NORTH FORT MYERS, Fla. — A crash at busy North Fort Myers intersection left a motorcyclist in critical condition. People in the area say it could’ve been prevented by changing a traffic light.
Drivers either have to just go for it, or wait an extended period of time if they want to turn from Nalle Rd onto Bayshore Rd.
Tiim Fowler has lived in the area for 27 years, and says he’s noticed even more traffic within the last five years as more people are commuting from Babcock Ranch.
He says he’s seen a least a dozen crashes on Nalle and Bayshore, and an employee at the store on that corner says he sees one once a week.
The latest one reported Sunday night, sent a motorcyclist to the hospital. According to Florida Highway Patrol, the motorcyclist was driving west on Bayshore, and an SUV was traveling east, making a left turn. That SUV driver hit the motorcyclist, sending him to the hospital with critical injuries.
Fowler has a solution in mind that he says could reduce crashes like this.
“I believe everyone on Nalle Rd here has the same question in their mind. Why it can’t be turned on here to function as a regular stop light?” he said.
He says activating the traffic lights to function like more common traffic lights, with a solid red, yellow and green light, will lower crash numbers. According to Florida Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, 6,751 crashes have been reported in Lee County from the beginning of 2021 until June 28, 2021.
Fowler says his requests to the Florida Department of Transportation have fallen on deaf ears.
“I have emailed them. I’ve tried to contact them, but I’ve had no reply, no response,” he saiid.
FDOT sent this statement to Fox 4:
Florida Department of Transportation is aware of this and has warranted this back in May, it has been studied and FDOT is exploring signalization options.
