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Neighborhood report

Rush-hour turn restriction rankles

More than 130 people show up for a meeting about the county's plan for calming traffic in the Village.

By AMBER MOBLEY
Published March 3, 2006

CARROLLWOOD - A tiny sign at Casey Road and Old Orchard Drive is still causing a big rift in Carrollwood Village.

More than 130 people showed up to a Tuesday meeting about controlling traffic in the Village.

Most came with concerns about a sign forbidding drivers from turning right during rush hour at that one intersection.

"It's not a minor inconvenience for us," said Ernesto Mayor Jr. who lives on Golf Crest Circle at Old Orchard.

The turn restriction makes it harder to get to and from home, school and his children's extracurricular activities during the week and complicates running weekend errands, Mayor said.

The restriction, which is in effect from 7 to 9 a.m. and from 4 to 6 p.m., had the best of intentions. County commissioners approved the rule in hopes of protecting Old Orchard and other streets from cut-through traffic.

But the sign is pushing traffic onto other neighboring streets - mainly Water Oaks Lane, critics said.

Nearly half the audience erupted with applause when Luis Calle said he was against the right-turn restriction.

"I'm not against some of your recommendations, but I'm against this," Calle said.

Anne Spencer, on the other hand, said she favors anything that can stop or slow traffic cutting through the neighborhood.

Since the county installed the turn restriction, Spencer, who lives at Old Orchard and Casey, said she's been "yelled at and gestured at" by people who think she had a part in its installation.

Carrollwood Village property manager Dan Ruskiewicz said he's gotten at least 30 phone calls from people in the village who thought the neighborhood associations were to blame.

"I'd like to make peace in the Village," Ruskiewicz said.

"Half of the people are for it, half are against it. You see the division. I mean, how could the county make a decision like that without asking people who live here?"

Commissioners approved the restriction as an amendment to a larger traffic control plan for a section of Carrollwood Village the county calls Sub Area I.

Months of public meetings, workshops and professional analysis went into sculpting the big traffic plan. But commissioners approved the turn restriction in a matter of minutes at their Jan. 11 meeting and mandated that it begin immediately. Public Works installed it two days later.

County studies are showing that the turn restriction is steering some traffic away from Old Orchard.

But neighbors said volume is increasing farther south on Water Oaks, and they say that street's children are in danger.

"A neighborhood filled with children is now filled with cars," Amy Jo Lippe said.

In addition to voicing concerns about the amended Sub Area I traffic calming plan, residents heard traffic control suggestions for the rest of the Village, an area the county is calling Sub Area II.

Raised, colorized intersections along N Village Drive, signs that flash a car's speed as it passes along W Village Drive and flat top speed tables on N and S Park drives are only a few measures suggested by traffic calming engineer Angelo Rao.

Nothing is final.

Gary Teaney who lives off Water Oaks, especially disagreed with Rao's suggestion to narrow the turning room off of Casey onto Old Orchard and off of Casey onto Water Oaks.

Drivers are often forced to make wheel-screechingly quick turns off of Casey for fear of being rear-ended by speeding cars. People will get hurt if the space is narrowed, Teaney said.

Residents also had their own suggestions.

One request for speed control signs on Casey before Old Orchard and Water Oaks got an "Amen" from the audience.

Tuesday's meeting was the second in a series of three formal hearing about options for Sub Area II, the northeast section of the Village bordered by Ehrlich Road in the north and N Dale Mabry in the east. That area excludes Sub Area I, which encompasses parts of S Village Drive and Lowell and Casey roads.

The third formal hearing for Carrollwood Village Sub Area II, the final one before Rao creates a proposal, is scheduled for Tuesday at Ben Hill Middle School, 5200 Ehrlich, from 6:30 p.m. until 8:30 p.m. in the cafeteria.

Rao's proposal to the county will also include a recommendation to either keep, modify or remove the controversial turn restriction at Casey and Old Orchard.

- Amber Mobley can be reached at 813 269-5311 or amobley@sptimes.com

[Last modified March 2, 2006, 13:56:08]