By Theresa Rossetti, Resident
Raise your hand if you've been frustrated by the CalTrans project on
Florida Avenue. OK, put your hand down and let's look at the why
and the when of the project. First the why. California performs an
Annual Multilane Cross Media Collision Monitoring Report. This
report found that between 2013 and 2015 there were 346 collisions,
233 injuries and five fatalities on Florida between Acacia Avenue and
Ramona Expressway. A project to prevent cross-median collisions
and maintain traffic flow was initiated, which is expected to cut
collisions by 30 percent. The city of Hemet was not happy with this
decision, but that's a story for another time.
As most of you know, the project is well underway, with trenches
dug all along the construction line, and left turn access eliminated
or changed for many of the shopping areas. If all goes well, the
concrete for the medians should be poured this month (expect more
congestion), then work will begin on ramps, sidewalks, driveways
and traffic signals along the way. In May paving is scheduled at the
intersections and left turn lanes then in June lane painting.
If you want to know before you go, CALTRANS suggests you sign
up for traffic alerts at CalTrans District 8 and use Quick Maps for
planned lane closures. (I tried this. Both sites are a little "clunky" to
use.) Or you can do what I usually do. Use Acacia or Stetson instead
of Florida. This works pretty well for most of the places I'm going,
just make sure you go one block past your destination if it is on the
north side of Florida.
You Can't Get There From Here!
SOLERA DIAMOND VALLEY | MARCH 2020 19
