On East 14th Street and Joel Boulevard neighbors said they want to see a change.
The last crash Jackie Riches saw near her home was the last straw. She created a petition for a traffic light at East 14th Street and Joel Boulevard.
Riches said, “[It] involved a teenager. I have two teenagers. One which just got his drivers license.”
She and some of her neighbors said this intersection is a car concern with all the traffic, the speed and the crashes.
“This isn’t an occasional little fender bender. I mean when the accidents happen, they’re usually pretty severe,” Riches said.
Riches added since January she’s seen six or seven crashes from her home, and the other 175 people who signed her petition want change.
“It’s the residents basically calling out for help,” Riches said.
According to the Florida Department of Transportation, as of 2022, between Homestead Road and State Road 80, on Joel Boulevard, the annual average daily traffic is 17,500 cars.
Riches said, “These intersections right here, in this stretch, they need some sort of stop. It needs to have some sort of stoplight or police presence.”