A longtime Lady Lake business owner isn’t happy with part of the plan to widen U.S. Hwy. 441 to six lanes – and she made sure Florida Department of Transportation officials knew it Thursday night.
Elainna Tucker, owner of Mom and Dad’s Italian Restaurant, spoke out during a public hearing on the upcoming project that was held at the Lady Lake Town Hall Commission Chambers at 409 Fennell Boulevard. She pointed out to FDOT officials that new medians that will be constructed in front of her restaurant make it extremely inconvenient for customers heading north to access her business at 304 S. Hwy. 441.
Along those same lines, she added, customers who live north of her restaurant – residents of Water Oak, The Villages, Stonecrest and Spruce Creek, to name a few – will be forced to drive up to Griffin View Drive and make a U-turn before traveling back to their homes.
“That is going to be incredibly dangerous,” she said. “Seniors don’t like to make U-turns.”
Tucker said she’s hopeful that FDOT officials heard and understood her concerns.
“I’m very worried about my business,” she said. “We’ve been there for 56 years and we’d like to continue.”
Another business owner, Steven Sailer of Lady Lake Auto Salvage, said he’s concerned that traffic will back up on Griffin View Drive because of changes in the way motorists will be able to access U.S. Hwy. 441. And he encouraged FDOT officials to consider an access road going into the Casa Montessori School of Lady Lake, which is located just off the highway at 309 Orange St.
“They have a drop-off site there,” he said. “But people are already starting to go off the road in order to wait for their turn to make a turn down (Orange) street.”
Thursday’s hearing kicked off with an open house that saw nearly 100 area residents milling about while looking at large maps of the proposed project. That was followed by a short presentation that provided great detail on the widening plan, as well as a public comment period.
Those attending the hearing learned that U.S. Hwy. 441 will be widened to six lanes from Lake Ella Road in Lady Lake to Avenida Central (at Griffin Avenue) in The Villages. The original design plan was completed in 2007, but because of a lack of funding, it sat dormant for 10 years until updates started being put into place last year.
Those updates should be completed next year, with construction on the 4.2-mile-long widening project slated to start in the summer of 2020, FDOT officials said.
Some of the more interesting features will include the addition of various-sized medians, bicycle lanes, sidewalks, signage and lighting, noise abatements, access management updates, aesthetics, bus route accommodations and a plan for maintenance of traffic during construction.
But the most drastic change motorists will encounter will be a new intersection at County Road 25 that will replace the existing bridges crossing the roadway. Plans call for a relocated stretch of CR 25 to connect with Hwy. 441 on the east side of the highway via an intersection with a stoplight. And existing sections of the road on both sides of the highway will end in cul-de-sacs, creating the need for motorists to alter their driving habits in that portion of Lady Lake.
FDOT officials said they also plan to meet with Water Oak residents after determining that noise abatement measures will be needed near the retirement community. The date for that hearing will be announced soon, officials said.
For one Water Oak resident, Lady Lake Commissioner Dan Vincent, an immediate concern centered on a public transit turnout that would easily and safely be accessible to older residents. He suggested that it be placed just north of Water Oak’s entrance off of U.S. Hwy. 441.
“We have numerous people who do not have cars that would use the bus system but will not use it where it is (now),” he said. “People could get on safely and probably slowly, as we don’t get on quite as fast as some of the others.”
A court reporter was present at Thursday’s meeting and the transcript from the event will become part of the project’s public hearing record. Written comments also can be sent to Sarah Van Gundy, FDOT Project Manager, by email: sarah.vangundy@dot.state.fl.us; by mail: Florida Department of Transportation – District Five, 719 S. Woodland Boulevard – MS 2-542, DeLand, Florida 32720-6834; or by telephone: 386-943-5551. All written comments emailed or postmarked by May 29 will become part of the public hearing record file.
