In the roughly one month that the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office has stepped up enforcement on Morse Boulevard north of County Road 466, 80 tickets have been written.
Those tickets, mostly for speeding, were written between May 26 and June 26, according to Sgt. Robert Siemer. Some of those receiving tickets were in golf carts.
The stepped-up enforcement on the busy thoroughfare has come in the wake of a petition signed by more than 1,000 Villagers. Villager Sherie Hyer led the petition effort in honor of her friend and neighbor, 85-year-old Francis Cradock “Buck” Hughes who was killed Jan. 13 after he turned in front of a van going the opposite direction on Morse Boulevard. Her petition has called upon the Sumter County Commission to do something to alleviate the traffic burden on Morse Boulevard, which she has said fosters a culture of speeding and risk-taking.
Both county officials and District Manager Janet Tutt said the roadway, which saw a $1.09 million improvement in 2009 which included resurfacing, the addition of left turn lanes and widening of golf cart lanes, would be too costly to widen at this juncture. Environmental impact studies alone could run into the thousands of dollars.
