OVIEDO, Fla. – What’s the deal with the double stop signs, orange barricades and bagged-up traffic signal lights in front of the Oviedo Mall?
It’s been nearly a year since the signals were turned off and one was even removed at Dovera Drive and Oviedo Mall Boulevard.
Instead, multiple stop signs signal the stopping – most of the time.
“Nobody follows the stop sign, so everybody just cuts everybody off,” one driver told News 6.
“It’s horrible,” another driver said.
Oviedo City Communications Manager Lisa McDonald said residents were first notified in September “via mass notification, website news, city newsletter and all social media channels” that the traffic signal post had corroded beyond repair.
“The mast arm was damaged due to corrosion that ate through a section of the arm, near the base, close to the pole which affects the structural integrity of the signal,” McDonald said.
Engineers immediately and temporarily placed stop signs in all three directions to replace the traffic signals.
McDonald said a signal warrant analysis has since determined the intersection is “lower flow.”
“Because of the smaller size of this intersection and lower traffic flow, staff has decided to convert this intersection into a 3-WAY STOP,” McDonald said. “There were large traffic signs that were put in place for a number of months, with Oviedo police also letting drivers know if they failed to stop, so drivers could acclimate themselves to the changes.”
Oviedo posted about the change again on Facebook in November, generating 38 comments and again in January, resulting in 41 comments, most of them critical of the new configuration.
“I don’t think this area has lower traffic flow. A lot of people go that way, and I think it’s very dangerous to just put up a stop sign,” one comment read.
“If I hadn’t stopped and saw a driver speed through the intersection without even slowing down, he would have hit me,” another comment read.
McDonald said the city’s consultant is currently creating a construction plan to remove the traffic signals and make the stop signs permanent.
Besides the stop signs, orange barricades and faded flags have been placed at the intersection to catch the attention of drivers.
“Drivers are asked to be aware, pay attention and stop completely at the stop signs, following traffic rules,” McDonald said.