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Does The Highway 29, Highway 97 Intersection Need A Red Light?
December 22, 2013
Does The Highway 29, Highway 97 Intersection Need A Red Light?
We’ve all seen the numerous NorthEscambia.com stories and photos of accidents, some very serious, at the Highway 29, Highway 97 intersection. And yes, we’ve read the comments on the story that invariably have those calling for a red light and those that think it’s a bad idea. Then there are the others that believe the intersection is poorly designed.
The Florida Department of Transportation and numerous other state and county officials have studied the intersection and have reach a conclusion.
Does The Highway 29, Highway 97 Intersection Need A Red Light? Find out the official answer in a story Monday morning on NorthEscambia.com.
Pictured: Fire responders remove a driver from their vehicle following a minor crash at the Highway 29, Highway 97 intersection in Molino earlier this year. NorthEscambia.com photo, click to enlarg.
Comments
30 Responses to “Does The Highway 29, Highway 97 Intersection Need A Red Light?”
I guess I don’t understand, for those in favor of a red light , Please explain the reasoning for a red light. I just can’t see any need for a light. The intersection is simple. The people that can’t pass through this intersection now will be the ones that run the red light and create danger for those that are traveling through the green light assuming they are protected because of a traffic light. A light will create a false sense of safety and will not stop Bonehead Activity!!!!!
People need to get their heads where they belong and pay attention to what they are doing. A red light would make it worse with people trying to out run the light
Without question…YES!! I do agree with a lot of these statements, driver error/speed/inattention is causing the majority of accidents on Hwy 29. That being said, this same conversation was had when there was chatter about a light at Kingsfield Rd.
We have adapted to the other lights along 29, we will adapt to one here. It is a dangerous intersection and needs intervention. There are too many turn lanes and crossings to fully navigate safely.
Hwy 29 is our only N/S artery out of the county. We need a “fast lane” or expressway for ease of travel into/out of Pensacola and let the 4 lane be the local artery for moving local traffic.
But then, I don’t have a degree or office in Tallahassee.
No light needed. However, judging by some of the previous comments and by the horrendous driving habits I observe at this intersection EVERY day, better driver education might be in order.
@northendresident for example…the person turning left onto 97 from northbound 29 DOES have the right of way. They are under no obligation to be courteous to a driver who is crossing 29. I cross 29 there on a regular basis and have no trouble as long as I exercise lawful driving habits and patience.
Also wonder why LEO won’t sit at Tom Thumb and ticket drivers who unlawfully travel northbound in the southbound lane of 29 to get to the intersection instead of heading southbound a fraction of a mile to execute a lawful u-turn…oh, wait….I’ve seen Escambia County Sheriff Deputies do the same!!!!!
putting up a light won’t fix stupid. this same argument has been made about hwy 29 and well line rd everytime they have an accident cause someone pulls out in front of someone from either not paying attention or failing miserably at judging the oncoming traffic speed.
I have said this before, and know from experience. If two vehicles run together at an intersection governed by a traffic light, and there are no witnesses, both drivers will say they had the green light, usually. However, if there is a stop sign, you know who has the requirement to yield. The law only requires you to yield, there is nothing in any law that gives you the “right of way.” Failure to use due care is what will cause you heartache and grief in a civil trial.
Now, if you pull up to the red light at this intersection, and you look left and right, and see no traffic, will you go ahead against the light, or, will you sit there and fume, and say “We don’t need no stinking light?” People, use “due care,” and drive safe.
Yes, go ahead and put up a red light so people can run it like they do the stop signs.
@429SCJ
If you’re judging traffic at 55 mph then you fall into the category of “pay attention”. You can’t just see a car and assume he’s doing the speed limit. You have to pay attention and make decisions based on your judgement.
The accidents will gov through the roof if a light is installed.
agree with 429scj speed has to slow down to 35-40 with or without a light that is the only way this will be a safer intersection
There’s no need coming on here preaching about road safety, traffic rules, or who’s at fault. People are going to drive how they want to anyway and it won’t stop. They are going to do whatever it takes to get where they need to go and in a hurry too. Even some of the officials around here would run you over, they’ll ride your bumper and fly down hwy 29 doing at least 90 mph with no emergency lights on or nothing. The only thing I can do about it is drive defensively for my passengers and I, ranting won’t do me any good.
I am mixed about the light. A light would help the school buses that have to cross or get out. I do think that they need to extend the median so that traffic has to turn on 97 to get into or out of Tom Thumb. That area is a very high traffic area and you can’t always judge speed. Really the whole intersection needs to be reworked … move Crab tree either directly onto 29 or move it a little further up 97.
WELL YES!!! THEY DO NEED A RED LIGHT THAT SHOULDN’T EVEN BE A QUESTION TO ASK THAT HAS BEEN LONG OVERDUE.
People running red lights at this intersection is not the problem we’re having. Stay focused. The problem with this intersection is that we’re failing to take the proper precautions. I agree with the previous comment about decreased speed. However, I also feel that a red light is badly needed. There’s been a lot of accidents there, guys. You know what hasn’t been a factor in any of those accidents? RED LIGHTS. Try them out. You can’t rely 100% on people. You should be able to, but clearly, that’s not the way it is. I’m sure an accident will still occur every now and then, but I’m willing to bet that the frequency at which it happens will differ greatly from the already enormous amounts caused by lack of red lights.
We do not need a light there! All we need are people to drive as they should..
Turn into 97 then turn into Tom Thumb, leaving 97 stay in the right hand side of the road, don’t run over to the inside lane, merge, again the word MERGE into traffic on 29. The speed limit through there is 55 miles per hour….not 65 as people are driving. Pay attention and everything will be okay….Then a few very high tickets might help all the speeders.
Amazing to me that people have trouble crossing or turning onto 29. I’ve never had any problems.
It’s very simple, don’t pull out into oncoming traffic. There are no blind spots, just a wide open intersection with plenty of visibility. NO EXCUSES
There’s pro’s and con’s to a red light being installed there at the intersection, but if it means saving lives and/or less accidents, maybe it might be worth it.
I know two weeks ago, we were headed east down 97 and needed to go across 29. We must have sat there 10 min because we could never get a clear way to go across. It seemed like when no cars were coming from the north direction headed south, someone was always turning to head west towards atmore and never stopped in the turn lane to allow the car sitting there forever to go, they believe they always have the right away first. So we finally gave up and just decided to turn south and do a u-turn so we could get over to the other side.
So in my opinion. the pro would be fairness to all and possibly less accidents. And the con would be, more time sitting at another red light and some traffic congestion. However, maybe such a scenario would promote interest for a Walmart to build in that area?
I would love to have a light there.
If people would stop getting into the turning lane getting off 29 trying to u-turn into the tom tomb pArking lot in front of people getting off 97 it wouldn’t be such a big mess that traffic light going to mess a lot of people up especially people that’s use to coming through there might look at the red light Thinking about the red flashing lights and run straight through it and is going to cause a terrible wreck..
I have family that lives in Molino and i use to live there. yes they do need a red light there. its not that people dont pay attention its just a very dangerous intersection.
You can’t fix stupid. Accidents caused by running red lights are among the most common, most costly, and most injurious and deadly.
People just need to pay more attention.
If you have wrecked at that intersection before, it’s your fault for not paying attention.
Don’t blame the road for your problems.
I also think putting a traffic light there would make a bad situation MUCH worse. Most of the time, the problem is drivers not paying attention, trying to go the wrong way, etc.
If people traveling northbound would stop at a store on the right side of the road it would help. Many people I see in the left turning lane aren’t even turning onto hwy 97 but rather they’re turning into that Tom Thumb, crossing traffic needlessly. I don’t understand it when there’s another Tom Thumb they could have stopped at on their side of the road near the paper mill.
The intersection is too wide. And, it surely needs a light, with turn arrows.
I feel that the traffic on 29 needs to slow down. There are too many cars going too fast. If you attempt to get onto 29 from a side road, it is a seat of your pants endeavor and crossing it without a light is nearly impossible.
Slow the traffic to 40mph about a half mile on each side of the 29/97 intersection. I know that I will look and see a vehicle about 150 yards away and say I can make that and what I do not know is that the vehicle is approaching at 75 or 80MPH and bearing down on me. I am making my distance and time calculation/guestimates based on a 55MPH velocity.
My personal feeling is a light would just make a bad intersection worse. It was bad before the state reworked it making it worse. The dumbest part was putting a bike lane in the middle of the mess. There is a way to improve the intersection. Rework 29 northbound so people can not turn into the south entry of the Thumb. When traffic came out of the south entry of the Thumb onto 29 they would have to turn south, some now try to turn north and have a problem with traffic turning south bound from 97. There would have to be a light on 97 south bound before Crabtree so traffic trying to turn on to Crabtree and the Thumb could. We all know the corner has become a real problem with cars trying to turn onto Crabtree from 97 and traffic turning from 29 and finding stopped traffic and then having no where to go. Wish the planners luck.
No light. Better drivers.
No. It doesn’t need a red light. People need to pay attention. I’ve lived in molino 19 years and have never gotten in a wreck there and I pass through 2 times a day at least. That intersection is perfectly fine but people don’t pay attention! ! For example people leaving Tom thumb on the 29 exit try to take a left to the middle section to go north on 29. That’s dangerous! It’s not the intersection, it’s the drivers!
If it was gonna be one color I would prefer the traffic light to be a green one..