Brian Yogodzinski, who has been writing for the Post over the past few weeks focusing on the problems facing Alafaya Trail….has successfully petitioned Orange County to fix a problem he identified early this week.
Brian, along with many of you (our readers) have been relentless in demanding accountability, transparency, and safety on Alafaya Trail. Well, it seems like we are finally making enough noise to get the county and the contractors in gear. Congrats Brian & congrats to our readers/citizens. Let’s keep the heat on!
Below is Brian’s most recent piece addressing longer red lights and problematic turning lanes and his recent interaction with the county —
By Brian Yogodzinski
When the new southbound lane of the South Alafaya Trail widening project opened for traffic, traffic did not flow well at the intersection of Alafaya Trail and Avalon Park Boulevard. Previously traffic for the left hand turn on to Avalon Park Boulevard and the through traffic had separate lanes. Those lanes were combined in to one lane. This required extending the duration the light was green for southbound traffic to clear the intersection. The end result was that all other drivers were impacted with longer red lights for the three other traffic approaches.
The movement of the northbound traffic to the newly paved roadway on Saturday also impacted the traffic originating for the south side of the intersection. Just like the north side of the intersection, the turn and through traffic lanes were combined. Drivers wanting to go northbound through the light are impacted by the drivers waiting to turn left on to Innovation way. Light timing adjustments will be needed to resolve the issue which will result in longer red lights for the drivers coming from Avalon Park Boulevard and Innovation Way. A representation of the situation created by Saturday’s revised traffic pattern is shown.
There was the ability to retain the left hand turn lanes for both northbound and southbound traffic at the time of the previous traffic lane adjustments. The County was contacted on this issue and they have replied. They noted the left hand turn lanes will be restored by May 31st. The details for supporting the restoration of the left hand turn lanes is unclear as this could be a result of “We the People” highlighting the issue, a realization by the engineers that there was a better solution, or a combination of these events. In any event, the responsiveness of the County to the resolve the issue is appreciated. What would have been more been appreciated would have been if the County considered the impact of changes and take a more proactive approach.
Brian Yogodzinski is a Mechanical Engineer from North Carolina State University with 25 years of experience, primarily in the power generation business. During that time he became a specialist in the area of Transportation Engineering for the movement of over-dimensional and over-weight components such as power plant generators, combustion turbines, and steam turbines, with typical components ranging from 110,000 pounds to 1,000,000 pounds. He has extensive experience working with state and local authorities to ensure regulation compliances and safe transit of these commodities in the public domain. He currently works for a firm that builds equipment for and constructs power plants.
