CROSE: A suggestion to keep Northwest Florida traffic moving
Traffic seems to be an unending topic here in Crestview. I am no traffic expert; however, I did come from the greater Los Angeles basin and lived with bumper-to-bumper traffic for years.
When my husband Jim and I lived in the high desert, he worked 62 miles away and had to allow two to two-and-a-half hours commute time each way to work. He worked flex hours so he could drive when traffic was lighter; this made for long days, and many times he didn't get home until 9 or 10 p.m.
Yes, those were trying circumstances for a newly married couple.
Now, we live near Old Bethel Road, Airport Road and State Road 85. When Robb, my brother, worked at Cracker Barrel, I had to allot 30 minutes to get him to work on time at 5 p.m. and it is only a little over 8 miles, but traffic was always piled up.
Driving back from Fort Walton Beach, Destin or Niceville, traffic backs up around Duke Field, which causes an inordinate amount of problems once you hit Crestview. Additionally, there are numerous accidents at PJ Adams Parkway because of the traffic light and people over-driving for congested conditions.
I realize that people make fun of California for requiring environmental impact and traffic studies; however, they don't allow for overgrowth to an area without adequate infrastructure.
Traffic studies are usually done by counting cars with hoses stretched out on the road, accident records justify stop signs and traffic lights, and speed surveys justify speed limits.
A traffic engineer's job is to get traffic through a city as efficiently and safely as possible; this keeps emissions down.
We desperately need some alternative routes through Crestview. An experienced traffic engineering consultant could suggest routes to keep traffic flowing efficiently.
Several traffic studies have been done in our area and at one time there was the suggestion for a bypass east of town and routing traffic through an alternate route. I am not sure what happened with that suggestion or the other traffic studies that have been made, but something needs to be done to keep traffic moving in an efficient manner.
One suggestion would be to calibrate the lights along SR 85 to one speed to keep traffic flowing and post a sign stating that signals are set for 42 mph, rather than having the lights on timers.
Whatever happens, I know there is a good solution for our traffic problems.
Janice Lynn Crose lives in Crestview with her husband, Jim; her two rescue collies, Shane and Jasmine; and two cats, Kathryn and Prince Valiant.
This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: CROSE: A suggestion to keep Northwest Florida traffic moving
