By Mike Brassfield, Times Staff Writer
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
County engineers plan to improve traffic times by preventing westbound drivers on Drew Street from turning left onto McMullen-Booth or heading straight through the intersection.
CLEARWATER — Sometimes, the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few.
That's the logic Pinellas County traffic engineers applied to the intersection of McMullen-Booth Road and Drew Street.
They plan to make a controversial change there, preventing westbound drivers on Drew Street from turning left onto McMullen-Booth or heading straight through the intersection. Instead, those drivers will only be able to turn right.
Engineers say this will inconvenience a small number of motorists while speeding up north-south traffic flow on congested McMullen-Booth.
The very idea outrages drivers like Tom Nocera, who lives off Drew Street east of the intersection. "This is something that's not been well thought out," said Nocera.
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