Migman
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Posts posted by Migman
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did anyone get a chance to check out banana's diner that just opened up this past weekend? i unfortunately had someone tell me about a bad experience there and I posted it in my blog but after a little bit of digging on urbanspoon i found that she wasn't the only one...
anyone on here?
Funny story about that. I was having breakfast at Chuck's this past Sunday and overheard the owners making fun of Bananas because they charged $25 for a chili dog. Apparently it's 22 inches long and comes with a pound of fries. Oh and if you finish it in 15 minutes you get a t-shirt. I didn't have the heart to tell them about the $69 hot dog in Serendipity 3 in NYC.
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Could this be prep work for HSR? Is this thing already at that stage?
Yes: http://www.wtsp.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=137356&catid=250
Also, apparently another stop for HSR might be in the works: http://www2.tbo.com/content/2010/aug/04/high-speed-rail-stop-proposed-hard-rock-fairground/news-breaking/
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Wekiva Parkway plans are slow going now
By Dan Tracy, ORLANDO SENTINEL
10:29 PM EDT, May 23, 2010
Metro Orlando's road-building agency asked Lake and Seminole counties six months ago for permission to construct a tolled highway in their jurisdictions.
The Orlando Orange County Expressway Authority is still waiting for a reply.
But that silence should not be taken as a no, Lake and Seminole officials say. In fact, they say, they likely will give the authority written consent to build the so-called Wekiva Parkway on their soil within 60 to 90 days.
"We're very supportive of the parkway," said Lake County Commissioner Linda Stewart, whose district would be bisected by the road.
Added Seminole County Chairman Bob Dallari: "We're hashing it through."
But that's not to say everyone agrees on everything.
Both Seminole and Lake officials want a seat on the policy-setting board of the authority. And Lake wants to ensure that a toll-free road will run along the parkway so that local residents will not be forced to pay, for example, to drive from Mount Dora to the Seminole Towne Center mall.
Agency officials say they cannot accommodate the request to enlarge the five-member board because it was established by the Florida Legislature, meaning a state law would have to be passed for the additions.
State Sen. Andy Gardiner, R- Orlando, has pushed for a regional authority but has not found enough support in the Legislature.
As for the toll-free road, the authority is working on plans for a local-access road, but is wrangling with Lake over who and how to pay for what could be a $90 million undertaking.
The 26-mile Wekiva Parkway would complete the beltway around greater Orlando by cutting through parts of Orange, Seminole and Lake counties. Construction on the $1.8 billion project could start as early as 2014, with completion in 2018.
Probably the biggest holdup has been acquiring the necessary state and federal approvals for the road because it would run through environmentally sensitive land, primarily the Wekiva River and surrounding wetlands. Hemmed in by housing and commercial tracts, the river starts at Wekiva Springs in Orange and mingles with more springs as it flows 14 miles between Seminole and Lake counties to the St. Johns River.
Right now, three bridges cross the river, the most prominent being State Road 46 between Mount Dora and Sanford. Wildlife often is killed attempting to cross the road, which rolls through largely rural land.
Ecologists such as Charles Lee of Audubon of Florida support the parkway because they believe a limited-access road would reduce environmental damage by preventing large-scale development that often follows new roads.
But Lee said he is worried the project is in danger because, in his estimation, the authority is moving too slowly on winning permits and getting the signatures of Lake and Seminole counties. He fears the road might get bogged down in administrative hassles and never be built.
"I'm very concerned," Lee said.
Road builders have talked about the parkway for years, but no one had enough money to build it. That changed a year ago, when the authority voted in a 25-cent toll increase, as well as a series of future inflation-adjusted rate increases.
Over time, the agency should have the cash it needs for the parkway, but that has not stopped authority director Mike Snyder from looking for a funding partner. Paying for the entire road would almost double the agency's existing debt of $2.1 billion, and $360 million worth of other projects are already in line ahead of the parkway.
Former authority Chairman Rich Crotty recently wrote a letter seeking up to $450 million from the federal government to pay for the road's planned interchange with Interstate 4. That request helped prompt the agency to undergo the rigorous federal environmental assessment of the project.
Snyder said the authority should finish the federal paperwork within weeks and could begin holding public hearings on the road's alignment by the end of the summer. That could lead to final federal approval near year's end.
"It doesn't look like it from the outside," Snyder said, "but we really have made progress."
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orlandosentinel.com/news/local/os-wekiva-lake-seminole-tolls-20100523,0,7304508.story
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Transportation secretary LaHood pwns the FL Senate...
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/...0,6002951.story
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Downtown Orlando skyline.
Full rez: http://i42.tinypic.com/10cs1sx.jpg
Pardon the quality, I was my GF's Samsung point-and-shoot instead of my Olympus DSLR.
Oh and BTW, this was taken from the Target@SoDo parking deck.
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Is the Turnpike getting widened around the Turnpike-429 interchange? There's quite a bit of construction going on out there.
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Washington Post advocates raising gas tax:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/conte...8090303164.html
How about splitting this proposed gas hike between the feds and the locals to fund mass transit projects? Maybe then we'll finally get something viable in central FL.
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Wooden framing and a steel parking deck? Seriously? Is this a common construction process for such a project?
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How can we be sure this thing will be profitable? The U.S Congress just bailed out Amtrak with 80 Billion dollars. Amtraks spokes person is quoted as saying "we are not set up to be profitable."
If this light rail fails are we going to be stuck footing the bill for a worthless goverment agency that will never go away?
You made two fundamental mistakes in your post. First of all, you somehow had the gall to compare a nationwide rail system with a regional rail system. I don't think I need to tell you that these are two completely different animals. Your erroneous comparison negates any qualm you may have with CFRail. Second of all, CFRail is not a light rail system. It never was, and never will be. CFRail is classified as commuter rail. I'm not going to go into the differences between the two (wikipedia is your friend), but the very nature of commuter rail almost guarantees profitability, especially in traffic congested metro Orlando.
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Wow that is a sharp turning onramp to I-4 East. Yikes!
Most definitely! I took that turn a few weeks back going a little faster than required. Was grinning ear to ear. Made me wish I had something with better weight distribution. Like a BMW 3-series.
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Get used to the idea of rail....it's coming, that said....i've got five on it.
That's the gist of it right there. You know it, I know, most people here know it. But, the retarded politicians don't know it. I absolutely hate how reactionary FL is when it comes to transportation. Most politicians here lack so much hindsight that it's outright scary. It pisses me off to no end.
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They need a Highway that goes West to East in Seminole County.
Isn't a portion of 417 west to east?
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Period. End of story.
GREAT concluding statement.
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Aren't they also planning to widen S.R. 50 from Ocoee all the way out to Clermont?
I could swear I remember hearing about that some time ago
I believe they said as soon as SR27 gets 6-laned (which is pretty soon), SR50 wouold get widened to 6 lanes from SR27 to the OC border.
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Yes they are extending Maitland Blvd/414/apopka by pass/ John land expressway, yes it has a lot of names, out to the 429 south of obt with an interchange at maitland blvd current terminus at 441 and Hiawassee Rd, and the another interchange at the 429. Eventually the road will continue West over the 429 and off to 441 in Plymouth right where Plymouth Sorrento Road/437 runs into 441. Then from there the wekiva parkway will continue north paralleling 437 until it gets north of kelly park road then it will spur off west to 46 near mt dora and east toward sanford, crossing over mt plymouth road and running parallel with state road 46 until it hits I4 but not connecting directly to the 417 which i think it stupid. A loop Road should be continuous, its like the 429 and 417 down by disney dont connect you have to get on I4.
So will this new Maitland Blvd extension be tolled? Or is just a standard extension until it hits 429 and becomes the Apopka bypass?
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So I turned onto SR414 from OBT today and noticed a lot of construction. There's quite a bit of roadwork mixed with site prep in that area. They even took down the rail bridge over OBT. Anyone know what that's all about?
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Where on Sand Lake would they put it? There's not even enough room to widen to 6 lanes.
Can you say elevated light rail?
I'm totally psyched about this new proposal. Hopefully they'll have the sense to extend it past Lake Nona through Waterford and right into UCF. They could add stops @ Lockmart and CF Research Park for added ridership. Would be a pretty sweet deal when complete. -
I think there was another proposal for future expansion that takes that spur through Lake County out to the turnpike and I-75 area.
Wasn't that the 408 extension they were talking about not too long ago?/
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That's an interesting route proposal. I didn't think they'd extend it out as far as 441 in Mount Dora.
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A few new renderings of the International Terminal for OIA.
Ballin'!
I'm totally psyched about this new proposal. Hopefully they'll have the sense to extend it past Lake Nona through Waterford and right into UCF. They could add stops @ Lockmart and CF Research Park for added ridership. Would be a pretty sweet deal when complete.
SunRail
in Orlando
Posted
Agreed, not enough density for LRT. Also, space wise I'm pretty sure most of SR50 doesn't have enough of a median for LRT, and would thus need to be elevated, raising construction costs significantly. What Colonial needs is a good BRT system, with its own ROW and control over traffic lights.