- After official plans emerged in March, state funding for a new stoplight on Thomasville Road will be given to area leaders in July.
- The Florida Department of Transportation is giving $1.5 million toward the project.
- Watch the video to hear why city leaders say the light is needed.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
Neighbors are going to soon have to make one more stop along Thomasville Road.
I have been tracking where a new stoplight is planned and where the money to pay for it will come from.
Leaders say safety is the reason behind the planning of a new signal here on Thomasville Road and Velda Dairy.
The Florida Department of Transportation gave the Capital Region Transportation Planning Agency $1.5 million to join Velda Dairy Road with Ox Bottom Road and add a stoplight.
It's a project city staff says will "...divert from the overcapacity intersection of Thomasville Road and Kerry Forrest Parkway providing congestion relief to the area."
They also note that it could improve safety for students. City leaders say the school board members think the change will "...provide more opportunities for improved traffic circulation for DeSoto Trail Elementary School."
Not everyone thinks it will be beneficial.
I spoke with neighbor Jerry Phifer in March.
He says he thinks it will create more traffic going on to Velda Dairy and Ox Bottom Roads. "What about Ox Bottom Road? It's going to become like Kerry Forrest Parkway but Ox Bottom is much smaller."
Neighbors like Steve Winn are excited for the change. A resident of the area for over 20 years, he says he's seen a lot of close calls. "Many times coming home, going north up Thomasville Road, making that left turn into ox bottom, it's very very difficult."
The project is funded through FDOT dollars. Those funds are mainly collected through fuel sales tax, the federal tax you pay at the pump.
Toll revenue is also a way FDOT funds many projects. City leaders say construction on the new light should begin next year.
