Ponte Vedra, FL

The last leg of our summer road trip was a sleepy beach town with an unbelievable wow factor. It had the trifecta for city planner types like me: water, luscious landscaping and the most adorable 2-lane street perfect for walking, biking and cruising in your car. Folks I found what we planners call a complete street in a beach haven.

Let's start with a little bit of history. Ponte Vedra is a small beach town community on the coast of Jacksonville developed in the 1920s as a year-round resort development. Resort life all year sounds terrific! It's the ultimate Florida promise of sun and relaxation, and let's not forget golf.

And who wouldn't love this??!! Check out the view from our beach house. My kids sure enjoyed it.

Ponte Vedra Boulevard

But here's what I really enjoyed. This roadway is the main access to the residential section of Ponte Vedra. It is perfectly designed to balance space for cars, people on foot and bicycles. A wide landscaped strip separates the sidewalk from the moving traffic with a simple and elegant line of palm trees. It just feels good.