PASCO COUNTY, Fla. — A Land O’ Lakes business owner says the increasing congestion in Pasco County is making it hard for customers to get to and from her salon.

Jennifer Gregory owns Sage Salon, which is in the Publix shopping center on U.S. 41 and Pleasant Plains Parkway.

When she first opened the salon in 2007, the area looked a lot different.

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Increasing congestion in Pasco County is making it hard for customers to get to and from Land O’ Lakes salon owner’s business

Jennifer Gregory owns Sage Salon, which is in the Publix shopping center on U.S. 41 and Pleasant Plains Parkway

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“We used to have one road north, one road south. Lot of cows. And that’s all we had. Now we have a bustling area that seems like there is a lot more people than we can handle now,” Gregory said.

Now U.S. 41 is four lanes and busier than ever, especially during the afternoon rush.

“Even just coming up 41, just the traffic from school, from work. If there’s one car broken down, it backs up for miles,” Gregory said.

And that can lead to a lot of issues for drivers trying to get in and out of the shopping center.

Salon manager Leah Feeney describes what it’s like when trying to make a left turn onto Pleasant Plains Parkway to get to U.S. 41, where drivers have to make a U-turn.

“When you’re getting out of this parking lot and you’re trying to get into that original U-turn lane, it’s already backed up,” Feeney said. “So you can’t leave the parking lot until that’s cleared. Once it’s cleared, you have to wait for traffic to get through and then get in the U-turn lane and then wait for three light cycles for people to let you in.”

And that’s because drivers are also trying to get to and from the Connerton neighborhood using just two lanes in each direction, where homes are continuing to be built.  

“Like when I’m booking appointments, I want to stay away from the 4 o’clock, 5 o’clock, because it’s just so difficult to navigate the traffic,” Feeney said.

Pasco County officials say the traffic management team is aware of the issue. They are exploring options there, like adding a left turn lane to 41 or modifying the existing lanes to help traffic move through the area better.

Gregory says she’s been trying to get Pasco County to look at the intersection to see if there’s anything that can be done and hopes they consider making changes.

“Now we have two lanes coming north and two lanes going south. Like do we need more than that? Seems like a lot for this area but maybe that’s what we need with all these new neighborhoods coming in,” Gregory said.