A Community Development District 5 supervisor has proposed a broader involvement in the examination of Morse Boulevard traffic woes north of County Road 466 in The Villages.
Supervisor Reed Panos, who is a candidate for the Sumter County Commission, raised the idea during a CDD 5 budget workshop Wednesday morning at SeaBreeze Recreation Center.
Residents of Community Development District 1 have been on the warpath about concerns about the dangerous mix of golf carts and automobiles on Morse Boulevard. The red-shirted residents have been showing up in large numbers at CDD 1 and Sumter County meetings. Last week, the CDD 1 Board of Supervisors agreed to fund its own examination of traffic and the road’s functionality. The independent study would cost $111,350.
Several years ago, Sumter County rejected the expansion of Morse Boulevard north of County Road 466, in part because of objections from the Southwest Florida Water Management District. SWFWMD found that an expansion, especially to make more room for golf cart traffic would not work, “because of the limited capacity for storm water drainage, it is not possible to provide off-road paths.”
Panos, a resident of the Village of Sunset Pointe, has suggested its time for others to step up and share the burden.
“We can’t expect (CDD) 1 to do it all by themselves,” Panos said. “We all use it.”