STUART, Fla. — Residents of Banyan Bay in Martin County say speeding on Kanner Highway has turned the road outside their community into a "speedway," prompting calls for new traffic signals and updated safety measures.
The roar of loud mufflers has become an all-too-familiar sound for those living near the busy thoroughfare, where they say drivers often maintain highway speeds after exiting Interstate 95.
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"It's become a speedway," said Michael Centrella, a Banyan Bay resident.
"The noise and the accidents and just the craziness of people that get off 95 and maintain their speed," added Craig Colagen, another resident.
The frustration has reached a boiling point for many in the community who feel unsafe on a road they use daily.
"It's very frustrating when you're doing 50 miles an hour, 5 miles over, and someone is on your bumper," Centrella said.
Residents have suggested several potential solutions, including adjusting traffic light timing, installing additional signals along Kanner Highway to slow traffic, and adding a noise wall.
We took their suggestions to the Florida Department of Transportation. They responded with the following statement:
Safety is the Florida Department of Transportation’s top priority. FDOT periodically receives requests for traffic signals along State Road (S.R.) 76/Kanner Highway and evaluates each request in accordance with the Federal Highway Administration, Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD) guidelines, which are based on traffic volumes and crash history on both the main roadway and side streets. When side-street volumes do not meet the required criteria, traffic signals are typically not installed. This is historically the case for signal requests on Kanner Highway, as installing a signal under low-volume conditions can create unnecessary delays on the main roadway, increase the likelihood of rear-end collisions, and reduce overall traffic efficiency. Signals in such scenarios may also encourage risky driver behavior, such as running the red light, which further compromises safety.
Available data along this segment of S.R. 76 does not indicate high crash locations, patterns, or operational issues, and traffic analyses does not suggest roadway conditions that would raise concerns for speeding. Traffic speeds are not solely influenced by the number of signals along a corridor, and a signal is not always the appropriate solution. For example, a request for a traffic signal at the nearby South River Drive intersection was previously reviewed and found not to meet signal warrants. Instead, alternative safety improvements, including a bidirectional median, were implemented last year to address crash concerns in the that area.
For reference, in 2022, Banyan Bay residents requested an evaluation for a protected left-turn signal. This required a comprehensive study of left-turn volumes as well as a structural analysis of the mast arm to ensure the new signal could be safely supported. The evaluation determined that a protected left-turn was warranted, and the signal head was subsequently implemented.
We appreciate the level of engagement from residents and for reaching out to us whenever safety concerns arise.
The response has not satisfied residents, who are now urging FDOT to conduct a new traffic study and calling on Martin County officials to help push the initiative forward.
"I don't know when FDOT's done their last traffic studies, but they really need to take a look at all of Kanner Highway and get it back to something that's a little more civilized," Centrella said.
We also reached out to the Martin County Sheriff’s Office to get a better idea of what enforcement looks like on Kanner Highway. The data we requested shows 164 traffic citations and 18 accidents occurred on Kanner Highway between Salerno Road and Indian Street in 2025.
Residents acknowledge that addressing the speeding problem will require coordination between multiple agencies beyond just law enforcement.
"The planning hasn't been done to handle this volume of traffic," Colagen said. "It's going to get much worse and if we don't have proper planning and our leaders don't address this problem, it's going to be a huge, 'I wish we'd done something,'" Colagen said.
