Light at the end of the tunnel?: City giving another try at traffic signal

Jun 17, 2009 (Florida Keys Keynoter - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- The Marathon City Council wants to hear straight from the source why a dangerous intersection at U.S. 1 and Aviation Boulevard doesn't qualify for a traffic light.

Last week, the council delayed making a decision on how to make the intersection safer. It first wants to hear an explanation from the state Department of Transportation, which it will at its meeting this coming Tuesday, at 5:30 p.m. at the Marathon Government Center.

A Jacobs Engineering Group study of the intersection -- where several serious car accidents have occurred over the years -- revealed it doesn't meet DOT traffic volume for a light.

Still, for years, residents have demanded something be done there because making a left into the northbound lane of U.S. 1 -- you have to cross the two-lane southbound U.S. 1 to do it -- can be harrowing.

Councilman Dick Ramsay suggested postponing last week's vote, saying maybe DOT would be more receptive to the request for a light if its representatives heard one in person.

"We need community support on this. If it's the action we want to take, we need to communicate with the residents and have telephone calls, e-mails and petitions," Ramsay said.

Chad Scibilia, a longtime Marathon resident and the de facto police chief of the city as the area's top Monroe County Sheriff's Office captain, was largely in favor of a traffic light at the intersection.

"I've been in law enforcement for 23 years in Marathon and concur it's a dangerous intersection. I don't like seeing another traffic light -- it takes away from our small-town feel -- but we have to look out for our residents first," Scibilia said.

On May 26, Jacobs engineer Karl Peterson presented options to the City Council to make the intersection safer. They are: --Not allowing left turns from southbound U.S. 1 into 72nd Street, which is on the oceanside across from the Aviation intersection, where the Ranch House Motel is; and not allowing left turns from Aviation into the northbound U.S. 1 lane.

--Widening Aviation to include a left-turn lane, possibly with a traffic light. This would also ban that left turn onto 72nd Street from southbound U.S. 1.

Ranch House Motel owner Diana Jones told the council a traffic light is needed at the intersection, adding she worries about the safety of her family members and guests.

"We need something done at the intersection. I invite you to come and see how the traffic is jammed up coming from Aviation," she said.

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