INDIALANTIC, Fla. – A problematic speed bump in Indialantic has been ground flat after quickly gaining a reputation for sending drivers airborne.
The resurfaced section of Fifth Avenue was brought to our attention Friday morning by News 6 viewer Misti Schneider.
This comes just two days after we reported on a council meeting where some said the raised crosswalk was causing their vehicles to bottom out and scrape the ground. The bump had only been in place for about a week.
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“Within a day, there was already gauges in the road from people bottoming out,” driver Paul Johnson said.
At Wednesday’s meeting, the Florida Department of Transportation said nothing would change for at least a week.
“I watched a couple cars almost go airborne,” driver Dan Barile said at the meeting Wednesday, expressing hopes that the bump would soon be gone or at least redesigned.
“I don’t think the people were prepared for the change,” Barile said. “That’s an issue that they should have had some forethought.”
Earlier that day, the new crosswalk signs were uncovered finally giving drivers a warning to slow down.
Among the options being considered at the time, Indialantic Mayor Mark McDermott said that the total removal we now see was one of them.
“Maybe remove it completely. Maybe shave it down,” McDermott said, claiming the council did not request a speed bump or a raised crosswalk for people walking to the town hall and adding the Florida Department of Transportation’s original description of the project allowed drivers to pass through without slowing down.
However, with one less crosswalk in Indialantic, questions remain over what’s now being done to improve safety in the area.
“I didn’t understand why we needed one,” Jim Hays said.
The driver said crosswalks on Fifth Avenue should be at intersections, not across the middle of the road.
McDermott on Friday said he was happy FDOT removed the speed bump so quickly.
“I didn’t know what to expect,” the mayor said. “I was hoping it would be that fast and we got lucky.”
FDOT said the crosswalk was supposed to make walking across Fifth Avenue safer, but now, the state is also canceling plans for four more crosswalks on the main road.
“We got what we wanted, and FDOT is going to go back and look at some other options and we’ll go on from there,” McDermott said.
“Amazing the government worked so fast in response to results they got,” Johnson said.
News 6 is working to learn more. This is a developing story and will be updated.
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