Northeast Gateway Traffic Analysis Minimizes Need for Shamrock Extension

Northeast Gateway Traffic Analysis Minimizes Need for Shamrock Extension

It was revealed tonight at a Blueprint Meeting that the Shamrock Extension is not the best option to meet the traffic objectives of the Northeast Gateway/ Welaunee Boulevard project.

Rather, the recently completed traffic analysis indicates that extending Welaunee Boulevard from Fleischmann Road to Roberts Road is the option that most effectively deals with traffic in the region, which includes the growing Canopy Development.

The traffic objective of the project includes relieving traffic from Thomasville Road, Killearn Center Boulevard, Centerville Road, and Miccosukee Road.

The meeting – billed a Traffic Modeling Information Session – was held from 5:30 pm – 7:30 pm at Montford Middle School.

The Shamrock Extension has been the focus of controversy for Killearn Estates residents since the first meeting on the project back in March. Residents feared the Shamrock Extension option would send more traffic through the neighborhood via Shamrock Street South.

The concern resulted in the Killearn Homes Association taking several votes favoring the Roberts Road option. The Association also hired a lobbyist, a lawyer, and a traffic engineer.

Since the March meeting, Blueprint officials repeatedly stated that the traffic analysis would guide the future of the project. However, elected officials consistently heard concerns from resident in the neighborhoods that would possibly be impacted by the Shamrock Extension.

The results of the traffic analysis will be presented to the Blueprint Intergovernmental Agency on December 12th.

Also, it appears that the Shamrock Extension could be added if desired. The traffic analysis shows that with the Roberts Road extension, the Shamrock Extension would not increase traffic through Killearn Estates and could be considered a convenience for residents.

Representatives of the Killearn Homes Association told TR that the Board has yet to decide which option to support.

11 Responses to "Northeast Gateway Traffic Analysis Minimizes Need for Shamrock Extension"

  1. Christ! Does everything in our lives have to be turned into us vs. them, left vs. right stupidity? Go ahead and build all the roads you want and sell all the gasoline hog new vehicles you want. I regret that I may not be here to see all those beautiful bands of concrete and asphalt – EMPTY!, for lack of fuel.

    1. Oh sweetie, bless your heart. May I suggest you head over to China, a place your beloved matron dares not enter or engage- and the worst polluters in the world. Miles of factories, with roads freshly paved, plenty of smog to block the sun’s harmful greenhouse rays, and they are barely feeding all their people.
      Perhaps you love the paved roads here when riding your (Chinese) made bicycle, not paying gas taxes, and blocking all the rest that do. Let me invite you to return to France if living here is so terrible.

  2. A brief history of how we got to the stage where something like this could even be possable:

    Back in the day when the 1st generation of WWII Vets were the movers and shakers of Tallahassee there would of course have been no need based on Northern Leon County’s population for such an intrusive plan of The City to annoy the residents of Killearn.

    Then the first generation died out and was replaced by their pajama boy offspring and a new crop of leftist Democrat registered voters purchased the homes which were not handed down to the pajama boy offspring.

    Then the feeble minded lazy residents fell for the City’s cock and bull presentation to annex Killeran into becoming a part of the City.

    The City now sees the pajama boy/new crop of leftist Democrat registered voters/Killearn owners as weaklings to be run over at the whim of the City.

    The powers that be at the City would have been tarred and feathered then run out of town on a rail if they tried this B. S. on the all powerful first generation of Killearn owners.

    And thats how we got to this sad chapter in the formerly great and formerly almighty Subdivision known as Killearn.

  3. It is absolutely dumb to believe that putting a road across from Shamrock would create a highway through Killearn. There is extreme traffic congestion every morning at the front of Killearn sometimes backing up a mile. Traffic on Raymond Diehl at 5 pm backs up the same way. Why? Because there are too many people trying to get out or in the same arterial road at the same time. How do we fix this? We fix it by building new roads that will allow traffic congestion another option to exit the neighborhood. Many opposed Maclay Rd but fortunately the city commission had enough sense to make that connection point; otherwise, everyone in Killearn would be driving to Ox Bottom to access Meridian Road. With a planned interchange at Welaunee and I-10 why wouldn’t we want to drive out the back of Killearn to access Welaunee Blvd to easily reach the interchange. Go ahead and build to Roberts Road but give us a connector to Welaunee at Shamrock as well! Every time there is a mention of a new road in Tallahassee people start crying about how it is going to destroy their lives. What about the trees that stood so proudly right before your residential contractor cut them down to build your house? It never ceases to amaze me at the NIMBY attitude in this community. I guess that’s why Tallahassee has had ZERO growth in the last 30 years!!!

    1. The original plan, and it still might be, was to widen Shamrock to 4 Lanes with Medians (possibly 6 lanes) all the way to Shannon Lakes, do the same to Shannon Lakes to Kerry Forest and do the same to Kerry Forest to Thomasville Road. That is a LOT of Homes that would have to go. All of this just for a few Hours a Day of heavy Traffic, and it wouldn’t be that bad if people would stay OFF their Phones and pay attention to the Cars around them.

  4. STAY OUT OF KILLEARN. You do NOT run a major Highway thru a Subdivision. If you MUST do something, put a Traffic Light at Shamrock and take it down Centerville to Roberts where there is also a Traffic Light.

    Same goes for the Airport Gateway………stay out of the Subdivisions, if you must do that one, bring it straight down Springhill Rd to Lake Bradford Rd.

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