This year, the City of Orlando was chosen to participate in Smart Growth America’s (SGA) first-ever Safe Streets Academy alongside Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government, KY and South Bend, IN. These three communities will learn from national experts, collaborate with one another,…
Big improvements are coming to Downtown Orlando. First, Orange County Public Schools is opening one of its brand new schools in downtown, named OCPS Academic Center for Excellence (OCPS ACE). The new preschool through eight grade school is particularly remarkable.…
You hear of resolutions being passed and policies being adopted, but it’s way more exciting when those resolutions and policies lead to action. Case in point: The Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT)’s Complete Streets Policy, which the department took up…
Who are these pedestrians anyway? Let’s address common misconceptions about people who walk: #1. Fewer people walking mean fewer pedestrian deaths. False. With most people in Orlando traveling by car, you might conclude that fewer people are walking and, therefore,…
When you picture a roundabout, you might also picture Big Ben or the Eiffel Tower in the distance behind it. Thanks to recent reports, though, we're starting to see more roundabouts stateside. Research points to these road circles as safer and more…
The City of Winter Park has a lot of great things going for it when it comes to the biking and walking scene - just look at its SunRail station, bustling Park Avenue and Cady Way Trail. The city is…
Metro Orlando was notoriously known as the deadliest place in America for pedestrians until Smart Growth America released its Dangerous by Design 2016 report. The Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford area dropped from first to third on the latest list of the most dangerous…
Lose weight, save money, help the environment. Those are some of the major benefits of walking, according to city planner, urban designer and author Jeff Speck, who recently spoke in Orlando. Walkability is key to getting people out of their cars…
Metro Orlando has a long way to go when it comes to being friendly to people on foot, at least according to a walkability study just completed by George Washington University and Smart Growth America, a pro-neighborhood group. The report…