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SEMINOLE COUNTY, Fla. – One of our News 6 viewers reached out hoping to get drivers to slow down on Dike Road, just north of Howell Branch.
Troy Williamson, who lives in the area, wrote to us after a driver lost control and crashed into a concrete wall and power pole last week. According to FHP, the 39-year-old man behind the wheel hydroplaned before he went off the road and flipped his BMW on its side.
When our News 6 crew visited the area on Monday, you could still see pieces and parts left behind where the crash happened near Lawndale Circle. Williamson showed our crew the area and said it’s a pattern.
“There’s a big problem with speed,” said Williamson. “It’s been going on for years, and we’re all tired of it at this point.”
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Williamson shared photos he took of the most recent crash last Monday, along with other videos and pictures he’s collected of power outages from previous incidents.
“At least two or three times a year at night we lose power,” said Williamson. “All of a sudden your power goes out. The smoke detectors are ringing, dogs barking. You’re like ‘woah, what’s happened.’”
Williamson said he has reached out to the county and shared his correspondence with traffic engineers throughout the last year.
“Engineering has done some work on it. They are aware of the speeds,” said Williamson.
Data he provided to News 6 from Seminole County shows the average speed is about 33 mph, above the 20 mph advisory speed where the road curves, but “not excessive” considering the posted speed limit is 35 mph on Dike Rd.
The county has installed an electronic radar sign that tracks driver speeds and warns them if they’re traveling too fast. News 6 also saw flashing warning signs to alert drivers ahead of the curves, the 20mph advisory speeds marked on the pavement and posted on signs, and other markings on the roadway to encourage drivers to slow down.
“I’m at my wit’s end trying to protect my neighbors, my area, my subdivision,” said Williamson. “We do have a problem. It’s just, how do we address it?”
John Poper’s family put up signs of their own warning them to “slow down” in front of his home. He told News 6 that the concrete wall across the street has been crashed into four times in the last couple of years.
“I get tired of, you know, I take my dog for a walk up the road and then back down and come back and every time I come out there’s something flattened on the road or, you know, on the side,” said Poper. “Just ask people to slow down on this road.”
Poper said he wouldn’t be surprised if speed tables or speed bumps are put in down the line.
Williamson said he’s not sure what solution would work best, but he hopes the county will continue to look at the area.
“If we can just continue to come up with solutions from Seminole County engineering, as well as maybe the sheriff’s office, run some radar, I think we can get it slowed down,” said Williamson. “The presence of law enforcement being here would be a great influence, especially in the evenings, weekends.
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