KISSIMMEE, Fla. — Teag Solberg is a helicopter pilot for International Heli-Tours in Kissimmee, which lies just east of the busy intersection of U.S. 192 and Poinciana Boulevard.
- US 192 congestion causing drivers to jam side streets
- Viewer: Too many conflict points on Poinciana north of US 192
- Transportation officials say they will evaluate corridor
- UPDATE: County responds to our coverage
"Especially in the summertime, this road is packed," Solberg said.
Solberg knows firsthand how busy U.S. 192 can get, because he flies over it every day.
"You'll have cars backed up pretty much all the way down 192. And the only way you'll have a break is because you'll have a red light," he said.
Because the traffic gets so bad, drivers avoid the area and take side streets.
That's when people in the area say bad things happen.
Viewer Jessie Messier wrote in to us about a wreck that his girlfriend was in as she was exiting a business on Poinciana Boulevard. He says the driver of the other vehicle was trying to avoid delays on U.S. 192 and was in a hurry.
Although U.S. 192 is busy enough, Messier says those side streets need lots of attention, too.
One of the changes Messier wants is to have more of a physical median on Poinciana Boulevard north of U.S. 192.
He thinks there are just too many conflict points. Traffic control devices such as lights would also help to prevent drivers speeding down the roads off of U.S. 192 to avoid congestion, he says.
Is change on the way? At least for right now, no. We reached out to Osceola County officials, and they told us that there are no plans to install traffic control devices on Poinciana Boulevard north of U.S. 192.
However, because we raised concerns, the Transportation and Transit Department is sending staff out in the coming days to evaluate the corridor to see whether any remedial measures should and can be installed.
UPDATE, October 3: After the county sent staff to review the corridor, officials developed recommended improvements that were evaluated for constructability and scheduling.
Proposed improvements will be installed around the end of October or beginning of November, the county tells us. The improvements include the installation of either a painted or raised directional median on North Poinciana Boulevard in front of the south driveway to Campers World/7-Eleven, which will allow only right turns to be made from those driveways. The appropriate signage will be added on the driveways to accommodate the median modification.
For now, Solberg avoids U.S. 192 because he says congestion causes drivers to do strange things.
"I'm originally from Colorado, and everybody says Florida drivers are the worst. Floridians blame it on the tourists, but everybody I see driving crazy has a Florida plate," he says.
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