Just a few short years ago, ChampionsGate was known as a tiny exit with a rather large sign. However, in just the past few years, the area has seen large growth.

  • ChampionsGate has grown quickly in past several years
  • Resident: Intersection in front of iconic ChampionsGate sign problematic
  • Many drivers make illegal left turns from right-turn-only lane

That being said, it appears that the infrastructure is still racing to catch up, according to residents such as Michael Oliver.

"This area has seen extreme growth lately, and there is one really bad intersection that causes lots of issues and needs a light, because it is super dangerous. Are there any fixes in the works?"

Oliver has seen, in his view, an alarming increase in population and traffic congestion in just the past year. Busy Champions Gate Boulevard is the main road in the area, and for residents, there is no escaping it.

"More people want to live here now that there's stuff here, because even a year ago, there wasn't anything here besides a McDonald's and a Chili's," Oliver said.

"If you live in this area, you have to go right off here. You have to go through this intersection," Oliver said.

Oliver said the most problematic intersection in the area is Champions Gate Boulevard at Goodman Road, right in front of the exit's iconic sign. In the past, drivers heading southbound on Goodman could make a left turn onto Champions Gate. With heavier congestion recently, it has been made into a right-turn-only lane.

However, that still wasn't stopping drivers from making unwise decisions. In just the short term we were out there, we saw several drivers making illegal left turns from the right-turn-only lane.

To make Goodman Road southbound a "right turn only" onto Champions Gate Boulevard, officials installed signage and some barricades in November 2016. However, drivers have still been making dangerous left turns anyway. Oliver said he knows how to fix the area.

"I would just say that this intersection is just too busy. It needs a stop light. It's just really busy," he said.

We reached out to Osceola County government, which said that installing a traffic light at Goodman Road was not possible, because it would only separate the traffic lights before and after Goodman by about 500 feet. That, in turn, they said, would make the area much more susceptible to heavy congestion.

However, although there are no plans to do so, county officials told me that there is enough room to widen the roadway to three lanes in both directions if it comes to that in the future. So they have left the area open for widening.

Thanks for your submission, Michael.

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