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Signal debuts to mixed reviews
By JOY DAVIS-PLATT
© St. Petersburg Times, SPRING HILL -- After years of complaints by residents of Timber Pines, a traffic light has been installed at the back entrance to the retirement community off Deltona Boulevard. Timber Pines resident Jean Napp said the signal at Abeline Road is long overdue. "That's a very dangerous intersection," said Napp, who has lived on Prince George Court for 12 years. "Especially on Sunday morning when people are coming and going to church." Before the light went in last week, cars would line up along Abeline as drivers waited for their chance to jump into the heavy traffic on a two-lane section of Deltona Boulevard. "The majority of people hold their breath before they get out," she said. "Everyone travels at a pretty good clip out there." But others aren't so sure the light was necessary. Eugene Geczi lives three houses down from the light, but outside gated Timber Pines. "We needed that light like a hole in the head," said Geczi, two days after the light was installed. "But now all the Mercedeses are all happy and the people in Timber Pines got their wish." The traffic light only stops vehicles on Deltona Boulevard when a car on Abeline sets off a sensor or when a pedestrian presses a button. "Those buttons for walkers will probably rust," Geczi said. But Fred Hitt, who lives on Abeline outside of Timber Pines, recalls the night a year and a half ago when his friend Elmer Kenney was killed crossing the intersection. "I don't know whether it will be of any benefit to me or not," Hitt said. "That light is strictly for Timber Pines. They get what they want." County planning for the traffic light began nine months ago, and budgeting was set more than a year ago, said county engineer and public works director Charles Mixson. "Timber Pines would have liked to put the light in when the street went through five years ago," he said. "But until two years ago, volume did not warrant a traffic signal." The signal was one of several installed in the past year because of increased traffic volume, Mixson said. Other lights have gone in at side streets of Spring Hill Drive, including Pinehurst Drive, Kenlake Avenue and California Street. "Certainly, Timber Pines was calling and anxious to get the light, but that didn't make us go any quicker," he said. Though she lives outside the Timber Pines gates, Donna Gosnell said the light will help her get into morning traffic. "Sometimes, it's almost impossible with commuter traffic and buses from Deltona Middle School," said Gosnell, who leaves her home on Abeline Road at 8:15 a.m. for the YMCA. "Trying to turn left has just been a nightmare."
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From today's Hernando Times |
