Villagers who walk on Del Mar Drive are afraid they are putting their lives at risk.
They lined up at the podium Wednesday night before the Lady Lake Commission to describe their fears.
Marsha Bukala, who lives on Del Toro Drive in the Village of Del Mar and is legally blind, uses a cane and has a guide dog named Jewel.
Bukala thought she’d discovered a safe place when she moved to The Villages. She initially found independence by walking to the grocery store or doctor’s appointments in Spanish Springs. But the shared lane for golf carts and pedestrians has become a danger zone.
At least once a week, Jewel disobeys Buakla’s commands in order to keep her safe from oncoming traffic.
Patricia Mason has been living on Prado Drive since 1999.
“Over the years I have seen it getting more dangerous on Del Mar. We literally take our lives in our hands,” she told commissioners.
She echoed Bukala’s fears and said residents are not simply out for “exercise,” but are walking to doctor’s appointments and going on grocery trips.
The solution? A sidewalk on Del Mar Drive between Rio Grande Avenue and Avenida Central.
Commissioners balked at the suggestion and ball-parked a $94,000 expense to the taxpayers. They also feared an avalanche of similar requests.
Commissioners suggested that residents could band together and pay for the sidewalk themselves.
However, Del Mar walking buddies Allison Firth and Cathy Black said they’d like to see a little more creative thinking from the commission. They suggested alternative striping, signage, ticketing and informational campaigns that could help alleviate speeding, bad behavior and a lack of courtesy which they say has gotten steadily worse. Both said they have frequently been cursed at or had obscene gestures flashed at them.
“Golf carts think they own that lane and think we ought to walk on the grass,” Black said.
The walking partners fear the worst.
“It’s only a matter of time before someone gets killed,” Firth said.
There have been two recent fatalities in The Villages involving the mix of golf carts, pedestrians and automobiles:
• In January, 68-year-old Joan Marie Colonna of the Village of Sunset Pointe was killed after she was struck from behind by a golf cart. She had been out for a morning walk with two friends. Colonna’s friends were walking on the sidewalk and she was walking in the lane designated for pedestrians, bicyclists and golf carts. Colonna was knocked to the ground and hit her head. She was airlifted to Ocala Regional Medical Center where she later died. The golf cart driver had been “inattentive,” according to the Florida Highway Patrol.
• Last year, a 79-year-old man driving a golf cart died after he pulled aside for a pedestrian walking in the golf cart/pedestrian lane on Talley Ridge Drive in the Village of Glenbrook. His golf cart was struck by an automobile.
It is frequently noted that the Developer “learned” more as The Villages grew. The further south one travels, the multi-modal paths and tunnels are wider.
There were no sidewalks on the Historic Side of The Villages. There are long sidewalks along Pinellas Place and Hillsborough Trail, south of County Road 466A, which provide three distinct areas of travel for walkers, golf carts and motorists.
Community Development District 4 has been struggling with a retrofit to provide for a sidewalk on Mulberry Lane. The initial cost for the survey, engineering and construction has been estimated at $105,000.
CDD 4 Supervisor Don Deakin has labeled the current situation a “serious safety issue” because residents are forced to walk in the street with vehicular and golf cart traffic. Fellow Supervisor Chuck Kazlo has raised the possibility the Developer could be liable if an accident occurred on Mulberry Lane with the existing format.
