Collier County road leaves Valencia Trails residents in the dark

COLLIER COUNTY, Fla. (WINK)—Residents of Valencia Trails say their community entrance has no streetlights, making it difficult to see where they're turning at night.

The 55-plus community is located off the new Vanderbilt Beach Road Extension. Drivers unfamiliar with the area say they struggle to find the entrance in the dark.

"To have no lighting at all its a definite safety concern," said Lisa Drumgoole, a concerned neighbor.

The entrance has minimal streetlights, leaving neighbors turning into their community in the dark. Drumgoole said residents are having a hard time finding it.

"Totally ignored. Basically, 'sorry, you were late to the party. It's now your responsibility," Drumgoole said.

Drumgoole has lived at Valencia Trails for more than two years. She said people were told there would be an access point to the new Vanderbilt Beach Road Extension, but lighting apparently was never included.

"Their response to the residents were, 'I'm sorry, but this project was a little bit late coming to the table,' meaning that the Vanderbilt Beach Road Extension project was well in the planning process, and this wasn't part of it," Drumgoole said.

She said the county told them the responsibility would fall on the developer or homeowners. Drumgoole said that response left them frustrated.

"As a homeowner, I really don't think it's our responsibility to put up street lighting on a major county road," Drumgoole said.

WINK News reached out to the county, who pointed to the transportation engineering division, but has not heard back. Residents hope something will change soon, but not from their pockets.