Perhaps one solution would be to move to Lakeland. Yesterday we were there and were able to fill our tank at $2.69. I never thought that I would be happy to see fuel at that price. As near to Sebring as Avon Park prices were at $2.77. I would suggest that we patronize the stations that consistently show the lowest prices, even if it means driving a few more miles. If you happen to be visiting Lake Wales don’t forget to fill up at one of the stations on Rt. 60 out near WalMart. If you are in Lakeland please fill up on 98 south of I-4.
Conservation is the anwer. Delaying purchases without restricting driving will not accomplish anything, but maybe a temporary decrease in gas prices. Why is it that no one wants to conserve?
Brainwashing! The mentality that “you deserve the right to waste resources” and tourism doesn’t cost anything - most view tourism as free money. In reality, tourism costs local taxpayers while allowing increased revenues for business and local governments.
Sure some tourists spend money will all abandon, like drunken sailors on leave from boot camp. But many tourists clog the roads, waste water, waste gasoline, and waste food while spending very little in local stores and on the local economy.
I favor tourism, but don’t view it as free money. Tourism cost all taxpayers by using natural resources for recreation. Everytime we use a gallon of gasoline, a portion of that money is going to terrrorist countries in the Middle East. We face water shortages, and we face dire warnings of air pollution and water polution, but the economic developers want to attract more people and more construction.
Conservation is the way to end all this waste - by voluntarily reducing the amount of natural resources you consume.
ISAY THAT IF EVERY ONE IN FLORIDA STOPS BUYING GAS FOR A WEEK OR BETTER YET EVERYONE IN AMERICA I BET THAT THE GAS PRICES WILL GO DOWN
Generally, boycotting/not buying for a short period on any product just increases pent up demand and the consumer winds up purchasing just as much of said product, but later on.
I’m sure corporate greed for profits is a big factor in the cost of gasoline, but even taking greed out of the equation, the days of cheap gasoline are over due to unprecedented world-wide demand for crude oil and ever increasing costs to extract it from the ground and bring it to market in it’s various refined states.
The oil companies aren’t about to take reduced profits now. If we curtail our demand for gasoline and their sales fall off, I’m all but sure they will scheme to raise the cost of a gallon of gasoline so as to maintain their same volume level of profits.
I’m all for conservation, be it less driving, driving a more fuel efficient vehicle(s), driving more efficiently, E.G., at or just below the speed limit; accelerating slowly; decelerating where one uses the forward momemtum of their vehicle longer, applying their brakes later (but in a safe manner, of course); keeping tires properly inflated, etc.
Frankly, I don’t ever again see the days of cheap gasoline and/or any other type of fuel that would power vehicles for personal transpertation. I think greedy profits are the order of the day. I think that if tomorrow a relatively inexpensive alternative fuel were to be developed, it would come onto the market at prices much, much higher than it could be.
So again, I say if we all stopped using gasoline tomorrow, the oil companies would just sell it overseas. They surely aren’t going to fold up their businesses. I feel we are in a no-win situation here.
At times I wonder how much gas mileage I lose sitting at a traffic light and then starting up again. There are times when driving on Rt. 27 that I have to stop at every light, at least it seems that way. My wife makes a joke of my not missing a red light. Wouldn’t it be good if the traffic signals could be synchronized so that at a moderate speed a large percentage of vehicles could catch most of the lights green. I can remember driving through Cleveland, Ohio many years ago where, if you would maintain a speed of 42 MPH, [posted speed was 45], you could drive from one end of the avenue to the other without having to stop. There were signs that made motorists aware of the synchronization. I understand that there will always be the times when, because of heavy volume of traffic, it would not be possible to do that, but it would be a help.
Then I wonder about the times when I am seemingly the only one on the road [early morning, late evening and night] and have to stop and wait for a traffic signal. The gasoline lost at those times, multiplied by the tens of thousands vehicles on Highland County’s portion of Rt. 27, has to be considerable.
At times I wonder how much gas mileage I lose sitting at a traffic light and then starting up again. There are times when driving on Rt. 27 that I have to stop at every light, at least it seems that way. My wife makes a joke of my not missing a red light. Wouldn’t it be good if the traffic signals could be synchronized so that at a moderate speed a large percentage of vehicles could catch most of the lights green. I can remember driving through Cleveland, Ohio many years ago where, if you would maintain a speed of 42 MPH, [posted speed was 45], you could drive from one end of the avenue to the other without having to stop. There were signs that made motorists aware of the synchronization. I understand that there will always be the times when, because of heavy volume of traffic, it would not be possible to do that, but it would be a help.
Then I wonder about the times when I am seemingly the only one on the road [early morning, late evening and night] and have to stop and wait for a traffic signal. The gasoline lost at those times, multiplied by the tens of thousands vehicles on Highland County’s portion of Rt. 27, has to be considerable.
What can be done?
Traffic engineers are well aware of traffic light synchronization (or should be) to better facilitate traffic flow during peak and off-peak hours.
I agree, I sometimes use lots of fuel getting up to legal road speed, only to offset all that enertia by being stopped at the next traffic light—and there isn’t any cross traffic waiting in the other directions!
My wife and I just got back this afternoon from east Ft. Myers, and regular gas at BP and Circle K is now $2.71/gallon. I filled my tank there on my way back home to Lake Placid, where regular gasoline is close to $2.90/gallon. Last year at this exact same time gasoline in east Ft. Myers and Lake Placid were virtually the same in price, so I don’t know what’s going on now here, other than the standard greed and avarice, etc.
There are some good ideas worth considering here. Isn’t it interesting that just a few months ago, we were complaining about the price of gas being $2.70 a gallon etc..,? Sure would be nice to see a return of the good ol days.
I work from home, and my husband’s job is 1/2 of a mile away from our house, so we lucked out with not having long commutes.
We are going to Clearwater tomorrow to celebrate a friend’s 50th birthday, and had to budget money aside for the trip. Just a few years ago, this would have been no big deal. But the way things are now, it is a sacrifice. We’re not going to buy gas in Highlands County, since prices are lower in Hillsborough and Pinellas.
I bought a house that is less than a quarter mile away from where I work. I save a bunch in gas because of it. I heard the other day that grocery prices are jumping because of the high gas prices. Fuel costs have a trickle down affect on everything we purchase. I would suggest that the federal government get involved but that would probably only result in ridiculous bureaucratic regulations.
I recall 2-3 years ago the county wanted to index its local gasoline taxes to the retail pump price of gasoline. That way as the cost of gasoline went up the county gasoline tax would go up accordingly.
Luckily the county gasoline tax stayed at a fixed rate, or else we would now be paying more for a gallon of gasoline than we already are.
I have to disagree with Walt on raising ticket prices for speeding motorists, at least in some areas. The Sheriff’s dept, Sebring Police, and State troopers are all in Cahoots with the Road and Bridge department. Local county speed limit signs are not posted as should be and that’s where they set up speed traps for the sole purpose of taking in revenue. It doesn’t take much to put up a sign to have a clearly marked speed limit but they (Road and Bridge) refuse to do it. I have had experience in dealing with such an issue.
I used to live here years ago and grew up here. On the road I lived the speed limit was always 45 mph and the signs marking the road were in clear locations. Since I returned, the signs have been moved, placed within 100 feet of US 27 and the speed limit torqued down to 35 mph. So, when someone turns off the highway they are not aware of the sign as when you are turning you need to first evaluate the road you just turned on to and the sign comes up too quick. The sign should be placed further back or another one further down the road. I was caught in such a speed trap. When I contacted Road and Bridge they said the Sheriff’s dept requested the speed limit be dropped down and when I told them about the signs, they said they would look at it but nothing has happened.
My view, the Sheriff’s dept keeps the road just this way so they can collect their “hidden tax” and put money into their dept. They are not interested in keeping people informed of the speed limit so we can remain within the law. They are interested in collecting revenue.
Before anyone gives a response I suggest taking a look where you’re driving. Notice if there is a speed limit sign or not. For instance, the road which goes by Highlands Regional Hospital. There is no speed limit sign from US 27 all the way past the railroad tracks or just around it.
There are so many inconsistancies and you can’t tell me that the dept doesn’t have enough money to put up a speed limit sign.
There are some good ideas worth considering here. Isn’t it interesting that just a few months ago, we were complaining about the price of gas being $2.70 a gallon etc..,? Sure would be nice to see a return of the good ol days.
I was thinking about quoting that earlier post talking about the $2.69/gal gas in Lakeland and saying something like “Yeah, those were the good ol’ days!”
Speaking of Lakeland, until a few months ago, gas was cheaper there than it was here, but it seems for whatever reason, they’re about the same now. I go to Lakeland quite a bit and the Hess station on South Florida Avenue near the KFC (they know me too well) is no different than, say, the Raceway at Avon Park.
With the projected price of oil, we may be calling these days the good old days in a few months. I remember when I was a very young child seeing my first price of a gallon of gas with my grandfather, I think it was 28 cents a gallon. The next price I paid attention to was when I got my driver’s license, .79 cents a gallon. When I was in high school, we used to drive around usually from one end of town to the other all night long listening to music etc..,. (on the weekends of course) Could you imagine doing that these days? Times have changed.
When I attended college, it costs me $3.50 to fill up my Chevy Bel Air. We will see gasoline as high as $7 a gallon within the next few years, because the environmentalists will not tolerate oill and gas exploration to increase. And people don’t trust nuclear plants as safe - they view nuclear as targets for terrorists.
Until the American people have had enough, expect to be exploited by the Middle East and our own oil companies. All the bellyaching doesn’t amount to a hill of beans, until people start calling their reps in Congress and DEMANDING that oil be drilled in the Western hemisphere.
Regardless of alternative fuels, it will take 10 years to get the millions of vehicles built to run on gasoline and diesel fuels off the roads.
