lala67

I'd call it real planning if/when they actually looked at using transit for transportation rather than continually widening roads to accommodate these developments. All the developmetns I've seen for the area all talk about widening everything to 6 lanes with more at intersections. Oh, but they'll be putting in trails and sidewalks that meander and make things look all 'quaint'. It's all very 'sprawly'. bleh.

Another alternative is to take Link 11 to the airport. It leaves every half hour (:00 & :30) from Lynx Central Station and is a direct route down Orange Avenue to Sand Lake to Beechline to OIA. It takes at most 30 minutes. There are several stops along Orange Avenue in the downtown if you don't want to catch the bus from LCS. Fares are only $2.

Without SunRail there would be no HSR. I think cost was a factor in choosing Tampa-Orlando rather than Miami-Orlando, but I think the Miami-Orlando line is likely a better project. However, Tampa-Orlando is further along in the NEPA process. Tampa just adopted a pretty extensive transit master plan and LYNX is about to undergo the development of its own long range master plan. All the pieces are coming together, finally!

my point JRS is not to forsake the highway system as you suggest, but that you need a critical mass for ridership on CRT or LRT or any form of mass transit. The majority of traffic on I-4 during peak hour is not freight or delivery trucks, but commuters. Take the commuters off of I-4 and you really don't have to widen it all that much. Atlanta got severely penalized for focusing all it's transportation dollars on highway improvements. Because they didn't do anything to correct their air quality issues, due to congestion on their highways and them only encouraging more driving due to their construction of more lane miles, the feds took their highway dollars away. This forced them to invest in MARTA and get serious about managing the movement of goods and people. As much as you would like it to be true, you can not build your way out of congestion. That statement has nothing to do with my opinion regarding improvements to I-4 - there are definitely improvements needed in terms of better flow and design, not necessarily additional lane miles.

it would probably help if they advertised what films they were actually playing. They're showing Harold and Maude at the theater, not that you'd find it on their website. http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/entertain...inema-cafe.html

saw Star Trek yesterday to check out the place. Kinda confusing for everyone wrt validating parking, getting food, finding the bar, etc, but all in all a nice experience. I hope it works out b/c I really enjoyed going to a theater downtown. I think they have some kinks to work out but all in all I think it could be a cool place. I hope they get some more indie moves and show more clsassics. I might have to check out a Magic Finals game. Are there real tables in any of the theaters?

riddle me this, what's the point of widening roads if you're going to put in light rail/commuter rail? You'll get your wish in regards to I-4. It'll be 8 lanes wide from one end of the metro to the other, probably 10-12 through downtown. It'll still be gridlocked.

In order to widen I-4 through downtown approximately 300 homes in the College Park area will be taken. That's what I mean - giving up 300 DUs in a fairly dense environment close to the CBD so that folks from Altamonte & Lake Mary have an easier commute. Bleh. I-75 is 19 lanes wide in some sections in Atlanta's downtown core and congestion hasn't gotten any better because of it, it's just an even bigger mess. You can't build your way out of congestion and adding lanes doesn't really work. Congestion also isn't necessarily a bad thing.

the county has never been all that concerned about pedestrian connectivity and urban design. It's getting a little better. Their transportation folks also have never really cared about bikes or peds and I'm sure that drove a lot of the design. From the pic it looks like there's an access drive leading to a structured parking deck or entrance. Move the cars at all costs and maintain traffic flow.

you do realize there are other modes of transportation besides the automobile, right? I-4's ultimate configuration is being designed to handle the capacity from the year 2000. Meaning it will already be OVER capacity the day that the ultimate configuration is completed. I don't care if people want to pave the entire landscape from here there and everywhere, but not at the expense of places that have a tight grid and are close in. That's the big problem with sprawl - people move out where it's cheaper or to get away from it all and then want to bring it all with them but only a mere 20 minute drive from wherever it is they want to go.

the problem is we're then stuck with it even when times are good and it's damn near impossible to retrofit an auto-oriented monstrosity into a pedestrian friendly building. If the timing isn't right, it isn't right. Basically, the building has turned its back to the street. That's the biggest problem I see and you can't fix that. disclaimer, I'm not an architect but I slept at a holiday inn last night.

geez, that's one inviting facade...not one window or opening at the ground level? terrible.

I agree metrowester, if my post wasn't already clear. Delray Beach is an interesting case and I think a Parramore group could learn a lot from them and be even more successful. I'm all for bringing a rennaissance to the area, just don't want it to become astronomically expensive so people earning the median income around here can't even afford to live there.

I think Parramore and Westmoreland north of the 408 have quite a bit of character. Parramore, especially with the streetscape improvements and whatnot. If you want to look at a successful historically african american community renaissance I suggest people look at Delray Beach and the West Atlantic Avenue corridor. They created a CRA and transformed the area - mostly through grass roots efforts among long time neighborhood residents. The area went from blinking yellow traffic lights at night so people didn't have to stop along the corridor to a place where people want to go and hang out. USTA also built their HQ there with a stadium - success is a bit mixed, but some other historic properties were rescued and rehabbed creating a great plaza and museum a la heritage square. I've been saying for sometime I don't really care for the push to be 'upscale' in downtown Orlando. I don't want to pay $10 for a martini or glass of wine. Not saying we need nickel beer nights, but there's got to be a happy medium. Some good eats - Dives, Diners and Drive-ins - good jazz clubs and other attractors. Why not make Parramore into a more bohemian hip artsy place rather than some frou frou monument to wealth? Leave that to the east side of downtown. I've noticed that people are starting to move in and fix up the houses in the area south of ORMC between Orange and I-4, particularly near SODO (take a drive down Muriel). Orlando Brewery is in that area. I think you can have a mix of light industrial/office and more affordable housing. There are some cute little houses in there. It'll never be Thornton Park, but it doesn't need to be. No reason this can't happen in Parramore either. But crime has got to be dealt with.

Chicken and egg kind of thing. The development likely occurred b/c there was going to be capacity built. If roads are within year 3 of the 5 yr work program, development can be built in anticipation of the road being built/widened/"improved". within 10 yrs those new roads will likely be over capacity and people will beotch about congestion.

I can't wait for the opening.

bingo...I believe there are about 2500 parking spots planned for the events center garage? There's another chunk of spots 1000? available in the garage behind City Hall, then there are 750? or so in 55W? Not all of those spaces will be available for the Magic games though. Add in the DPAC and it gets even dicier if both places have an event at the same time. Beyond CSS, I think the shops/retail in the Hughes complex fronting W Church Street and across from the Events Center will also see an uptick, maybe even more than CSS. The sea of parking surrounding the O-Rena really killed any chance for retail to pick up around it. But the block between Hughey and Division along Church Street will do nicely since the area isn't being blown out by asphalt and such. Very walkable, very urban, much different atmoshphere than the Centroplex. Personally, I might grab something to eat at the Arena for a game, but that's generally a factor of running late and getting to my seat. That said, I've often hung out at Hoops before/after a game since it's pretty slim pickings for anything near the Arena.

I think you can add SODO to the list?

it's really depressing isn't it? I was born and raised here and all I see is the state moving backward. They're still prattling on and on about property tax reform. I lived in Palm Beach County when Tri-Rail started up and they didn't have near the hurdles Central Florida has had when it comes to getting approval. I got a press release from Dyer's office and Metroplan sent out a press release too. Dyer says he's going to try to figure out a way to keep moving forward. Metroplan is in a bit of a bind because they're in the middle of their Long Range Plan Update and SunRail was the centerpiece. There's no more money for roads really and now that SunRail isn't going forward we're kinda screwed when it comes to I-4 construction. This region is really at a point where building roads is not a solution. I think part of the problem was that FDOT purposely used the most conservative ridership estimates possible so that when they exceeded their estimates they could claim success...I think it may have backfired somewhat.

such a sad day indeed. Can't believe a few senators can deny millions of central floridians the opportunity for alternative transportation.

I saw U2 at the Miami arena and my impression is probably tweaked by that experience. The arena itself is probably great for basketball games and even concerts, but we were in the upper level towards the back/side of the stage. Our view was fine, but it felt like we were crammed into a corner. They have certainly tried to put a seat in every crevice they could find in that place.

I agree, using the CRA money to replace the lower TDT funds makes a lot of sense. I'd much rather use CRA money for a public project like this than to build another garage or incentivise another high rise mixed use development.

I have travelled to a lot of cities and been to concerts in their arenas and I will third the view that the O-rena is incredibly outdated and drab. I've been to Miami's AA arena (didn't really care for it), Madison Square Garden (an older facility, the concourses/gates system is very confusing but the arena itself is great), Chicago's United Center (great facility), Key Arena in Seattle (can see why they left), and even some smaller hockey arenas in Canada. Even the St. Pete Times Forum isn't all that bad. I can't wait for this new arena to open up. I will miss the red cushioned seats though ;-)

the albertsons is definitely closing, they're having going out of business sales already. It's a great location for a Whole Foods, I was worried it'd stay vacant. Hopefully they all stay viable (and prices stay competitive).

yeah, Kissimmee is the little city that could. They do a lot of good things down there, especially in the downtown. there's so much more to Kissimmee than 192. The commuter rail transit stop is planned to be multi-modal and will be a pretty significant one. they've worked hard to get the funding in place for it. They're also doing a pretty good job partnering with the County to build the shingle creek trail.