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LUTZ - Early this month, Cheval residents got two signs of hope in their quest for longer noise walls along the Suncoast Parkway. Now, one is gone.
The executive director of Florida's turnpike system said some old literature about the parkway didn't promise continuous walls through Cheval, as state Rep. Kevin Ambler, a Cheval resident, argued it did.
The turnpike's Jim Ely said that tiny lines on the literature's map showed the future walls just as they later were built - with gaps along the Tournament Players Club golf course and along a cypress head. Cheval residents living beyond those open areas say they also need noise protection; turnpike experts say walls can't help homes that far from the expressway.
T.J. Rives, head of the Cheval committee lobbying to close the 2,000 feet of gaps, said his group had no response to Ely's decision.
Another pledge remains open. Ely told a room full of Cheval residents on Aug. 3 that his agency would restudy whether the gaps should be closed.