PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — WPTV is learning that potential road improvements are coming to a busy road in Port St. Lucie.
St. Lucie County staff are sharing designs and want to hear input from neighbors about a proposed project on Prima Vista Boulevard.
WATCH BELOW: Neighbors weigh in on Prima Vista Boulevard changes
They plan to improve a section of the roadway from Airoso Boulevard to U.S. Highway 1 by removing the center left turn lanes
Dan Zrallack, county engineer, said their plan is to replace the center left-turn lanes with a raised median.
"The center turn lane is often referred to as a suicide lane," Zrallack said. "The more turning movements you have, the more chances you have for accidents by restricting access and putting in the median turn lanes. We can kind of control where those turning movements are and protect the drivers as well as pedestrians walking along the roadway."
According to the St. Lucie County Sheriff's Office, there have been 578 crashes on that section of the Prima Vista Boulevard since 2020.
Zrallack said the median will make the road safer.
"Statistically, the safety improves by up to like 40 percent or more," Zrallack said.
But not every neighbor is sold on the improvements.
Kadaysha Wilkins lives on Prima Vista Boulevard and told WPTV the median will make traveling more complicated.
"Adding medians or anything else is going to cause more chaos than good," Wilkins said. "Ten to 12 years of living here, I've never seen an issue with our turning lane."
Wilkins said it'll make it more difficult to take her niece and nephew to school by using the median instead of driving across the street.
"A five-minute ride has turned into a 15-minute travel," Wilkins said.
Wilkins said trying to come home could also be an issue.
"Turning into my driveway, which could have taken two seconds, is that now going to take 15 minutes?” Wilkins said.
Zrallack said he hears the concerns and hopes they can address them on Thursday night during their public meeting.
"We're hoping to get more of that by hearing from the community again and seeing what else we can do to refine the design," Zrallack said.
A second in-person public meeting for the project was held Thursday at the MidFlorida Credit Union Event Center.
