Why not conduct one-week test first?
To the editor:
Shadow traffic is a term utilized by those who study traffic patterns. If you’ve ever been on Route 75 for hours and many miles in a traffic jam, only to arrive at a point where all the lanes begin to accelerate, and there is no apparent cause for the backup, that is shadow traffic. Accidents that cause lane closures, or even individuals slowing down to gawk at the accident, can cause a buildup of traffic for hours, as more cars fill in at the end of the traffic jam that can last for hours after the accident is cleared.
Think of Periwinkle Way as a one-lane Route 75. On several occasions when returning to the island around noon, I witnessed traffic officers frequently stopping traffic leaving the island to allow five to seven cars from Lindgren Boulevard to go straight and left, cars coming from the east on Periwinkle to turn left on Lindgren or go straight, and traffic crossing over Periwinkle from the causeway. Traffic on these occasions was backed up almost to Jerry’s in the middle of the day, setting up the prospect of shadow traffic backed up past Dunlop Road long after the rush hour ended. I live on the west end, and on many occasions, it has taken well over an hour just to get to the causeway.
On another occasion, when first coming onto Sanibel at the end of the causeway, the Periwinkle intersection was in view. I could see a stream of traffic turning left toward the causeway. The traffic officer allowed cars to continue to turn even after I pulled into the Dairy Queen to watch. A continuous stream of cars driving approximately 20-25 miles an hour on Periwinkle were allowed to proceed without the stop-and-go of a traffic jam at the intersection. Had this officer maintained the usual protocol of stopping cars frequently on Periwinkle, I’m certain there would have been a serious traffic jam by later in the afternoon.
The causeway and Periwinkle intersection is not the only area where shadow traffic occurs. The intersection of Periwinkle and Casa Ybel Road will back up traffic as cars are let out of Jerry’s, on Casa Ybel turn left or right onto Periwinkle and then eastbound traffic turning left in front of westbound traffic.
Before we spend millions of dollars to build a circle that may not alleviate the traffic, why not conduct a one-week test allowing cars to move freely along Periwinkle and onto the causeway for 10 minutes or more (about the time to drive the length of Periwinkle in light traffic), beginning in the early afternoon when heavy traffic is expected. Perhaps monitoring cameras along Periwinkle to determine when traffic starts to build up and notifying officers to allow more traffic onto the causeway or less as needed. If traffic is stopped as far as the officer can see (near the Dairy Queen) from their position at the intersection, traffic should be released to prevent a buildup that extends the length of Periwinkle later in the day.
The causeway slowed Sanibel traffic before Hurricane Ian due to the massive volume of cars coming to the causeway beaches and after Ian due to the 20 mph limit and construction. Hopefully a clogged causeway will be a thing of the past due to the very limited parking after the reconstruction and the resumption of the 35 mph (40 mph actual average speed).
Brian Bodkin
Sanibel