Concerned about pedestrian safety in the Crystal Lakes area, a residential community about four miles southeast of downtown Orlando, Orange County Public Works recently added “traffic calming” measures that residents describe as strange, confusing and even “nerve-wracking.”
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“Who the hell came up with this stupid idea?” asked Leah Nichin, a resident of the area.
She was referring to newly painted road markings that seem to narrow and zig-zag the driving lanes of Fern Creek Avenue near the Florida National Guard Armory. The county also has erected temporary median barriers on Lake Margaret Drive and Gatlin Avenue — all part of an effort to slow traffic and reduce accidents on the busy streets.
The best news about these test measures, according to some residents, is they’re likely not permanent.
Public Works spokesperson Darrell Moody said that in six months the department will survey the community to gauge residents’ opinions of the various strategies to see which, if any, they’d like to keep and which should be junked.
“These type of traffic calming measures are supposed to look strange,” Moody explained.
“As a driver, if you’re going to tell me that giving me less space to operate my vehicle is going to make the road safer, that at first doesn’t make sense to me,” he said. “But once you understand the principle of changing a driver’s behavior by making the road around them look more dangerous, then they’re probably going to slow down, which makes the cars less dangerous to the pedestrians, bicyclists and to people getting on and off the bus.”
Nichin’s musings about the effort on the social media site Nextdoor, accompanied by her photos of new lines on Fern Creek, sparked a discussion among residents, some of whom wondered how pavement paint was supposed to make the road safer.
Others doubt the strategy will work as road engineers hope.
“Looks like they’ve engineered a way for drivers to have a head on collision,” one post noted.
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“It’s an optical illusion that makes your brain think that the road is becoming more narrow just ahead causing you to reactively slow down,” read another. “Personally, I see accidents ahead when people try to adapt to this perception.”
Noreen Benford, a 25-year resident of the community, said the lanes were already too narrow for buses and delivery trucks and now the redrawn lines funnel larger vehicles toward the center line. “It’s very nerve-wracking to see a delivery truck aimed at you because the road is narrowing,” she said. “I personally don’t believe this is the solution.”
Some wondered if the lines were designed to function like speed humps without adding actual humps.
“It’s just paint. Drive over it,” one post advised.
The new lines and median islands have mostly prompted questions.
“I think everybody’s just confused. What’s the county doing here?” said neighborhood resident Jared Sylvia in an interview. “I guess it’s an attempt to get people to slow down, but I don’t see it working once people get used to it.”
The county also has tried speed bumps and rumble strips to slow traffic in Crystal Lakes’ neighborhoods.
Traffic calming strategies are usually employed after residents complain of unsafe speeds or conditions.
In the Nextdoor conversation, one post claimed the county found 37% of accidents in the study area had caused fatalities and resulted from excessive speed because the roads are long and straight without frequent stop signs.
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The county did not confirm those figures.
Several commenters on Next Door labeled it “tax dollar waste.”
The test project is estimated to cost $150,000, Moody said.