What it is:
Sample Road will be narrowed to 1 lane each way from US1 to Lighthouse Dr. There will be turning lanes, I don’t know exactly where.
Why we’re getting it: “We voted on it.” Sorry, but I DID NOT VOTE TO NARROW SAMPLE ROAD TO ONE LANE. Citizens did vote for bond money a few years ago to beautify Sample Road. This is why you should never vote for something without details!
This project has been in the news and every time it came up I spoke against it. Based on a conversation a few nights ago, there were roughly 50 people who spoke out in favor and 50 who spoke out against.
There are a few primary issues driving the change in my opinion:
1. People want a nicer entrance to our city. OK, I’m fine with that.
2. People continue to drive east looking for the beach, creating excessive traffic.
3. Too many speeding drivers due to the overall road width in that part of city
The 2nd will likely be resolved by narrowing to one lane, but at what cost to those who live there? I predict cost overruns and backed up traffic. I predict increased accidents at the US 1 intersection (see below) and increased traffic in the residential area 1 block east of US1 and south of Sample.
I’m tired of hearing “it won’t cost us a dime, its federal money†in all parts of our lives. Not that that’s what this project is, but that statement is the essence of pork barrel in our government today. Legislators bringing home money for their districts. Federal money is not free! We pay for in with taxes every year!
The last plan I saw blocked westbound access to the plaza on the south side- i.e. the mortgage company, dance studio, dress shop and Bonefish Mac’s. Since there will be no u-turn at US1, you would need to cross Federal and travel to some point that you can u-turn, then come back across Federal again to get to that plaza. Anyone want to correct me here? Of course, as soon as people realize this, they’ll find the back ways (the neighboring streets) to get to the plaza. And then there will be those who make illegal turns so they don’t have to deal with all that.
Last item: someone suggested at a commission meeting to put up barricades to test what it would be like since there were still so many people complaining about this project. I did not hear a yes, but they did do it. How many people knew that’s what the barricades were for? The barricades put in place did not fully represent what is planned. There was no call for resident feedback and in fact the commission voted to implement the plan in just days after the test.
Why? Because…
– Federal money is available
– Not enough people are complaining to stop it
– We’ve spent so much on engineering that no one wants to go back to the drawing board
– Those involved have spent so much time on it they just want it to go away
– “We voted for it†and they are just carrying out our desires
Note: This is the Broward Beautiful GreenShade Grant project, not the Narrow Sample Road to One Lane project