KISSIMMEE, Fla. — This week, we headed to the Four Corners area in Orange County, where a resident says she's confused about the sudden change of traffic signals on U.S. 192 near Secret Lake Drive and other intersections.
- Flashing yellow arrow recently changed to red at 1 US 192 intersection
- Viewer Barb Doerflein says change has lengthened her commute home
- She wants to know why transportation officials changed the turn light
- Get more Traffic Inbox here
Barb Doerflein, our viewer, already has a busy commute to and from work, requiring her to use U.S. 192 in the Kissimmee area.
"I think it's just very busy. A lot of people are coming to work in this area. There are a lot of town homes, vacation areas, hotels. So it's just very busy, especially when I'm coming home between 5 p.m. and 7 p.m.," she wrote.
Until recently, it was easy to commute up and down U.S. 192 to get to the side streets.
"Where I'm coming from, they had a yellow flashing arrow for a little while, which was great," Doerflein said. "It allowed you to turn off from 192 onto the side roads so long as there wasn't traffic coming from the other direction."
However, something changed recently, which she says made her commute longer.
"Recently, they made it a red turn arrow," she said. "So now, we're getting stopped there. It's getting longer for me to get home, basically. There's more traffic."
She would like to know why it changed.
The Florida Department of Transportation told us that its district's traffic operations group requested that Orange County make the change because of wrecks that have occurred in the area that had flashing yellow arrows.
Spectrum News 13 counted 63 that were responded to in the general area last year by the Florida Highway Patrol alone.
"I've seen the people who just think they can make it, and there's not enough time," Doerflein said. "I understand it's a safety issue. But sometimes there are no cars for a really long while, and it seems like you could safely make a turn."
The change was combined with a signal retiming request, which officials say should lessen delays. However, FDOT said that if it sees backups occurring, there might be the need for further timing changes.
"I guess I'm being selfish," Doerflein said. "I want to turn off the road and I wish we had more time and not just (be) stuck waiting there. That's why the yellow turn was so great."
Thanks for your question, Barb! And if you have a traffic issue or question that you want looked at or solved, head to mynews13.com/trafficinbox and fill out the simple form.