Annoying wait for arrow to turn green

Has this happened to you?

You're in the left turn lane at the light on First Street and Manatee Avenue waiting for the arrow to go green while traffic to your right flies by toward Palmetto.

You wait and wait and wait.

But the light remains red, instead, and you have to sit through another cycle waiting for the left turn arrow to go green.

Make that hoping it turns green.

It's happened to me many times.

That includes Monday. And today.

What was an occasional annoyance has become a regular aggravation, usually on my mid-afternoon soda run to Race Trac.

I'm not the only one.

I've made eye contact with other exasperated motorists, who throw up their hands as if to say -- What are you going to do?

I know what I do.

When I drive to work in the morning, I come down Ninth Street East off US 301.

I started doing it originally to avoid the Tropicana train that ties up First Street.

Now I do it to avoid that doggone traffic light.