Officials are raising concerns about traffic enforcement during snowbird season in The Villages.
Community Development District 7 Supervisor Edward Coleman aired his “pet peeve” regarding southbound traffic on Buena Vista Boulevard and then turning west on County Road 466A.
“They roll right through there and hang a right, whether it’s red or green,” Coleman said at Thursday’s board meeting at SeaBreeze Recreation Center.
Eddie Reeser of the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office said traffic concerns and complaints routinely swell at this time of year, when seasonal residents are here in force.
The former Wildwood police chief said speeding is a problem.
“I don’t know why everyone is in such a hurry. But it’s a problem this time of year, especially, with all that’s going on and everybody here,” Reeser said. “You don’t need to go to Daytona this weekend. It’s here.”
He said the sheriff’s office engages in a bit of trickery to nab speeders.
Empty patrol cars or “dummy cars” are frequently parked at locations in The Villages. But once motorists conclude the car is empty, they speed right by.
However, about three or four days after the car is parked, a deputy is back in the car and will hit the lights and siren when a speeder zooms past, assuming the car is empty.
“Usually, it’s me behind the wheel. So they are going to get a chance to meet me,” Reeser said.
CDD 7 Supervisor Daryl Klinko moved here three years ago from Michigan. He said cameras are in heavy use in Michigan.
He encouraged the sheriff’s office to use more cameras.
“Even if they are dummy cameras, if people think they are on camera, they act differently,” Klinko said.
