Traffic stacks up at the intersection of Countryside Boulevard and Belcher Road in Clearwater. There are three lanes in each direction. Yet, for southbound traffic, the right lane seems to stack up more than the other two.
Resident John Osarczuk says the reason is simple: Right-turn traffic is unable to make a clear right at the intersection.
"What I'd like to see is that this third lane or this extreme right lane be made a turn-right only lane, and have the other two lanes go straight ahead," he said.
What's happening is not illegal, as all three lanes are designated as through lanes. However, the majority of the traffic in the right lane intends to turn right and access northbound Belcher Road. If the car at the front of the line is not turning right, cars behind continue to stack up, according to Ozarczuk.
"A lot of times you'll only see two or three cars parked over there and a line of cars right over here, and you wonder why they didn't go over to the other lanes rather than this," he said.
Ken Jacobs with Pinellas County Traffic Management says engineers have looked at this intersection before and studied the possibility of a change in the right lane designation. That study did not show an overall benefit to the total traffic flow, so the lane remains as it is today.
Jacobs reports they are continuing to evaluate the intersection.
"We modified the operation of the signal several months ago and believe reviewing the intersection operations again based on those changes is a good idea," he said. "We will be evaluating accidents and traffic volumes again."