Residents are fearing greater danger and gridlock as more traffic is certainly coming to the intersection of State Road 44 at Morse Boulevard.

It’s a busy intersection, but when a new Hooters restaurant is completed at the already-busy Lake Deaton Plaza and a massive new Walmart is built on the south side of State Road 44, traffic will almost certainly increase exponentially.

“The Villages has poorly planned the road infrastructure at Morse Boulevard and State Road 44. The traffic is horrendous,” said Christian Bleistein of the Village of Osceola Hills. “Very poorly planned considering the amount of development south of 44.”

Kay Scanlon of the Village of Sabal Chase said that recent accidents, including a four-car pileup on State Road 44 that claimed the life of a Wildwood man and an accident at State Road 44 at the entrance to Continental Country Club that required an injured woman to be flown to a trauma center in Gainesville, are clear indicators of the danger ahead. In 2023, there was a horrific three-car crash at the intersection.

These cars sustained heavy damage in a crash early Sunday morning at State Road 44 and Morse Boulevard
Speed was a factor in a horrific crash in 2023 on State Road 44 at Morse Boulevard.

“The traffic at this intersection is already bad. Adding these two businesses will make it deadly,” Scanlon said. “We cannot tolerate any more deadly accidents!”

Southbound traffic on Morse clogs the roudabut which serves the Lake Deton Plaza
Southbound traffic on Morse Boulevard clogs the roundabout which serves the Lake Deaton Plaza.

A group of residents from the Village of Chitty Chatty and the Village of Bradford delivered the same message this past week to the Sumter County Commission.

Debi Rowe warns that there is plenty of other traffic trouble created by the growth of The Villages.

“I agree that there is a lot of traffic on Morse Boulevard and State 44. There is also a ton of traffic created by the traffic light under the Florida Turnpike entrance on U.S. 301. I’ve lived here six years. Since the light was added, due to safety issues I’m sure (and that’s a good thing), sometimes it takes 12 minutes to reach the lights going north from Marsh Bend Trail. Without traffic, it should take 2-3 minutes. With the building in the southern part of The Villages, this route will only worsen,” Rowe said.

Dennis Veith bought his home in the Village of Hadley, behind the busy Colony Plaza shopping center, in 2018. He has a message for his fellow residents.

“Get used to it. Go early or later. It’s not gonna change,” he said.