We’ve *heard* Florida drivers are not the best – okay, maybe we’ve seen it a little too. 🤷 But in a city growing exponentially with roads sometimes a tad too small for heavy traffic, tackling how to reduce congestion + collisions is a priority.
So, we asked all of you: Which intersections should we try to avoid (and why)? Here’s a few of the 40+ responses we received.
🚦 “The mini intersection for Best Buy, Taco Bell, Starbucks after you turn off 98 is a total mess. Not sure if that counts, but it’s terrible.” - Alicia C.
🚦 “Edgewood and Cleveland heights during rush hours.” - Melissa G.
🚦 “Lake Miriam Plaza and South Florida Ave!” - Tammy A.
🚦 “S. Florida between Memorial Blvd and the Lakeland Square Mall.” - Jordan W.
🚦 “I-4 and the exits” - Katherine M.
🚦“Griffin and Providence with people cutting the corner on a left hand turn.” - Doug M.
🚦“Lunn and Ewell.” - Wendy B.
🚦“Beacon and So Fl, Memorial and N Fl. Mostly the red light camera ones.” - April R.
🚦“N. Crystal Lake and Bartow. Short yellow light with train tracks = nightmare.” - Diana E.
The main causes of accidents, regardless of the intersection or street, are following too closely or speeding (or both), but sometimes the problems are also related to road design. The Lakeland Police Department responded to 5,960 traffic crashes in 2017.
What’s being done? The City of Lakeland knows these problem intersections exist and are making efforts to decrease driver distraction + improve safety awareness. Recently, the city reduced the speed limit on Lake Morton Dr to 20 mph and is planning to paint lines marking 55 parking spots along Lake Morton Dr. Bicycle lanes will also be added to both sides of Palmetto St, between Johnson Avenue and Lake Morton Drive. The left-turn lane connecting Lake Morton to East Palmetto will be removed. More on upcoming projects here.
We want to know, where do you never drive and why? Hit us up with your good + bad road experiences.
And if all else fails, take a note from a fellow LALer (pronounced: “Loll-er”) and just break out in dance + song.
