Dangerous intersection on US-41 at Mercato has homeowners, business owners concerned

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Dangerous intersection on US-41 in Naples Park (WINK News)

It’s a U-turn. It’s rolling through a red light. People say it’s constant chaos.

“It’s extremely dangerous,” said the owner of Clothes Mentor, Philip Baker.

His store sits near the hotspot at the intersection of US 41 and Strada Place, the entrance for Mercato, in Naples Park. He says drivers are putting his customers at risk, pulling into the nearby plaza and creating a hazard.

“Somebody’s going to get killed if they leave it the way it is,” he said.

Baker witnesses incidents like the one that we caught on camera Monday of a wreck involving a mini-van more often than not.

Monday wreck at US-41 in Naples Park (WINK News)

On Tuesday, we came back out to the intersection. It was a similar story, but this time we did spot a deputy pulling over a driver for making an illegal U-turn.

So far this year, the Collier County Sheriff’s Office says it has responded to 10 crashes and written at least 24 citations in this area.

Baker says he appreciates the deputies’ presence but he’s calling on the county to correct the issue.

“If they change this light, that’s all they gotta do, change it so you can go straight across, you can take a left, that means you don’t have to come down here and the traffic, I think, will flow better all the way around,” he said.

We called Collier County Commissioner Andy Solis’ office for his thoughts on the matter and they say commissioners on the board back in 2005 voted based on homeowners’ concerns to keep this light situation as is. Solis himself was not on the board at that time and says he was not in favor.

Otherwise, homeowners nearby would have to deal with traffic through their neighborhoods.

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