By William Croyle
Enquirer contributor

FLORENCE - Ron Vandament watched the speeds of cars flash on the radar trailer police set up on the new Cayton Road one day last fall.

The half-mile connection that now links Hopeful Church and Mall roads abuts the back of about seven properties on Chelsea Square, including Vandament's.

"The speed limit is 25, and I saw speeds as high as 60 miles per hour," he said. "The typical speed was 45 to 50."

That, the noise and the possible detriment to home values had Vandament and some of his neighbors fighting the road's construction for the last four years. They lost, and they're seeing some of their initial worries come true.

"I'm still against it. Sleep on that side of my house and you'll find out why," said Vandament.

His neighbor, Dee Dietz, said the noise hasn't bothered her. But she is concerned about speeding cars, which she sees from her kitchen window. "I don't know 25 from 45 or 55," she said, "but it looks to me like people are going a bit fast."

Florence Police Lt. Tim Chesser said he travels the road often and hasn't spotted problems. But he said if residents are seeing speeding and drag racing, he will put the radar trailer back on Cayton - possibly as soon as this weekend - and tell officers to be alert for the problems.

The $1.8 million road was built to alleviate traffic on Ky. 18 and U.S. 42, which run perpendicular to Mall Road and Hopeful Church Road. About one-third was paid for by the state; Boone County funded the rest.

Many people are thrilled to see the road finally built.

"It's going real well," said county administrator Jim Parsons. "We don't have traffic counts at this point, but traffic is increasing pretty regularly."

Kroger spokesman Art Wulfeck said the Mall Road store, off Cayton in the Florence Square Shopping Center, has more patrons. "We've gotten a lot of positive feedback from our customers. It's a lot easier for them to get to our store now."

Some shoppers come from the 144 units at Windridge Townhomes near the intersection of Hopeful Church Road and Cayton. To get to Kroger, they used to have to travel around the block by taking Hopeful Church to U.S. 42 or Ky. 18, then turning down Mall Road. Now they just drive a few tenths of a mile up Cayton.

Ken Kaser, manager of Colonial Heights & Gardens Retirement Community, said some of his next-door neighbors at Windridge used to drive through his parking lot - which connected to Florence.

"We even put a gate up, but they would somehow always figure out the code and cut through," said Kaser. "But that has stopped. The new road has been nothing but positive for us."

E-mail williamcroyle@yahoo.com