LEESBURG, Fla. (WOFL FOX 35 ORLANDO) -
In a year-and-a-half, seven crashes have occurred at the entrance into Pennbrooke Fairways off State Road 44, according to the Florida Department of Transportation. One of those accidents was fatal.
"You look one minute, and there's no traffic. The next minute... boom! There's traffic!" explains Aline Delisle, a resident of the Leesburg adult community. "It seems as though somebody has got to get killed -- more than one person -- before they do something about it. I mean I go up and down the highway all the time here, and down by Plantation and everything, they have the lights that change. I think they should have that here."
FDOT is listening to concerns from residents. Agency spokesman Steve Olson said the state has proposed modifications to close a median opening, forcing those exiting Pennbrooke Fairways to turn right, or westbound. Drivers would have to drive about 100 feet to the next opening and make a u-turn in order to go eastbound.
Some residents would prefer a light, saying a median change would only make the area more dangerous. Olson explained that the number of cars coming and going here doesn't meet the state's threshold for a lighted intersection. Typically, that would be 100 cars per hour sustained over a number of hours. Still, talk to people who live here and they say a light would solve all the problems.
"I think they need a light here!" said Delisle.
FDOT will have staff attend a community meeting on Tuesday at the Pennbrooke Fairways grand hall. Residents will be able to offer their feedback to proposed changes to the median.
