Parkway Intersection To Get Traffic Light

SEBRING - A traffic signal will be added to the intersection of Scenic Highway and Sebring Parkway within six months.

Sebring City Council approved at Tuesday's meeting spending $75,000 for the $150,000 project.
Ramon Gavarrete, county engineer, said the county has been considering a signal at the intersection since the Parkway opened in 2002. Traffic is now at a high enough capacity that a signal is warranted, Gavarrete said.

Gavarrete said he initially thought money collected from impact fees could be used for the traffic signal but later learned that impact fees cannot be used to fix existing problems, only for new problems created by development.

Assistant City Administrator Scott Noethlich said the city has money allocated for the project in Sebring's 2007-08 budget.

Original bids for the project were $221,566, which Gavarrete said "nearly gave us a heart attack."
Instead, county staff will install the light, and the entire project will cost about $150,000. The cost will be split between the county and city of Sebring because the two entities have agreed to share the cost of maintenance and capital improvements to Sebring Parkway Phase I.

Some funds could be recovered through developer's agreements, but city Attorney Michael Swaine said convincing developers to pay for improvements that were made before the development is often difficult.

Council member Margie Rhoades said she thinks a signal may be a bit premature.

"I thought a signal would come as the development comes," Rhoades said. I'm not sure a signal is warranted right now because we don't have a lot of development on the Parkway."

Council member Jeff Carlson said he thinks other intersections in the county need a light more than that one.

Gavarrete said he is working to get a signal at the intersection of Valerie Boulevard and Memorial Drive, but he has not had any other requests for signal consideration.

Council member John Griffin said a lot of motorists use the intersection and have to cross six lanes of traffic on the Parkway without a signal.

"It's a pretty dangerous situation," Griffin said. "I think we need to get a light there before we have a fatality."

Gavarrete said costs will increase every year and as the Parkway construction continues, the signal may take longer to build, so council members decided to move ahead with the project now.