By Dale Smith

dsmith@hometownnewsol.com

NEW SMYRNA BEACH - The image of New Smyrna Beach as a sleepy little tourist town is taking a hit with complaints from residents and merchants over too-high speed limits and drivers speeding on the beachside.

Now, with warmer weather ahead and with the annual Bike Week traffic adding to the congestion, residents who live here full time want the county to take steps to ensure pedestrian safety by lowering speed limits.

"Drivers are going way too fast," said Angela Tully, owner of the Pink Flamingo at Petals on 3rd Avenue. "I've had my sign and post taken out by drivers going too fast around that corner."

Ms. Tully said a motorcyclist was sideswiped not too long ago by a car in front of her shop when the car's driver attempted to turn left into her business.

"The motorcyclist was hit and fortunately wasn't hurt," Ms. Tully said. "Had the speed limit been lower (than 40 mph as it is posted now), perhaps that accident may have been prevented."

New Smyrna Beach police are doing their part in trying to control speeding. Since 2008, police have issued a total of 541 speeding tickets along 3rd Avenue (393) and the South Causeway (148).

Police also recorded a total of 111 accidents along the same two highways during this period, though not all related to speed. Third Avenue had the majority of the accidents with 97.

Adding to that total is the Bike Week motorcycle fatality last weekend in which an Ohio woman was killed when two motorcycles collided, ejecting the woman. That accident occurred on A1A at 5th Avenue.

The South Causeway continues to be a favorite stretch of roadway for drivers hurrying to and from the bridge and to the South Peninsula Avenue light heading to the beaches.

The posted speed is 50 mph, but residents living along that area have complained for years about the inability to turn in and out of their streets, especially at Harbor Drive and Bouchelle Island Blvd., because drivers exceed the limit.

Sergeant Michael Brouillette of the New Smyrna Beach Police Department said patrol officers are making a concerted effort to slow down drivers but it wasn't just in certain locations.

"We're targeting areas citywide," he said.

Residents living along A1A, which is under the jurisdiction of Volusia County, attempted to get the speed limit lowered when they made an appeal to the city commission in the fall of 2009.

Jake Sachs, who lives along South Atlantic Avenue (A1A), led that attempt to lower the speed limits by presenting a petition to city commissioners with 100 signatures on it.

Their main concern was the posted 45 mph speed limit along the four-lane stretch of highway south of the curve near 3rd Avenue.

"It's just too fast for pedestrians," Mr. Sachs said. "We drive that road a lot, it looks like a speedway."

Mr. Sachs said they were promised last year a speed study would be done.

"But studies take time and money and we haven't seen anything," he said.

Jon Cheney, director of traffic engineering for Volusia County, said this week that a speed study was done on A1A near 8th Avenue and that results showed there was no need to lower the speed limit to less than 45 mph.

"It just seems the county is only placating people and is not doing anything constructive," Mr. Sachs said.

According to average daily traffic counts from Volusia County, more than 13,000 cars traveled on the stretch of A1A between 6th Avenue to 27th Avenue in 2008.

Speaking with citizens last fall about their traffic concerns, Mr. Cheney said South Atlantic Avenue is a county thoroughfare and the main function of that road is different than that of a city street.

"The function is to move cars through the city," he said. "How do we preserve that function of that road and get our residents to the beach? That's the dilemma."