WMBB News 13 - The Panhandle's News LeaderIssues Raised About Bay County Intersection

News 13 continues to check potential safety hazards on area roads.  One community concern has been brought to our attention.  We look at the issue in this Problem Solver report.

"Definitely around 7:30 in the morning and five o'clock in the evening…definitely congested," says Bay County resident Ashley Raffield.  Her concerns over the intersection at East Avenue and Game Farm Road are understandable. 

With no traffic signal at the location, motorists really have to be very careful moving thru the area.  Raffield drivers through the intersection almost everyday and says, "Traffic backs up down Game Farm quite a ways…sometimes almost to Transmitter Road. And on East Avenue especially during the evening time to get on to Game Farm is the most difficult thing you have tried to do.  There's not really room for pedestrians to cross…there's not a bicycle lane or anything."

James Abbott works right next to the intersection.  Abbott tells News 13, "We have had multiple accidents read-end, head-on collisions, we have had people try to go down the one way street right here just the wrong way…I mean, it is a horrible intersection.  Something needs to be done about it."

Looking at the numbers, according to the Florida Department of Transportation, the annual average daily traffic count is 18,500 in that area of East Avenue.  The Bay County Sheriff's Office says there were 17 accidents at the intersection between February 2009 and February 2011.

Ian Satter, FDOT Public Information Director, says a traffic study has been taken here.  According to Satter, "After we did our traffic survey in 2010, it was determined that a traffic signal wasn't warranted for that area.  At the time, the traffic number and the other intersections in the area deemed it that it was unable to do at this time."  But, News 13 wanted to know if perhaps an updated study can be taken to determine if something else is needed to make this area safer.

Satter tells us, "If there is a concern from the public, we can obviously look at that particular intersection again and see if a signal is warranted for that particular intersection."

Satter tells News 13 that the concerns from the public will be passed on to the proper DOT officials.  Hopefully, a new study of the intersection will be conducted soon.  News 13 will let you know of any developments in this issue.