BELLE ISLE, Fla. — A shortcut through an Orange County community is causing dangerous conditions for some in Belle Isle.

Vance Dawson said that as Lee Vista Boulevard turns into Judge Road, drivers are taking Daetwyler Drive, instead of Conway Road, to get to McCoy Road.

He said that cut-through is causing problems for those living in Belle Isle.

“They come in about 25 cars at a time and they’re cutting through,” he said. “They are not visiting grandma down by Warren Park.”

Dawson and his wife typically walk 5 miles a day, and he said he’s dedicated to making the roads prettier and safer.

He adopted a portion of Judge Road and Daetwyler Drive to ensure their beauty in Belle Isle.

“Imagine having to pick up this garbage and have your head sticking out in the middle road where people are driving by,” Dawson said. “Some of them will give me the right of way, some of them don’t.”

Dawson himself was hit by a driver back in 2017.

“I was transported to the hospital and ultimately underwent surgery on my left hip and my right knee,” he said.

He doesn’t want anyone else to get hit on Daetwyler Drive.

He says the city should do more to deter drivers from cutting through on Judge Road and Daetwyler Drive.

Belle Isle Police Deputy Chief Travis Grimm said the city does have a list of projects they’re working on to make the area safer.

 “We’ve asked the county for no large trucks on this roadway,” he said.

Last year, the city of Belle Isle annexed Daetwyler and Judge from Orange County.

The only hitch is that Belle Isle has to get Orange County’s approval to make any changes.

Right now, the city is asking to reduce the speed to 30 miles per hour, prohibit large trucks through a weight limit, add a new crosswalk on Judge Road near Conway Lakes and make the existing crosswalk on Daetwyler at Seminole Drive safer with flashing lights and raised pavement.

“I can’t wait for Orange County to approve a crosswalk in order to calm this traffic, traffic needs to be calmed now,” said Dawson.

Dawson would like something a little more immediate, and he hopes police will patrol the area more often.

“It’s something you don’t forget,' he said of being hit. "I guess there may be some people who might suggest I’m a little over sensitive, but if they were hit by a car on this road, they would feel totally different."

The city of Belle Isle is also looking to amend its interlocal agreement with Orange County so that it doesn’t need approval to make changes on Judge Road and Daetwyler Drive.

That is something the county commission would have to decide.

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