Trends Winter 2017 | Page 2

SENDING A SIGNAL Florida teen’s passion for safety prompts traffic improvements near middle school I t’s often said persistence pays off. And that certainly was the case for a Florida teenager who worked tirelessly for nearly a year to persuade Pasco County leaders to approve traffic safety upgrades outside her middle school at a recently redesigned intersection Thanks to Makayla Trowell’s devotion, students, staff, bus drivers, and residents who travel on the busy roads outside Crews Lake Middle School in Spring Hill now are safer. 2│ TRENDS By Eric Widholm Her efforts led to the installation of an enforceable, flashing 15 mph speed limit “School Zone” sign on busy Shady Hills Road and a new signalized intersection on Shady Hills Road and Softwind Lane/Crela Lane. The intersection project – designed by Ayres Associates – was engineered on a highly accelerated schedule so construction could be completed before the school year began. The typical several-month design process was compressed into about two weeks. The project was one of the quickest turnarounds ever for the County’s Traffic Operations Division. “It required teamwork on several fronts with significant coordination,” said Michael Bunk, Pasco County’s traffic engineering supervisor. “The end result was that a traffic signal got installed in pretty much record time. The schedule was quite fast. From the time that a plan was submitted and a review was done, and then sent back with comments, it really was at some