Traffic Light Now Active at West Pipkin and Medulla Roads

The long-awaited traffic signal at West Pipkin and Medulla roads in south Lakeland began operating on Wednesday. It is the same intersection that 15-year-old Jaxon Crabtree was trying to cross on his bicycle when he was hit and killed by a school bus on Dec. 5.

County officials said in a news release that the signal is “now operational on all approaches.”

Medulla Road leads north from West Pipkin Road to the Sun ‘n Fun Expo Campus and Central Florida Aerospace Academy, where Crabtree was a student. To the south, it provides access to the large Riverstone subdivision.

Bill Skelton, spokesman for the county’s Roads and Drainage Division, said the signal was installed by the Riverstone developer through a permitting agreement with the City of Lakeland.

The plans for the traffic signal were submitted in March 2023 and approved in April. They were prepared by Raysor Transportation Consulting of Tampa on behalf of Riverstone, Inc. The development was built by G.L. Homes and financed by AtlanticBlue Capital, the firm founded by former Florida Representative and Senator J.D. Alexander.

However, “national supply-chain issues caused significant delays in the manufacture and delivery of specialty components needed for the timing and sequencing of traffic lights,” Skelton said.

In the aftermath of their son’s death, the Crabtree family pleaded with officials to install the light as quickly as possible.

Skelton said the new signal will improve safety at the busy intersection in time for the Sun ‘n Fun Expo taking place April 9-14.