At the next meeting of the Monroe County Board of County Commissioners on Wed, Oct 21, at the Marathon Government Center at approximately 11 am, the commission will consider the 2026 US 1 Level of Service (LOS) traffic study, which reaches a passing grade for traffic on U.S. One. This means developers will not be required to mitigate for the traffic impacts when doing new projects.

Oddly, average computed speeds on the highway per the LOS traffic studies keep improving. But certainly we can all see that traffic on the highway has been getting worse, not improving.

A Citizens Committee was recently formed to analyze the 2026 LOS study and the LOS methodology on which the study is based.

The Committee has found a number of flaws in the LOS methodology, particularly regarding the treatment of certain types of traffic delays. Construction, school buses, school zones, and openings of the Snake Creek drawbridge are being excluded from travel times. The resulting slowdowns are ignored. The Committee believes this is wrong. The slowdowns regularly impact the traffic and are continual.

The Committee believes that these flaws result in inflated computed speeds   therefore suggesting we have more capacity available on the highway. As a result, the LOS studies are virtually guaranteed to reach a passing grade.

Isn’t it critical to address our very real traffic concerns, not find ways to ignore them?  Let the County Commissioners know how concerned you are with our traffic congestion. It is disruptive to residents and to our tourists.  

Click here for detailed story “A Flawed Traffic Study Could Reshape How the Keys Grow” from Above the Fold.