WINDERMERE, Florida — The town of Windermere in Orange County is constantly growing, but is the infrastructure keeping up as it changes from a sprawling rural area to a bustling residential environment?
- Windermere is an ever-growing residential area
- Viewer wants the county to change speed limits
- County has performed speed studies on Lake Butler, McKinnon roads
- LINK: Read more Traffic Inbox
Andrew Boswell wrote Traffic Inbox this week:
“We live in Southwest Orange County and have seen tremendous growth over the last 15+ years with little to no change on some speed limits on roads.
Before these areas were developed the speed limit of 45 (mph) was justified and understood, but now we have nothing but residential subdivisions and children everywhere.
Why are the new roads out towards Horizons West 35 miles per hour leading up to the 429 expressway and yet the roads off of 535 heading into Windermere still 45?
I have reached out to our Representative and they are useless. They installed speed bumps on a road with a speed of 30 mph down a road with less than 20 homes on it and still haven't changed a speed of 45 to 35 down three roads that are no longer considered rural.
We need this fixed. We need to see these limits lowered. We're tired of having cars race down our streets and speeds that exceed 60 miles per hour. We need proper lighting on these roads. We fear for our children!”
If you’ve lived in Windermere for the last decade like Andrew Boswell has, you’ve probably noticed a good amount of change.
“I’ve seen a lot of congestion from the excessive development, and I don’t (want to) say excessive — I want to say needed development,” Boswell said.
As the area turns from a previously rural area into a more suburban environment, Boswell wants to see the infrastructure changed a little in terms of speed limits and stop signs, like the area right in front of the intersection of Lake Butler and McKinnon Road.
“I was walking my kids to stand and wait for the bus, and I noticed that there was just a lot of congestion, a lot of traffic, and a high rate of speed for kids to be standing fifteen, twenty feet way from a 45 mph speed limit," Boswell explained.
According to Orange County Public Works Dept., within the last year the county performed speed studies on Lake Butler Road and McKinnon Road. These studies did not justify the reduction of speeds. Here is an explanation as to why:
“Posting unrealistically low speed limit can actually decrease safety and places a burden on law enforcement as driver's speed is influenced more by the appearance of the roadway and the prevailing traffic conditions than it is by the posted speed limit," said a Public Works spokesperson.
They continued, "This is why we use standards which have proven to have compliance to the posted speeds and a uniformity of prevailing vehicle speeds. These two standards are called the '85th percentile speed' and the 'upper limit of the 10 mph pace.' The 85th percentile speed is the speed at which most of the motorists are driving. The 10 mph pace is the 10 mph range of speeds in which most of the motorist are traveling."
"Of course, the roadway characteristics, crash history and sound engineering judgement is involved with the determination. The results of this study do not support the reduction of speed from the existing 45 mph posting. The 85th percentile speed is 47 mph, and the upper limit of the 10 mph pace is 45 mph,” explained the Orange County official.
However, there were recommended improvements to the Lake Butler at McKinnon Road intersection as part of the study. According to Orange County, the following improvements were completed on September 11:
- Installation of a "STOP AHEAD” warning sign for the northbound approach — this should have been installed already
- Relocating the existing stop bar and pedestrian crossing ramps
- Installing a marked pedestrian crosswalk across the northbound approach at the new ramp location
- Making minor changes to sidewalk and adding detectable warning pads to the other ramps that do not have these ADA features.
Andrew Boswell also requested that a multiway stop be put in at that particular intersection. As it turns out, a study was done for that as well.
Orange County said, “The only request we have for West Lake Butler Road in the last year is a multiway stop study at McKinnon Road. The study results did not justify the installation of a multiway stop. We have no record of a request for a speed study on West Lake Butler Road."
Orange County did want Andrew Boswell to reach out to them to make sure the proper studies are being performed in order to make sure they can maintain the safety of a growing residential community.
"It's just a matter of time before somebody (is) not paying attention and looking at their phone, and just not doing what they are supposed to be doing as a driver, just slips the wrong way and knee jerk reaction — and then somebody gets hurt."
Thanks for your question, Andy!
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