Mann likes Lehigh’s new ‘roundabout’ at Sunshine and 23rd St.
Lee County Commissioner Frank Mann says he drove to Lehigh a few days ago to take a look at the new “round about” at the intersection of 23rd St. and Sunshine Blvd., and he liked what he saw. The printed edition of The Citizen said in its first paragraph that it was on 12th St., which was a typo.
Mann liked it so much that he admitted he rode around it several times just to see how the traffic flowed.
“That’s better than a stop light, and a whole lot cheaper,” he said.
“The traffic was moving through it without delay. I know we have them in other aras of the county, but this a first for Lehigh and I congratulate the county’s Dept. of Transportation for their work. They did it fast and I think it’s an addition to the neighborhood and streets involved.”
No longer do motorists have to wait at a four-way stop sign for traffic to move.
Now in the roundabout, a motorists yields to the motorists approaching the roundabout and everyone moves safely through turning off at 23rd or at Sunshine. No more delays is what Mann likes about it.
He said the installation of a traffic stop light could have cost the county more than what the project cost.
Edd Weiner, the vice chairman of the Lehigh Acres Community Planning Corp., an engineer and former municipal employee on Florida’s east cost, has been pushing for roundabouts in Lehigh for close to a year.
He has even brought large architectural drawings to meetings and explained where they could be used.
“I like the concept, but I don’t think we can build any more right now, with the economy the way it is. But I see a future for them in Lehigh at various intersections,” he said.
He noted that the county’s DOT proposed the roundabout for the 23rd St. (not 29th as in the printed edition) and Sunshine Blvd. intersection after studies. There have been numerous fender bumpers there for years. Just down the street is the intersection of Gunnery and 23rd St.
A stop light was installed there a few years back after a number of crashes, one being a fatality.
The 23rd street corridor is a straight stretch of roadway that runs parallel to Lee Blvd. And a lot of motorists use it instead of Lee Blvd. While the speed limit is lower than on Lee Blvd., motorists often speed down 23rd St., and sometimes they have even ignored the stop sign.
Now with the roundabout it will slow motorists down.
“I’ m just very pleased with it and I think the motoring public of Lehigh likes it too,” he said. “i was noticing how they were reacting when they approached the intersection.
“I could tell they were thinking, no stopping and watching out for someone to go through a stop sign,” he said.
The cost of the project which was performed by APAC was around $250,000 or less, according to a spokesperson with the county DOT.