Villagers living south of State Road 44 are upset about the evolution of the “Morse Boulevard Expressway” and fear more traffic is in their future.
Residents of the Village of Chitty Chatty and the Village of Bradford showed up in en masse Tuesday night at the Sumter County Commission meeting at Everglades Recreation Center.
Keenan Dixon of the Village of Chitty Chatty is serving as spokesman for the group. He went to the podium and told commissioners he and his neighbors don’t want an “adversarial” relationship with their elected leaders. However, Dixon said he and his neighbors intend to persistently press their concerns about traffic.
Dixon’s alter ego is “Coyote Joe” whose “traveling roadshow” is a favorite at RJ Gator’s and Cody’s Original Roadhouse. The entertainer knows how to get the crowd grooving with the music and he appears ready to use his leadership skills in an effort to motivate his fellow residents to put pressure on commissioners to do something about the growing traffic problem.
“There have been some real poor traffic designs by the owners of The Villages,” Dixon said.
Many of Dixon’s neighbors took their turn at the podium, expressing their fears about vehicles racing down Morse Boulevard.
“The traffic has been crazy. We live in racetrack alley,” said Greg Mullen of the Village of Bradford.
Mike Dybas, also of the Village of Bradford, said it’s time to rename the busy roadway “Morse Boulevard Expressway.” He said speeding is a major problem.
“It’s too fast. Make it 35 miles per hour. Put some police out there for traffic control,” Dybas said.
They all agreed that the traffic problems will worsen as The Villages builds more homes in the south.
