Gearing up for tomorrow's traffic

We have a hard and fast rule here at Just Wright Citrus, one to which we always adhere.

It’s this: Anytime there are two County Commission meetings the same day, that’s our blog subject. It’s rare, like a harvest moon.
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Let’s get to it:

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— I didn’t take a single note for the biggest vote of the day. At Commissioner Rebecca Bays’ urging, the board voted for a corridor alignment study to eventually widen C.R. 491 between Pine Ridge and State Road 200.

We have a lot of challenges in this county, but the one we see EVERY DAY is on our crowded roads. With daylight saving time coming to an end this weekend, our roads will pack up quite nicely between now and spring.

Very early into my Just Wright Citrus career, I suggested a countywide transportation master plan. Citrus County and the cities have no plan for future roadway growth, either by widening roads, building new ones, expanding intersections, or other ideas we haven’t yet explored.

Commissioner Bays is the big thinker on the board, particularly with transportation. On more than a few occasions she’s raised a similar idea…hey guys, we really need a corridor plan…um…anyone out there?

The full board agreed at a January retreat to prioritize road planning.

There is a real urgency. The Suncoast Parkway opens to C.R. 486 in 2026, with construction continuing without interruption to Citrus Avenue and the terminus at U.S. 19. Our road network needs a jolt. We should start identifying the two-lane roads that should be four-lane roads.

We’ve been hearing for years that Citrus County directs its growth to the Central Ridge. That’s why we’ll have a parkway interchange at C.R. 486. That’s why there’s an explosion of commercial growth on the corner of C.R. 486/491. That’s why thousands of homes are planned in the Beverly Hills area.

What we don’t see is a roadway corridor ready to handle it.

For years, the county inexplicably sat on millions of dollars to widen the second stretch of 491 between S.R. 44 and C.R. 486. Now that work is being done, which is great, but we’re already behind.

Bays’ push for a corridor study is the first step to ensure Citrus County’s midsection growth corresponds with its ability to handle that traffic on C.R. 491 between Pine Ridge and S.R. 200. 

The study isn’t cheap — about $975,000 in impact fees. And widening 7 miles of roadway will cost tens of millions of dollars.

We don’t need to go there today. What matters is that the County Commission has taken this bull by the horns. We’ll look back on this day as one where progress began. It’s called planning, and I hope this is the start of more just like it.

— Wish I had the same optimism for the animal shelter project which, frankly, is potentially looking at some difficult political times ahead.

Commissioner Ruthie Davis Schlabach, at her second-from-last meeting, wanted the board to apply for environmental permits for the new animal shelter even though it hasn’t approved a final design yet.

Schlabach said the plans were “99 percent” complete. She said these permits take months to process and didn’t want the project delayed any more than necessary.

It passed on a 3-2 vote. Commissioners Diana Finegan and Jeff Kinnard wanted to see the final design first.

As much as it pains me to say this, the shelter project is fraught with political peril. It will no longer have a board champion once Schlabach leaves office. Finegan sounds like she’s looking for a reason to spike it, and incoming commissioner Janet Barek hasn’t indicated much interest either. 

I’m not sure who’s pushing this across the finish line. Or even out of the gate. We'll get back to this after the election.

I’ll save the rest of my stuff for another day. Have a wacky Wednesday, friends.

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