City of Orlando Picking Up the Pace for Peds

The City of Orlando is picking up the pace like a runner nearing the finish line when it comes to walking and bicycling infrastructure. Consider the following projects in the works by the City of Orlando’s Transportation Planning division:

• Construction has started on the $9 million pedestrian/bike bridge spanning Colonial Drive, next to I-4 in downtown Orlando. Completion is expected in late 2018.
• The mile-long Bumby Avenue multi-use path opened in April with a ribbon-cutting. MetroPlan Orlando will track the number of runners, walkers and bicyclists who enjoy the new path.
• The city launched a year-long study of ways to encourage more biking and walking in the Milk District and the Mills Avenue/Colonial Drive corridors.
• The Lynx regional bus service has hired a construction company to complete two missing segments of Gertrude’s Walk in downtown. The path runs near the Lynx downtown station and will connect to the new pedestrian bridge.
• The city installed 22 new bike racks this year for secure bicycle parking, about half of them in the Thornton Park area to the east of downtown.
• The Juice Bike Share program now has nearly 9,300 active members, according to city statistics. A total of 200 bikes are available at 39 stations about the city. The average trip is just short of 2 miles.
• The city continues to install green bike lanes. The latest additions are Rosalind/Magnolia Avenues from Colonial Drive to South Street, and Livingston Street from Rosalind Avenue to Garland Avenue.

“The City of Orlando realizes the importance of providing safe infrastructure for people walking and bicycling,” said Ian Sikonia, Orlando’s bicycle and pedestrian coordinator. “All these little things add up to something special.”