A large group of residents attended the Community Development District 1 meeting Friday morning to voice concerns about safety of golf carts on Morse Boulevard in The Villages.

Villager Jim Vaccaro served as spokesman for the large contingent of residents, many of them clad in red to demonstrate their unity of purpose.

“Morse Boulevard is just crazy. There’s a lot of traffic. You can talk to people who were here 25 years ago when County Road 466 was a two-lane road,” Vaccaro said. “It’s gotten a lot worse over the years.”

The residents, who live north of County Road 466, all had stories about the perils of traveling by golf cart on Morse Boulevard.

Last year, a snowbird in a golf cart was killed after he was leaving the postal station and was struck by a two-seater Mercedes.

Supervisor Rocky Hyder speaks to residents after Fridays Community Development Distict 1 meeting
Supervisor Rocky Hyder, left, speaks to residents after Friday’s Community Development District 1 meeting.

Supervisor Rocky Hyder recently met with County Administrator Bradley Arnold and County Chairman Craig Estep and learned firsthand about the limitations of what the county can do with regard to any possible expansion of Morse Boulevard and its existing golf cart lanes.

Hyder spoke with residents after the meeting and encouraged them to keep up the dialogue and express their worries directly to the county commission.

“I do believe there is a solution somewhere out there,” Hyder said. He has proposed the addition of stoplights to slow down traffic.

Supervisor Ellen Cora has been on the warpath on this issue for years and has been frustrated by the Sumter County Commission’s unwillingness to take action.

She noted the commission is “in flux” due to the suspension of two commissioners and the news this week that appointed Commissioner Diane Spencer resigned due to health concerns.