WINDERMERE, Fla. -- Betsy Otoya isn't necessarily concerned so much about Windermere's growth, but she thinks the roads are not quite keeping up.
- Windermere resident says roads aren't matching growth
- More congestion means more wrecks
- Resident suggests adding a roundabout
"I just get out of here when I have to," Otoya said.
She claims that drives that once took less than 10 minutes that go through Chase Road can now take 30. And with more congestion, more drivers take chances and cause wrecks.
"They speed so much, they lose control and have crashed on our neighborhood's wall," she said.
Otoya would like to see improvement specifically at the four-way stop at the intersection of Chase Road and Main Street.
She thinks it should be a roundabout. However, the growing congestion makes her think more drastic options could be needed.
"Perhaps they could find another road that could connect (County Road) 535 with Apopka Vineland, but there are a lot of lakes, so perhaps they need to build... sort of a bridge,” Otoya said.
Interestingly enough, I was able to find a traffic study submitted to the town of Windermere in 2014, and that four-way stop was cited as one of the area's primary sources of delays.
The study suggested “geometric changes” be made considering two of the stops have infrequent movements.
Orange County government said it's in the final stages of its own traffic study in the Windermere area that will take up to a month from now to complete. At that time, officials said they should have a better understanding of how to move forward with potential improvements to the area.
As for Otoya, if traffic continues to get worse, she will consider leaving.
“Yes -- I was thinking about it and my husband as well, because... it's not getting easier,” she said.
Thanks for your question Betsy Otoya! If you have a traffic issue or problem you want looked at or solved, write in to Ryan Harper’s Traffic Inbox at mynews13.com/trafficinbox and fill out the simple form.
UPDATE: This story was updated Wednesday, May 16, 2018 with comments from Orange County government regarding an ongoing Windermere traffic study.