![\"Sign](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/tos-l-road-calming1794.jpg\")
Sign for the traffic calming devices pilot in the Crystal Lake neighborhood along Lake Margaret Drive, on Thursday, September 24, 2026. (Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda\/ Orlando Sentinel)<\/p>\nConcerned about pedestrian safety in the Crystal Lakes area, a residential community about four miles southeast of downtown Orlando, Orange County Public Works recently added \u00a0\u201ctraffic calming\u201d measures that residents describe as strange, confusing and even \u201cnerve-wracking.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWho the hell came up with this stupid idea?\u201d asked Leah Nichin, a resident of the area.<\/p>\n
She was referring to newly painted road markings that seem to narrow and zig-zag the driving lanes of Fern Creek Avenue near the Florida National Guard Armory. The county also has erected temporary median barriers on Lake Margaret Drive and Gatlin Avenue \u2014 all part of an effort to slow traffic and reduce accidents on the busy streets.<\/p>\n
The best news about these test measures, according to some residents, is they\u2019re likely not permanent.<\/p>\n
Public Works spokesperson Darrell Moody said that in six months the department will survey the community to gauge residents\u2019 opinions of the various strategies to see which, if any, they\u2019d like to keep and which should be junked.<\/p>\n
Sign for the traffic calming devices pilot in the Crystal Lake neighborhood along Lake Margaret Drive, on Thursday, September 24, 2026. (Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda\/ Orlando Sentinel)<\/p>\n
\u201cThese type of traffic calming measures are supposed to look strange,\u201d Moody explained.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs a driver, if you\u2019re going to tell me that giving me less space to operate my vehicle is going to make the road safer, that at first doesn\u2019t make sense to me,\u201d he said. \u201cBut once you understand the principle of changing a driver\u2019s behavior by making the road around them look more dangerous, then they\u2019re probably going to slow down, which makes the cars less dangerous to the pedestrians, bicyclists and to people getting on and off the bus.\u201d<\/p>\n
Nichin\u2019s musings about the effort on the social media site Nextdoor, accompanied by her photos of new lines on Fern Creek, sparked a discussion among residents, some of whom wondered how pavement paint was supposed to make the road safer.<\/p>\n
Others doubt the strategy will work as road engineers hope.<\/p>\n
\u201cLooks like they\u2019ve engineered a way for drivers to have a head on collision,\u201d one post noted.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s an optical illusion that makes your brain think that the road is becoming more narrow just ahead causing you to reactively slow down,\u201d read another. \u201cPersonally, I see accidents ahead when people try to adapt to this perception.\u201d<\/p>\n
Noreen Benford, a 25-year resident of the community, said the lanes were already too narrow for buses and delivery trucks and now the redrawn lines funnel larger vehicles toward the center line. \u201cIt\u2019s very nerve-wracking to see a delivery truck aimed at you because the road is narrowing,\u201d she said. \u201cI personally don\u2019t believe this is the solution.\u201d<\/p>\n
Some wondered if the lines were designed to function like speed humps without adding actual humps.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s just paint. Drive over it,\u201d one post advised.<\/p>\n
The new lines and median islands have mostly prompted questions.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think everybody\u2019s just confused. What\u2019s the county doing here?\u201d said neighborhood resident Jared Sylvia in an interview. \u201cI guess it\u2019s an attempt to get people to slow down, but I don\u2019t see it working once people get used to it.\u201d<\/p>\n
The county also has tried speed bumps and rumble strips to slow traffic in Crystal Lakes\u2019 neighborhoods.<\/p>\n
![\"Temporary](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/tos-l-road-calming0359.jpg\")
Traffic calming devices in the Crystal Lake neighborhood along Lake Margaret Drive, on Thursday, September 24, 2026. (Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda\/ Orlando Sentinel)<\/p>\n
Traffic calming strategies are usually employed after residents complain of unsafe speeds or conditions.<\/p>\n
In the Nextdoor conversation, one post claimed the county found 37% of accidents in the study area had caused fatalities and resulted from excessive speed because the roads are long and straight without frequent stop signs.<\/p>\n
The county did not confirm those figures.<\/p>\n
Several commenters on Next Door labeled it \u201ctax dollar waste.\u201d<\/p>\n
The test project is estimated to cost $150,000, Moody said.<\/p>\n
shudak@orlandosentinel.com<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Concerned about pedestrian safety in the Crystal Lakes area, a residential community about four miles southeast of downtown…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":410587,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[28,114,266,115,1335,139,141,140,109,1798],"class_list":["post-410586","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-orlando","tag-florida","tag-latest-headlines","tag-local-news","tag-news","tag-orange-county","tag-orlando","tag-orlando-headlines","tag-orlando-news","tag-social","tag-transportation"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/410586","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=410586"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/410586\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/410587"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=410586"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=410586"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=410586"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}