Several residents submitted letters to share their thoughts on Ocala/Marion County’s roadways.
“I have lived in Ocala for 25 years now. I’ve seen a lot of growth. State Road 200 went from two lanes to six lanes and, to this date, that is not enough. It’s taking me 40 minutes to go from the Paddock Mall to Indigo East by On Top of the World. It has also become the new I-75. We have Celesa traffic, newbies coming into OTOW’s new communities, and soon there will be traffic coming from the new apartments on SW 80th Street and the new Lennar homes off State Road 200. Plus, the city just approved a new home community off SW 60th Avenue. I don’t believe there were studies done on the amount of people coming into these communities. We need more side roads off 200 to help with this traffic. The communities in the southwest are growing, along with everywhere else in the Ocala area. Something has to be done,” says Ocala resident Susan Gutterman.
“I have been complaining about speeders for at least six or seven years with no results. I live on SW 129th Terrace Road, and it is so dangerous that I will not let my wife mow the grass by the road. We love law enforcement, but we’re not a big fan of non-enforcement,” says Chris Odom, Dunnellon resident.
“I invite everyone to the Grand Prix on Maricamp – to Walmart and beyond. See pickup trucks pulling trailers hitting 80 mph each day. See rice rocket motorcycles hitting 90 mph at 10,000 rpm. What you won’t see is Sheriff Billy doing anything about. I have written to him twice, but the truth is that he is a no-regulation Republican who feels it’s your right to use the full potential of your F-150, especially if you have a U.S. flag and a Trump 2024 flag attached to the back of your rig,” says Ocala resident Phillip Davis.