SANFORD, Fla. – It appears three new concrete speed tables and raised crosswalks that were put in the Celery Avenue area are already being removed.
News 6 first visited the area six weeks ago, after drivers said the speed tables were difficult to see in the dark, were damaging their vehicles, or sending them airborne. Complaints started circulating on social media in December, and then this week drivers noticed one of the recently installed crosswalks was being torn up.
Our crew visited the area again Friday and saw the raised crosswalk at Celery Avenue and Brisson Avenue had been taken out and repaved. We reached out to the county to ask why and were told that the recently constructed raised crosswalks were “not performing as intended.”
A spokesperson for Seminole County sent News 6 the following statement to explain:
“Three recently constructed raised crosswalks along Celery Avenue and Mellonville Avenue are being removed, with work beginning this week, following resident feedback and a project team review that found the raised crosswalks were not performing as intended. The raised crosswalks were installed as part of Phase I of the Celery Avenue/Mellonville Avenue Trail (Lake Monroe Trail Loop) project, which is being delivered by Seminole County in coordination with the City of Sanford through a Local Agency Program (LAP) agreement with the Florida Department of Transportation.
Construction on the current phase of the trail has been underway since spring 2025 and extends along Mellonville Avenue from East Seminole Boulevard to Celery Avenue, continuing along Celery Avenue to just east of Sipes Avenue. Motorists may experience brief, intermittent lane closures during the removal process."
“I’m a little upset about it,” said one woman who lives nearby. “All that money, just gone to waste.”
The speed tables were designed in compliance with the Federal Highway Administration’s Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUCTD) and were approved by the Florida Department of Transportation as part of the federally funded Local Agency Program (LAP.) However, a spokesperson for the county said it appears that when they were actually put in, the speed tables were not built to the same specifications.
Despite the complaints about the height of the crosswalks on social media, our News 6 team spoke to people Friday who said they did think it’s a good idea to slow drivers down.
“My kids were going to school, and we had people speeding up and down there,” said one man. “I think the kids are safer, so I don’t have a problem with it.
Another added, “the speed bump is good, unless they want to lose a bumper. These people they drive fast here and it’s not good.”
The three speed tables were built at Celery Avenue and Celery Key, Celery Avenue and Brisson Avenue, and on South Mellonville Avenue close to Hamilton Elementary School.
When our News 6 first asked the county about the construction, we were told both Seminole County and the City of Sanford were actively monitoring how vehicles were interacting with the raised crosswalks. In response, the city had lowered the speed limit to 35mph on Celery Avenue, which would be enforced as needed.
Work to remove the two remaining raised crosswalks at Celery Key and S Mellonville Avenue will continue in the coming days. There are signs posted in the area to warn drivers about the raised crosswalks ahead and the ongoing construction.