[mulligan]

Took long enough. I knew there had to be some negativity out there.

[JB in TV]

Originally Posted by NJblue

Yes, there probably will be some benefit. However, there will also be potential for some very substantial negatives. First, this not only provides a shortcut for you and me, but it provides a shortcut for everyone including residents of Lady Lake, Fruitland Park, Leesburg and Sommerfield who previously may have used 27/441 off the turnpike. It also is a shortcut for the tractor trailers and other commercial vehicles who, instead of using state highways will now opt for the shortcut through The Villages. I expect traffic on Morse to be significantly worse than it is now.

Secondly, it is a well known fact that criminals like to have easy access and especially egress from their crimes. So, if it makes it easy for you and I to get to/from the turnpike, it also makes it easy for the undesirable elements.

Like many, when I first heard of this interchange more than 5 years ago, I thought of only the positives for me as a regular user of the turnpike. However, upon further reflection, I think I'd rather take the extra few minutes it takes to go via the Wildwood exit and keep Morse as a primarily TV resident road.

While you bring up some imteresting points, I think the tractor trailers and commercial vehicles will not want to navigate the round abouts...so, I doubt that commercial traffic on Morse will increase that much.

Additionally, I doubt "criminals" are using the turnpike to get here...

[NJblue]

Originally Posted by Villager Dude

Not sure about you but for some reason I think there may be an outlet mall on the horizon near the exchange.

No facts just suspicion.

There has to be a commercial reason to build this. Residential sales are good enough here at TV so I do not think the motive is primarily to benefit us.

This may be true if Morse is doing this voluntarily. However, I would guess that this is less than voluntary. More likely, his funding of the interchange was required as a condition for approval to expand The Villages to its current scope. This type of arrangement happens all the time in land development.

The biggest commercial benfactor for this interchange would likely be the owners of the vast amount of property in the immediate area of the exchange. Unless Morse is a shadow owner of the Bigham Hide Company, which is the primary land owner in the area, he would now have to pay top dollar to acquire the land for commercial use.

[buzzy]

Originally Posted by NJblue

Yes, there probably will be some benefit. However, there will also be potential for some very substantial negatives. First, this not only provides a shortcut for you and me, but it provides a shortcut for everyone including residents of Lady Lake, Fruitland Park, Leesburg and Sommerfield who previously may have used 27/441 off the turnpike. It also is a shortcut for the tractor trailers and other commercial vehicles who, instead of using state highways will now opt for the shortcut through The Villages. I expect traffic on Morse to be significantly worse than it is now.

Secondly, it is a well known fact that criminals like to have easy access and especially egress from their crimes. So, if it makes it easy for you and I to get to/from the turnpike, it also makes it easy for the undesirable elements.

Like many, when I first heard of this interchange more than 5 years ago, I thought of only the positives for me as a regular user of the turnpike. However, upon further reflection, I think I'd rather take the extra few minutes it takes to go via the Wildwood exit and keep Morse as a primarily TV resident road.

You forgot to mention caravans of Army vehicles taking a shortcut through The Villages.

[NJblue]

Originally Posted by JB in TV

While you bring up some imteresting points, I think the tractor trailers and commercial vehicles will not want to navigate the round abouts...so, I doubt that commercial traffic on Morse will increase that much.

Additionally, I doubt "criminals" are using the turnpike to get here...

I hope you are right. However, compared with waiting at a traffic light on 27/441, dealing with a double lane round about is a piece of cake.

The common refrain around here when we talk about golf carts exceeding the speed limit by a couple of miles per hour is, "what's the rush, we are retired". I guess I feel that way about the extra few minutes it takes to go to Orlando the current way. I'd rather keep all the additional traffic off Morse. To claim that there will not be additional traffic is not logical - a shortcut begs for additional traffic.

[mulligan]

If you look at a map, it's only a shortcut to the villages.

[jbdlfan]

Not sure how this will add that much Villages traffic. Anyone in Leesburg, Fruitland Park will take 44 to 464 or whatever that road is. I would imagine anyone 466 or north will use 301 as I do to reach the Turnpike. Why would I go through ALL of those roundabouts? I only see it being used by those in the southern area.Believe it or not, most folks outside the bubble try to avoid us and our "challenged" drivers as much as possible.

[NJblue]

Originally Posted by jbdlfan

Not sure how this will add that much Villages traffic. Anyone in Leesburg, Fruitland Park will take 44 to 464 or whatever that road is. I would imagine anyone 466 or north will use 301 as I do to reach the Turnpike. Why would I go through ALL of those roundabouts? I only see it being used by those in the southern area.Believe it or not, most folks outside the bubble try to avoid us and our "challenged" drivers as much as possible.

Really? Do you think the state would demand/approve an interchange that they perceive would only serve a few thousand people?

[The Great Fumar]

Originally Posted by JP

I've always thought that CR468 would be the logical choice for where TV would continue developing south since there is so much vacant land down that way. It basically would connect right into Morse Blvd and make Morse Blvd THE highway exit for people coming to TV. How appropriate from the developers standpoint.

This was part of the deal with the state for extending 4-lanes to lady lake and 301 south to Wildwood......
They originally hired a firm from the Upper Peninsula of Michigan but it was cancelled as they wanted to do it in Gravel.....

Strongs Corners Fumar

[Bonanza]

Originally Posted by NJblue

Yes, there probably will be some benefit. However, there will also be potential for some very substantial negatives. First, this not only provides a shortcut for you and me, but it provides a shortcut for everyone including residents of Lady Lake, Fruitland Park, Leesburg and Sommerfield who previously may have used 27/441 off the turnpike. It also is a shortcut for the tractor trailers and other commercial vehicles who, instead of using state highways will now opt for the shortcut through The Villages. I expect traffic on Morse to be significantly worse than it is now.

Secondly, it is a well known fact that criminals like to have easy access and especially egress from their crimes. So, if it makes it easy for you and I to get to/from the turnpike, it also makes it easy for the undesirable elements.

Like many, when I first heard of this interchange more than 5 years ago, I thought of only the positives for me as a regular user of the turnpike. However, upon further reflection, I think I'd rather take the extra few minutes it takes to go via the Wildwood exit and keep Morse as a primarily TV resident road.

If you believe that criminals are going to use Morse as a getaway to the Turnpike, I think you are sadly mistaken. These "would-be criminals" would probably be local and have no use for getting to the Turnpike. I assume these "criminals" of which you speak are burglars and not travelling any kind of distance to do their dirty work.

Tractor trailers definately would not be travelling Morse. The round-abouts are too much of a pain in the butt for them. In addition, those who might want to use this new exit/entrance don't want to be bothered with all the round-abouts either. As a matter of fact, I even hate them. All they do is cause problems because most residents don't know how to drive them! Outsiders won't travel Morse; they will go a different route and then cut over by taking 44A or 44 or Powell or whatever, depending upon the direction from which they are coming.

I believe that 90% of this new exit/entrance will be used by Villages residents and people who are specifically coming to The Villages.

[jbdlfan]

Originally Posted by NJblue

Really? Do you think the state would demand/approve an interchange that they perceive would only serve a few thousand people?

Not sure why the State would ever do what it does. But I do think they would build an interchange to reduce traffic at the Northbound lane of the Turnpike and I-75 merge.
Doesn't change the fact that people will not drive 8-12 miles of roundabouts when there are better routes. I live on the North end it will not change my trip or friends and family that live around 466. Not to mention, why would ANYBODY drive through any of the Villages traffic if didn't have to.(especially this time of year)

[NJblue]

Originally Posted by Bonanza

If you believe that criminals are going to use Morse as a getaway to the Turnpike, I think you are sadly mistaken. These "would-be criminals" would probably be local and have no use for getting to the Turnpike. I assume these "criminals" of which you speak are burglars and not travelling any kind of distance to do their dirty work.

Tractor trailers definately would not be travelling Morse. The round-abouts are too much of a pain in the butt for them. In addition, those who might want to use this new exit/entrance don't want to be bothered with all the round-abouts either. As a matter of fact, I even hate them. All they do is cause problems because most residents don't know how to drive them! Outsiders won't travel Morse; they will go a different route and then cut over by taking 44A or 44 or Powell or whatever, depending upon the direction from which they are coming.

I believe that 90% of this new exit/entrance will be used by Villages residents and people who are specifically coming to The Villages.

We can only wait and see. However, the current shortest route from the Lady Lake area to Orlando is down 441/27. Have you ever taken that route? I can assure you that a few roundabouts are a piece of cake compared with all the traffic lights one has to negotiate going down 441/27. A truck driver wants to take the way that is the least amount of time. Essentially rolling through a double lane roundabout is a whole lot faster than waiting a minute at each red light.

I can only hope you are right, but I suspect that you are not.

[NJblue]

Originally Posted by jbdlfan

Not sure why the State would ever do what it does. But I do think they would build an interchange to reduce traffic at the Northbound lane of the Turnpike and I-75 merge.
Doesn't change the fact that people will not drive 8-12 miles of roundabouts when there are better routes. I live on the North end it will not change my trip or friends and family that live around 466. Not to mention, why would ANYBODY drive through any of the Villages traffic if didn't have to.(especially this time of year)

Sure, if you live in the 466 area, your route may not change. However, if you lived over by Lady Lake I suspect it would. Since this is where most of the truck traffic goes, this may find itself on Morse at least up to 466a where it would then go up Micro Racetrack to Rolling Acres. The fact is that this would become the better route compared with 441/27 and its myriad of traffic lights and traffic that makes Villages traffic look like Montana.

[Cathy H]

I just read the brief k\Kimley-Horn engineering Co. study that only refers to "The Villages" without properly identifying the actual incorporated name of the party offering to put out almost $10 million for the work. Clarification is really needed to ease our fears. Since we live in central Villages and presently use the Route US 301 access point on the Turnpike, I don't think this new exit - entrance will benefit me.