Sara Kirsch
ECB Publishing, Inc.
Jefferson County is about to lose a very special designation – we will no longer be the only county in Florida without red, yellow and green traffic lights.
The Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) recently announced that Jefferson County is going to be getting two traffic signals installed: One will be at the intersection of North Jefferson and Dogwood Streets; the other at South Jefferson at the entrance to the Winn-Dixie shopping center.
The FDOT anticipates more traffic coming into the county due to the Suncoast Toll Road and wants to get ahead of possible pedestrian accidents and traffic control issues.
A spokesperson for the FDOT, who wished to remain anonymous, says those two intersections were chosen after numerous complaints from pedestrians and drivers alike, stating that safety was the most cited complaint.
“We’ve received numerous complaints from Jefferson County residents complaining about how difficult it is to cross the streets at these and other intersections in the county,” the spokesperson said. “After a six-month study, traffic engineers determined that these intersections were the best selections to introduce traffic control devices.”
According to the five-year plan released by the FDOT, these two traffic signals are just the beginning. There are plans to turn the courthouse roundabout into a traffic signal-controlled intersection, not only to control the traffic heading north/south on U.S. 19, but also to allow pedestrians easier access to the Jefferson County Courthouse.
Other intersections scheduled for the upgrade:
• East Washington and Railroad Streets
• West Washington and Water Street
• U.S. 19 S at the entrance to Jefferson Somerset School
While this list is preliminary, the FDOT will be holding public forums to discuss the additional intersections that should be prioritized. Those forum dates have yet to be announced.
ECB Publishing, Inc. asked several people what they thought about the FDOT’s announcement, and to everyone we spoke with, it came as a great surprise with mixed feelings.
“I had no idea they were even considering it,” said one Mainstreet Monticello merchant. “I think it’s going to be a good thing so people can cross the street safely to shop.”
Another resident said, “I guess it’s sort of a good thing, although I’ll miss being able to claim home as the last holdout of no lights. But I’m concerned how it’s going to affect the traffic flow, especially around the courthouse.”
One person was very vocal against it, “I can’t understand why the DOT thinks they can just come in here and tell us what to do. First it’s the toll road, and now this? Why can’t they just leave us alone?”
When mentioned to the city council, there was a general feeling of resignation.
“We’ve been trying to keep the FDOT from interfering with our town, but I guess it’s all coming to a head,” said one city council member, who wished to remain nameless.
“In the interest of public safety, we should be planning for the future, although I do wish that they had contacted us first so we could set up meetings and workshops to discuss it.“ “Finding out about the DOT’s plans through a citizen first seems backwards.”
Of course, this leads to other questions, such as the timeline for installing these signals and how they’re going to affect traffic flow throughout the entire downtown.
We, at ECB Publishing, will provide more updates as we have them, but, in the meantime,
APRIL FOOLS!
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