Recent Thomasville Road Changes Causing Concern

By: Lanetra Bennett - Email

Updated: Mon 10:57 PM, Sep 24, 2012

LIVE from Thomasville Road

[UPDATE] Tallahassee, FL - September 24, 2012 - 6:07pm

Changes have been made to a busy stretch of Thomasville Road in Tallahassee. But, not everyone's happy about it.

City administrators say increasing the speed limit on this portion of Thomasville Road in Tallahassee will allow drivers to zoom right over their vision.

"I'm a walker by trade as you would say." But, walking on Thomasville Road in Tallahassee, Mark Zamiatowski says, can be scary.

Zamiatowski says, "It's so dangerous even to cross the street because they just keep on cutting you off. People are talking on their cell phones or texting even, and they shoulv'e kept the same speed they had it."

The speed limit on Thomasville around Betton Road up to the area where Whole Foods is being built has gone up from 35 to 45 miles an hour.

City Commissioner Nancy Miller does not agree with the Florida Department of Transportation making the change to the state road.

"That's ten miles an hour. You know how people are." She adds, "You end up with just two lanes that expand and a merge and then everything there. That's one of our troublesome intersections in town. I just felt that it was premature to go ahead and just make this decision.

An FDOT spokesperson says the decision was made after doing a study. He says after looking at traffic volume, traffic citations, and crash statistics, they determined it was safe to raise the speed limit.

Miller says the change goes against the city's vision of extending the pedestrian friendly area of Midtown. She says Whole Foods chose to build there for that reason.

Miller says, "Here's an area where everything says all the stars are lining up to make this much more walkable, peple-oriented place when here comes the speed limit change."

The Florida Department of Transportation urges all drivers to always keep safety first when driving down Thomasville Road or any corridor.

The FDOT spokesperson says traffic studies and speed limit changes are usually initiated by local organizations.

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Tallahassee, FL - September 24, 2012

Changes to a stretch of road in one area on the northeast side of Tallahassee are causing some concern. It's how fast you can drive down Thomasville Road that's raising questions.

City administrators say they were notified that the speed limit on Thomasville Road near the Whole Foods that's being built is going up. The speed limit is went from 35 to 45 miles an hour.

Thomasville Road is a state road, so it was the Florida Department of Transportation that made the change.

Administrators with the City of Tallahassee are concerned about the speed limit being increased from 35 to 45 miles an hour because they say the change goes against their vision for that area.

That vision was for the Whole Foods plaza and surrounding neighborhoods to be a walkable community to coincide with the revitalized Midtown area.

City administrators say they fear that residents and community members won't feel safe if drivers are zooming down the road.

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