ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — Chris and Gina Dyer say it’s challenging to bring their son Nicholas to Sunset Park Elementary School in Windermere, even though they live just over a mile away.

What You Need To Know

  • Chris Dyer says congestion causes issues on Winter Garden Vineland Road near Sunset Park Elementary School

  • Dyer requested that the traffic signal be adjusted at the intersection with Chase Road

  • Orange County engineers adjusted the signal in the afternoon but could not in the morning

  • The Orange County Sheriff’s Office says it will try to increase its morning presence

“Everybody kind of bottlenecks into the intersections so you've got people coming from the turn signal trying to beat us, coming through the light causing an issue, and there's multiple accidents,” Chris Dyer said.

Ten years ago at this location, where Winter Garden Vineland Road meets Chase Road near Windermere, Gina Dyer herself was injured in a wreck.

“We were coming through and the car tried to beat me in the middle of the intersection, and we T-boned," she said. "I wound up breaking my foot and hurting my neck severely.”

What’s changed in 10 years is more traffic from more communities in this unincorporated area near Windermere.

Just a few cars can get through before Chris Dyer, Gina Dyer and Nicholas get stuck during that school drop-off and pickup times.

“Now we’re stuck in the middle of the intersection because it has come to a dead stop,” Chris Dyer pointed out. “Now we’re going through this light cycle and now we’re a sitting duck on this road.”

Orange County government and the sheriff’s office stated they would look into the issue.

County traffic engineers were sent to the Winter Garden Vineland Road intersections with Chase Road and Overstreet Road. They, too, noticed the high vehicle and pedestrian volumes related to the school drop-off and pickup times.

While they could make timing adjustments to the traffic signal in the afternoon, they said the pedestrian crossings and backups from the school entrance in the morning wouldn’t be fixed with adjusting the signal timing.

“I think that we should have at least one more, if not two more, deputies out here just to make sure people behave themselves with the traffic,” Chris Dyer said.

The sheriff’s office says it will do its best to enhance law enforcement presence during the morning hours, as long as deputies are not responding to other urgent calls.

“That’s my worst fear is one of my children or somebody else’s kid getting severely injured, if not worse,” Chris Dyer said.

If you’ve got a traffic trouble spot that needs attention, fill out the form on the Spectrum News 13 traffic page on the website and app.