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</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--></head><body lang=EN-US link=blue vlink=purple><div class=WordSection1><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%'>The following article was in today's Sun Sentinel Opinion Section. As you can see traffic on SW 10th Street is being discussed again. In the history lesson they forget to mention that the Sawgrass ends here in Deerfield rather than in Boca where it originally was supposed to go and it was the powers in Boca that influenced that decision. Unfortunately it has now become a problem in our Waterford Homes neighborhood. Even though many people say there are no funds for work in this area we all know the State can find the money depending on who is pushing for a change.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%'>I attended the informational meeting along with other Waterford residents Joan Maurice, Barbara Conrey and Lu Vencl this week about the improvements being made to I95 southbound traffic exiting onto SW 10th. A lane will be extended from Hillsboro to SW10 allowing two lanes of traffic to exit onto SW 10th. They will also eliminate the traffic light for cars traveling west and there will be 2 lanes for cars going east. Work at this area will begin in February with most of it being done at night.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%'>Denise Bogner<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;line-height:21.0pt;background:white'><span style='font-size:18.0pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;line-height:21.0pt;background:white'><span style='font-size:18.0pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif"'>After decades, Sawgrass extension getting closer <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:15.0pt;background:white'><b><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif";color:#666666'>By Sun Sentinel Editorial Board</span></b><b><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif"'> - January 16, 2015</span></b><b><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:normal;background:white'><span style='font-size:18.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";color:#666666'>Need has never been greater to help frustrated motorists.</span><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;line-height:normal;background:white'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>Transportation needs are not satisfied quickly in South Florida.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;line-height:normal;background:white'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>But three decades?<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;line-height:normal;background:white'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>That's how long motorists have waited for the Sawgrass Expressway to be extended three miles to connect to Interstate 95.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;line-height:normal;background:white'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>For reasons that have nothing to do with maximizing mobility, the Sawgrass abruptly ends in Deerfield Beach, forcing about 45,000 daily motorists onto the surface road of Southwest 10<sup>th</sup> Street, where they must negotiate three miles and eight stoplights to reach I-95.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;line-height:normal;background:white'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>But now, finally, there's hope the expressway gap will be closed with a much-needed extension.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;line-height:normal;background:white'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>First, a little history lesson.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;line-height:normal;background:white'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>When the Sawgrass Expressway opened in 1986, critics didn't see the need for a bypass around Fort Lauderdale. It was called "the road to nowhere" because its 24-mile route cut through a lot of undeveloped land between northern and western </span><a href="http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/broward/"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>Broward County</span></a><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>. But as population grew, so did the need for extending the Sawgrass to I-95. However, Century Village condo residents — led by the late Deerfield Beach commissioner Amadeo "Trinchi" Trinchitella — fought back hard. Trinchitella was so successful that a portion of that three-mile surface-road stretch has a small sign that bears his name.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;line-height:normal;background:white'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>But times have changed, traffic has gotten worse, and the need for an extension that would benefit commuters throughout South Florida has become more critical.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;line-height:normal;background:white'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>Recently, Broward planners turned to an outside firm to lead a committee of residents and commuters to revisit the idea of closing the gap. Also, </span><a href="http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/broward/"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>Broward County</span></a><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'> commissioners unanimously passed a resolution supporting the extension.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;line-height:normal;background:white'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>Jim Wolfe, District 4 secretary for the Florida Department of Transportation, told the Sun Sentinel Editorial Board recently that because the political winds have changed, the extension might actually become a reality.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;line-height:normal;background:white'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>"It's a lot more likely than it was three years ago," he said.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;line-height:normal;background:white'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>For the foreseeable future, cars will still idle in the three-mile gap along 10<sup>th</sup> Street. But at least now there's hope for a better future. For too long, there was no movement toward resolving this standoff.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;line-height:normal;background:white'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>"We're taking a creative approach and finding out what the concerns are before looking at solutions," said planner James Cromar, who recently participated in a similar effort in Denver. "People (there) recognized that solving a problem for one community and pushing it to someone else's neighborhood wasn't a solution. Everyone had to understand that they're part of a system."<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;line-height:normal;background:white'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>That includes the Deerfield Beach residents who have fought the extension — not just the condo residents on the north side of 10th Street, but homeowners on the south side who fear more traffic and noise.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;line-height:normal;background:white'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>Truth is, the traffic and noise are already there. So is pollution from idling engines. Surely neighbors can see that a seamless thoroughfare, with service roads that accommodate neighborhood traffic, would better meet everyone's need.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;line-height:normal;background:white'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>The extension would "best accommodate the future growth of northern </span><a href="http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/broward/"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>Broward County</span></a><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'> and would benefit an overwhelming majority of </span><a href="http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/broward/"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>Broward County</span></a><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'> citizens," commuter Thomas Knox told the Sun Sentinel.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;line-height:normal;background:white'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>It's time. Three decades is too long to wait.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p></div></body></html>