78.6 F
The Villages
Sunday, November 3, 2024

Ideas for making The Villages a safer place to drive

We are blessed to have great roads to travel on and also blessed by the various departments of transportations or their equivalent organizations that have implemented safe and efficient driving plans and procedures. I have been both a critic and one that has been very complimentary toward those organizations. It is my hope that AI and/or self-driving vehicles will bring a whole new safe and efficient travel era where accidents with injuries and property damage will be very rare.

When we lived in Destin, Hwy. 98 was the single road through the city. The planners did a marvelous job of keeping the traffic flowing. The secret to its efficiency was keeping the lights on Hwy 98 green a long time. It may have taken a while to get onto Hwy 98, but it was really worth it, because once on Hwy 98, you could get to your destination quickly. I think the secret is to minimize the average wait time for vehicles going both directions. The problem is keeping many vehicles waiting in one direction so one or two vehicles can travel in the perpendicular direction.

I can say the same for Hwy 27 in Leesburg. I can normally get through easily even in moderate traffic. One additional helpful local change is at the intersection in Sumter Landing by Bravo Pizza and Winn Dixie. It did have signal lights until several months ago. I experienced long wait times with the signal lights. Now it is a four way stop and the traffic moves through much quicker. Who would think that simpler would be better

That was the “good,” Now the bad and the ugly. The intersection of U.S. 301 and the Florida Turnpike is a busy intersection. Before a recent major change, the traffic flowed fairly well. Now, traffic going south on U.S. 301 backs all the way back to State Road 44. In addition, exiting the turnpike heading north on Hwy 301 in the past was smooth. Vehicles just merged with U.S. 301 traffic heading north. Now, there is a stop light and a sharp right turn is required. Merging is what freeways and roundabouts are all about. Going south on U.S. 301, only one lane can be used to go straight ahead or turn left on the turnpike. The left turn lane is exclusively for a gas station. The right is exclusively for turning right onto the turnpike. Last time I was there a vehicle in the left turn lane drove over the low curbing to make a left on the turnpike.

That is the “bad.” Equally bad or perhaps even ugly is the driving plan including procedures, road marking etc. for our roundabouts. I am 100 percent for roundabouts and for their safety and efficiency! I have been very complementary toward the designers of the physical roundabouts themselves. However, the driving plans and procedures on our roundabouts are very flawed. This results in them being far less safe and makes people fearful driving on them. We can make them much safer and a pleasure to drive on without reducing their efficiency. This is all explained at the link below:

https://www.villages-news.com/2022/05/31/safety-concerns-about-roundabouts-in-the-villages/

Let’s make The Villages a safer and better place in which to drive!

Bill Nitardy is a resident of the Village of Sunset Pointe

MAGA conspiracy theorists are at it again

A resident of Lady Lake, in a Letter to the Editor, warns that the MAGA conspiracy theorists are at it again.

So where’s our Costco?

A Village of Winifred resident is wondering where and when the Costco store will ever be built in The Villages.

California votes shouldn’t be counted due to questionable voter status

A Village of Charlotte resident raises concerns about election integrity. Read his Letter to the Editor.

Ballots are secret – even from spouses!

A Village of Dunedin resident wants to remind voters that their ballots are secret - even from their spouses.

MAGA snowflakes are becoming more fragile by the day

A Village of Palo Alto resident, in a Letter to the Editor, fears the MAGA snowflakes are becoming more fragile by the day.