The Villages fire chief was standing at the door counting heads as a standing-room-only crowd flooded Savannah Center, demanding action on Morse Boulevard.
Dozens of people were turned away Friday morning from the Community Development District 1 Board of Supervisors meeting when the Ashley Wilkes Room quickly filled to capacity.
Residents, the vast majority wearing red shirts in solidarity of their cause, were eager to send a message to the CDD 1 board, which has committed to a $100,000+ traffic study to see what options are available to improve safety on the busy thoroughfare.
Marilyn Devries, a 25-year resident of The Villages, added some historical perspective to the situation that has evolved on Morse Boulevard.
“I moved in when Morse Boulevard wasn’t completed,” she said.
The continued growth in and around The Villages and the approximately 25 new villas to be shoehorned in at the former Hacienda County Club site are making her nervous.
“I don’t want to see another dead body in the street,” Devries said.
She lives near the intersection of Morse Boulevard and Juanita Avenue where 70-year-old Barbara Joan Lawless was driving a golf cart on June 30 when she was hit by a van driven by a man from Naples. She was ejected from the golf cart and transported by ambulance to Ocala Regional Medical Center, where she later died.
There are an estimated 20,000 cars per day traveling on Morse Boulevard north of County Road 466. Residents contend that the volume of traffic and speeding have created a dangerous situation for golf carts traveling on the busy roadway.
Residents pressured CDD 1 last year, frustrated by years of inaction by Sumter County, which owns the road.
Villager Kenneth Mann said the Morse family, for whom the road is named, share the blame for the situation.
“Unfortunately, we find ourselves in a position in which we need to correct a situation which should have been foreseen by the Developer of The Villages,” he said.
Kimley-Horn & Associates Inc. has been hired by CDD 1 to conduct an evaluation of the roadway and propose some possible safety improvements. The engineering firm’s Amber Gartner indicated their report could be ready by June.
Residents made it clear they won’t be satisfied with a report that doesn’t prompt action.
“We are not going to stop,” said Villager Susan Goodman.
