COCOA, Fla. \u2014 Brevard County officials say a lack of funding is hampering plans to address a dangerous intersection that\u2019s seen its fair share of crashes.<\/p>\n
Rob Waite wrote into Traffic Inbox to say that an increase in traffic is making it challenging driving on Canaveral Groves Boulevard at the Grissom Parkway intersection.<\/p>\n
What You Need To Know<\/p>\n
Brevard County driver Rob Waite says it\u2019s difficult to turn left from Canaveral Groves Boulevard onto Grissom Parkway
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According to information from the county, there were 45 crashes at the intersection between 2020 and 2025
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A study recommends adding dedicated turn lanes and a mast arm with dedicated turn arrows at the intersection
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County officials say they don’t have the $2.5 million needed to fix the issue\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cBasically, you can’t turn left, or you play chicken with whoever’s coming the other way because who knows who’s going,\u201d Waite said. \u201cAnd then, if they turn, there could be somebody flying around them on the shoulder. And ultimately, you got a head-on collision, which has happened multiple times here.\u201d<\/p>\n
A study conducted for Brevard County found there were 38 crashes at the intersection\u00a0between 2020 to 2024, 13 of which resulted in injuries. An additional seven crashes were reported last year.<\/p>\n
With an increase in traffic, Waite said it’s hard for drivers to turn left in between on-coming traffic on Canaveral Groves Boulevard.<\/p>\n
\u201cSee, they’re turning,\u201d Waite said, pointing to a driver at the intersection. \u201cBut that person (doesn\u2019t) have their light on. They’re just gonna turn left. But he didn’t know; he just went anyway. And you ran the risk that the two of them could have collided.\u201d<\/p>\n
Brevard County officials say a plan has been formulated to fix the issue, but funding is a problem.<\/p>\n
The study that was done for them recommended dedicated turn lanes on Canaveral Groves Boulevard, as well as upgrading the span wire to a mast arm to add dedicated turn arrows.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf they were able to fix this left turn, it would decrease the amount of pressure and stress for a lot of people,\u201d Waite said.<\/p>\n
The only problem is the $2.5 million price tag \u2014 an amount a county spokesperson said isn’t currently available in the budget.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s gotten to the point that when Waite needs to go somewhere, he said he\u2019ll cut through a neighborhood to avoid making that left turn.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe problem is, it has created \u2014 all that traffic at the intersection, that is super dangerous and is increasing in danger every day,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Waite said his community can\u2019t wait any longer, but the county has determined that based on data and the limitations with the current traffic signal configuration, no immediate changes can be made.<\/p>\n