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By PENNY FLETCHER
penny@observernews.net
Hillsborough County doesn’t usually install traffic signals closer than 1/4-mile apart, but in some cases, where an intersection is considered especially dangerous, exceptions can be made.
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| The intersection of Big Bend Road and U.S. 301 is less than a 1/4 mile from the turn off Big Bend onto Lincoln Road and normally another traffic light would not be required so close but in some cases, it just can’t be avoided.
Penny Fletcher photo
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When Publix built the first place to shop in the Summerfield Crossings area residents were glad they no longer had to drive to Riverview, Apollo Beach or Sun City Center to buy groceries.
Other stores soon followed, until a whole host of retail outlets and eateries filled all four corners of the intersection of Big Bend Road and U.S. 301. They’re always busy because of all the new housing developments that have been built along U.S. 301 in Riverview both to the north and south of that intersection.
For several years, the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office has listed the Big Bend and U.S. 301 intersection as having some of the worst accident statistics in the county.
But the problems don’t stop at the intersection anymore.
Three years ago, when more plazas began to go up on the southwest side of Big Bend Road less than 1/4 of a mile from the existing intersection, residents began to see traffic accumulate in the medians of Big Bend, especially the one at Lincoln Road.
Now home to a bowling alley, eight restaurants and many shops and services, the Lincoln Road plazas (on the south side of Big Bend) attract lines of cars in the center of the median trying to turn in. With the entrance to a private school and a housing development on the north side of Lincoln Road, sometimes several cars, trucks and motorcycles going both directions find themselves in the median at once. This, combined with the traffic coming out of the Lincoln Road plazas that is trying to cross the road to go west, makes for a dangerous situation.
Vida Morgan who works in statistics for the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office reports that in 2006 11 accidents occurred at Lincoln Road and Big Bend; 26 in 2007 and 21 in 2008.
Some were fatal.
Friday and Saturday nights when youths pile into the bowling alley, Sonic and other youth-friendly places in the Lincoln Road plazas, cars have been seen backed up nearly to U.S. 301 waiting to turn in. This hazard also occurs at high traffic times during the day, before and after work and at peak shopping hours.
“The developer was supposed to put a signal light there,” said Hillsborough County Project Manager Tom Fass. “But he slipped through our fingers and we ended up with it on our to-do list.”
According to Peter Brett, in the county’s traffic planning department, the signal light is in the design phase now, but neither Fass nor Brett knew if it would be budgeted this year because of recent drastic budget reductions.
What follows is a public comments section. This is not from the Observer News staff - it comes from other people and contains their opinions and theirs alone. The Observer News does not control the material that follows. We do, however, reserve the right to remove objectionable material at our discretion. By that we mean that we will edit or delete any content that we deem is inappropriate. By posting your comments, you are stating that you agree to these terms.
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Comments
GK - Summerfield
23 Oct 2009, 20:06
So exactly how many accidents and/or fatalities does it take to get get the county moving on getting a light at the intersection? Install the light and send the bill to the developer. I presume the county has a legal department...
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