POLK COUNTY, Fla. — The number of deadly car accidents in Polk County jumped from 134 in 2020 to 165 last year, according to data from Signal Four Analytics.
“Because we’re having an increase in population in general, there’s bound to be an increase in wrecks,” said Adam Rose with the Florida Department of Transportation.
Polk County is working on making roads safer for drivers and pedestrians by implementing roundabouts to reduce deadly crashes.
“Instead of having it where everyone is facing each other, it creates those angles and movements that slow people down. You still have crashes at roundabouts but they're typically not as serious,” said Polk County Roads & Drainage Director Jay Jarvis.
Starting Tuesday, roundabout construction at the intersection of Old Bartow Lake Wales Road and Rattlesnake Road (County Road 653) in Lake Wales will close the intersection for one month.
Another roundabout project at the intersection of North Galloway Road and Sleepy Hill Road in unincorporated Lakeland will keep the intersection closed for two more weeks.
“We tried a four-way stop at that location but because of the amount of traffic on Galloway Road we had a lot of backed up traffic, so we ended up pulling that four-way stop,” said Jarvis.
Jarvis said the long term maintenance of a roundabout is more cost effective than a traffic signal. FDOT Polk County division is also looking to curb crashes. They recently added roundabouts in Polk City and Lake Wales, and another project is on the way in Lakeland.
“We always do a five year look ahead and with the recent growth spurt, we’ve taken note of that and we’re starting to anticipate the best we can,” said Rose.
