Dr. Marc Sharfman, a neurologist who works in the Longwood area, wrote in this week regarding State Road 434.

  • Dr. Marc Sharfman concerned about crashes near his office
  • Office is near Markham Woods Road and SR 434
  • County agrees with doctor, says it has done traffic study

He has a concern that mainly deals with visibility at the intersection of Markham Woods Road and the state road.

In fact, he has been worried about the area for some time, claiming he can sometimes hear crashes occur from his office.

"My main concerns are trying to prevent somebody else from having an accident," Sharfman said.

The trouble comes for drivers heading south on Markham Woods Road and trying to make a right turn onto S.R. 434. Sharfman says drivers not only have to contend with a blind spot on their right, but it is also hard to see vehicles making U-turns.

"So somebody could be cautiously making a U-turn when suddenly, somebody going 30 mph with the right of way comes into the intersection resulting in an unavoidable accident that we frequently see," Sharfman said.

Seminole County Assistant Engineer Anthony Nelson said he agrees with Sharfman that a change is needed. He said a traffic study of the area with the state's help has already been done, and the county will make a decision in the next month or two how to proceed.

Nelson said that ideally, the county would like to add another turn lane on southbound Markham Woods Road. The main problem with this is identifying whether the county should repaint the lines to add another turn lane or whether it will be able to just add onto the road, Nelson said.

This is good news for the area, because Sharfman says he cannot imagine what will happen if nothing is changed and soon.

"Unfortunately, I'm going to see another accident and another accident. My goal is to try and prevent an accident with an injury," he said.

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