Most of the golf cart crashes on Morse Boulevard between the County Road 466 gates and El Camino Real have happened at the turns, by a consultant's count this year.
That count matters for the project Sumter County approved in October. The county signed off on a roughly $1.5 million plan to widen Morse Boulevard's golf cart lanes north of CR 466 and add a buffer between carts and cars, Villages-News reported. The plan adds width along the length of the road. The companion plan, which would have moved the cart paths away from the intersections, was the one that dealt with turns, and it was turned down.
What the County Signed
Sumter County commissioners approved the contract on a Tuesday night in mid-October. The work is meant to make Morse Boulevard north of CR 466 safer for golf carts. In practice, the project covers this:
- Width: The golf cart lanes get two more feet on each side of Morse Boulevard.
- Separation: A buffer goes in between the cart lanes and vehicle traffic.
- Who pays: The Amenity Authority Committee funds the work with settlement money that The Villages of Lake Sumter paid into the amenity fund.
- Who maintains it: Sumter County owns Morse Boulevard. The AAC's approval was contingent on the county agreeing to maintain the widened lanes after the AAC puts in roughly $1.5 million.
For scale, a 2023 District study measured the existing cart and bicycle lanes on this corridor at 7 feet, next to 11-foot vehicle lanes. Two more feet would bring a 7-foot lane to about 9 feet. The study covered about 2.8 miles, from north of CR 466 to south of El Camino Real and Paige Place, so the extra room would run along a long, busy stretch of the historic side of The Villages.
Where the Crashes Happened
The number behind this year's debate comes from a Kimley-Horn evaluation update presented to the AAC in April. It counted 42 golf cart crashes on Morse Boulevard from January 2021 through December 2025. Thirty of those 42 involved turning movements.
That's roughly seven in ten crashes over five years tied to a cart or car turning. The other 12 happened some other way. A wider lane and a buffer give a cart more room where it travels straight alongside traffic. Turning crashes happen where carts and cars cross paths at a side street, and the consultant priced a separate design for those spots.
Two Price Tags on the Same Road
Kimley-Horn's April presentation had two parts, Villages-News reported, and each part addressed a different section of the road.
| Intersection rerouting | Lane widening | |
|---|---|---|
| Estimated cost | $2.4 million | $1.5 million |
| What it does | Routes the cart paths on each side away from intersections, crossing side streets before rejoining the roadway | Widens the cart lanes and adds a barrier between carts and cars, described in April as a two-foot striped barrier |
| Where it applies | Most of 13 intersections. Rio Grande Avenue and San Marino Drive would get enhanced signage instead | Along the cart lanes on both sides of Morse Boulevard |
| At the CR 466 gates | Southbound path routed away from the road. Carts cross two lanes near the gates instead of turning left, with median space for two carts to wait | No change described |
| Status | Rejected by the AAC | Approved by the AAC 4-2 in September and by Sumter County in October |
The rerouting column describes something many Villagers already drive every day. In April, Villages-News described the rerouted paths as crossing side streets before returning to the roadway, the way paths do in many Villages neighborhoods. That is the design the AAC declined for Morse. Both plans were to be paid for from a $7 million settlement with the Developer, which the outlet described as a reimbursement of reserve funds.
How the Plan Narrowed Over 2026
The approved project is the piece that survived after the rest of the plan stalled for most of the year.
- April 1: The AAC declined to adopt the $2.4 million plan. Members chose to press Sumter County first to lower the speed limit to 25 mph and add stop signs or more traffic signals.
- Mid-April: County commissioners said they were done trying to solve traffic problems on Morse Boulevard north of CR 466. Commissioner Deb Butterfield had met with county traffic engineers. She said Morse is classified as a minor arterial road, like CR 466 and CR 466A, and that its existing 30 mph limit is appropriate. "Stop signs should not be used for speed control," she said, according to Villages-News.
- June 10: The AAC split 3-3 on a $154,855 Kimley-Horn design contract, and a separate motion on a $2.5 million Morse Boulevard improvement also deadlocked 3-3, Villages-News reported.
- September: The AAC voted 4-2 to move ahead with the two-foot widening after Jim Vaccaro, who represents Community Development District 1, changed his vote, according to Villages-News.
- October: Sumter County approved the contract. Butterfield, who had led the county's work on the earlier plan, supported it but said widening alone is not the best solution.
Both of the main proposals had been on the table since April. The one approved in the fall was the one aimed at the straight stretches.
What Stays As It Is at the Turns
Here is what a driver can expect at Morse Boulevard's intersections under the approved project:
- Speed: The posted limit remains 30 mph. The county pushed back on lowering it and said that speed fits the road's classification.
- Side streets: The cart paths stay on the roadway through the intersections. They are not routed around side streets as the $2.4 million plan proposed at most of 13 intersections.
- The CR 466 gates: The southbound redesign, with carts crossing two lanes and a median that holds two carts, belonged to the rejected plan. Left turns near the gates keep their current layout.
- Between intersections: Carts get two more feet of lane on each side, plus a buffer from car traffic.
The AAC is responsible for amenities north of CR 466, and its members decide how settlement money is spent on this corridor. Its agendas and meeting packets are posted on the District's site, and that is where any future proposal for the intersections would first show up.
What Comes Next on the Road
Design comes next. The AAC has a roughly $153,000 contract with Kimley-Horn & Associates in line to set the project's parameters. Once the lanes are widened, Sumter County will maintain them, since it owns the road.
For a sense of timing, Kimley-Horn's Amber Gartner told the AAC in April that design and construction for the earlier, larger plan would take about a year and a half. The approved widening is a smaller scope. Until the design work is finished, Morse Boulevard keeps its current layout, intersections included.
How you get around is part of what a home's location means in The Villages. That includes which roads your cart uses, which gates you pass through and how far you ride to a square. If you're thinking about what your home is worth, or how its spot on the map affects that, Amanda Fincher can walk you through it. Get your free home valuation, and we'll talk through the details that matter on your street.
