reduced structural loading demands. This allowed the existing mast arms to be safely retained and eliminated the need for replacement while preserving long-term structural performance.

Safer Streets for All Modes

The project also focused heavily on multimodal safety. DRMP reconstructed the intersection corners to create Port St. Lucie’s first protected bike intersection, providing protected corners and paths for pedestrians and cyclists and allowing cyclists to cross safely using bike crossings along the pedestrian crossing for enhanced, dedicated safety. Curb ramps were realigned to improve accessibility, and a busy city bus stop was relocated farther from the intersection to improve operations and safety for transit users.

The improvements address nearly every aspect of the intersection’s operation. To relieve congestion and improve traffic flow, the team extended the eastbound left-turn lanes to maximize vehicle storage and lengthened the dedicated eastbound right-turn lane. Southbound traffic heading eastbound toward I-95 – one of the heaviest movements at the intersection – was converted into a triple-left-turn configuration to better accommodate traffic.

Additional capacity improvements included widening the westbound approach from two through lanes to three through lanes while maintaining two left-turn lanes and a dedicated right-turn lane. Turning signals were added, signal heads were shifted and upgraded, and new “No U-turn” and “No Turn on Red” signage was incorporated to improve safety and reduce conflict points.

The team also proposed drainage improvements to maintain proper flow and relocated street lighting from the median along the western leg to create additional room for the expanded left-turn lanes.

For DRMP, the Village Parkway and Tradition Parkway Intersection Improvement Project demonstrates how multidisciplinary collaboration, technical problem-solving, and proactive communication came together to deliver much-needed safety improvements for one of the fastest-growing cities in the nation.