WESLEY CHAPEL, Fla — It’s a road that folks who live in the Meadow Pointe subdivisions have been concerned about for a while.
“It’s a problem 24/7,” said resident Kelly Thomas.
From speeding to crashes on County Line road — parents say they’re afraid to let their kids use the crosswalks.
“Most of us parents don’t allow that anymore because there is such disregard for the speed limit and for the people on the road and for wildlife,” Thomas said.
She alerted ABC Action News reporter Heather Leigh in November of the issues going on. Heather interviewed several neighbors including siblings of a young woman who died while speeding down this road, according to FHP.
When ABC Action News originally reached out— Pasco County officials told us a traffic study was being conducted in December which was complete and is now resulting in a big change.
“I have to thank you really for being so responsive and helping us bring awareness to this in our community,” Thomas said.
From 2018-2020 there have been 55 crashes on County Line road — 15 off-road, 11 rear-end and 11 left turn crashes to name a few types.
The county’s traffic division says curves in the road coupled with the significant amount of crosswalks may be the reason distracted drivers are veering off the road. It’s why they suggested lowering the 40 MPH speed limit to 35 MPH. The board approved the measure.
Thomas says while this is a welcome change and is grateful the county stepped in, she would like to see flashing yellow lights at crosswalks.
“The signs are good because they’re bright yellow but a flashing sign especially at dusk or in the morning when a lot of people are out walking and there’s more foot traffic would absolutely be much much better,” Thomas said.
She hopes the county will continue to listen and work with them in the future.
“I hope this is just the beginning of an open dialogue,” she said. “And they recognize that this is a great first step but we need to make sure we’re continuously looking at the issue in ways that it could potentially still be improved upon.”
The County says the new signs will cost about $1,000.
