John Hargrove

That plan is disappointing. Orlando might, if politics allow, plan to begin work on a small stretch (phase 1) of a new bus route that does not improve over existing buses because it's just going to be stuck in traffic on SR50 like everyone else. Nevermind that it's covering a stretch of SR50 that is likely substantially better serviced by existing bus routes. I'll be shocked if the east-west transit situation has materially improved by 2025.

I didn't know about this. Sounds like a good idea. Do you know of where I can read more about it? Any route plans or anything like that?

For sure. East/West transit in Orlando is basically non-existent. Transit from Winter Garden/Ocoee to UCF is 30 minutes by car or 3 hours with connections at LCS, riding buses that will stop 92 times (not an exaggeration, this is the actual number). Demand isn't there, I'm guessing. Of course, it never will be as long as transit times are that horrible. Demand doesn't exist because the available options are nonstarters. If you use transit to go from the west to the east side, you will spend 6 hours a day commuting 30 miles.

We desperately need a good movie theater out here. Surprising that Winter Garden Village doesn't have one, really.

During my time at 55W there were a couple YEARS of ongoing interior construction. Fire alarms were triggered probably 3-5 times a day for several months.

Completely agree. And the trail should be a trail, not a bike line on a road pretending to be a trail.

A certain professor from UT I'd imagine ...

No, however I do receive constant praise and/or harassment via Twitter that is directed toward him.

Wasn't really "forward" so much as it was presumptive, dismissive and somewhat hostile. Not a great way to greet someone coming out of lurker status. This board would be better off if we weren't scaring off people with this type of communication.

@camstrang Fantastic addition to the area. I dreamed of opening an office in one of these Church Street buildings for quite some time. Not just because I lived in 55 West and wanted to put a permanent end to loud bars outside my window! Unfortunately my software consultancy has not grown to the size where we can afford that type of space (or even require that size of an office.), and we relocated to Winter Garden earlier this year. On the bright side, despite its scarcity, office space is still cheaper out here. Ever since the Exchange started filling up with tech I thought Church Street would be a good place for a strip of technology/marketing/digital agency type places. Retail and bars certainly don't seem to last. Good luck and thanks for posting here.

OUT is easily one of the greatest things DTO can do for making it a good place to live. The city needs to seriously commit to making it a real trail. Trees, bike repair stations, fountains, emergency call boxes, safe crossings, police bike patrols, etc. What a difference it could make.

As someone who lived in 55 West, a few hundred feet from this building -- the security is needed. It's the difference between a nice building and a complete dump.

Delta needs to bring back LAS direct. And add an SFO direct.

The reason I think it's partisan isn't because I disagree with it, it's because it's literally the exact talking points I see from every hard line right winger on Facebook or Twitter. You have said nothing original about Charlottesville. The alternative to what you said is definitely not "they brought it on themselves." Anyone who paints with that broad of a brush is a jerk too. The reality is that these arguments are extremely nuanced, and I don't take a "side". The police have an immensely difficult job. African Americans DO deal with discrimination. Police abuse IS an issue. And we DO owe the police a great deal of reverence for putting their life on the line. But that's not what you said -- you posted something I could just go copy and paste from any of thousands of Facebook comment threads. It's just copypasta conspiracy theories. As for your point about the media, I'm interested in what you consider liberal media. This is a genuinely interesting thought. Because I consider liberal media to be: MSNBC, any of a number of totally failed left-wing radio shows, any of a number of successful left-wing podcasts. Do you consider NPR a liberal media outlet? CNN? Hell, Fox News (I've literally heard this.)? What defines a media outlet as liberal? Would love to continue this aspect of the conversation in the coffee house so others can enjoy the forum.

I understand your desire, but politics is inextricably linked with development and urban planning. You can't disconnect GOP control of Florida's state government from the shutdown of the HSR initiative. You can't disconnect the politics from the planning. Even infrastructure is political at this point. Unfortunately politics is a cancer in our society, because we have developed a system where everyone feels entitled to their own facts. It's completely self-evident to just about everyone that this is a problem that certainly didn't originate with conservative media, but was certainly MASTERED by the conservative media. I have spent the last 20 years watching the systemic distribution of misinformation on the right. It's basically society-level gas lighting, in which I have spent 2 @#$!% decades losing my breath literally just showing people facts that conflict with their world view. Liberals are full of crap too, but at least they have the decency to be bad at it. EDIT: And if people like @jrs2scare off people like @spenser1058, this board is screwed. I wont mince words here. I'd rather have spenser, regardless of the politics. Objectively his presence here is more valuable.

It pleases me that more people are harassing spenser to write a book. Keep on the pressure.

This project is one that makes me sad not living down there anymore. What an improvement to that area.

Eventually I'm just going to copy and paste his post history into a book and send it to him for approval

I'm partial to dark buildings with dark glass windows. Looks sharp. Also the intersection of old school brick and modern glass can be cool too. But most of the time developers are doing the low rent edition and it looks terrible

We've talked about that bend a few times. I think it is a much needed addition. Gets a little crazy over there near Church Street, especially since the Church Street curb juts out into traffic at Garland.

That's a shame. That bridge is easily one of my favorite parts of the trip. I look forward to it every time!

I'll never understand climate change being such a political issue. It is abundantly clear to anyone, that regardless of climate predictions, regardless of sea level, regardless of pollution, renewables are absolutely the future. Nuclear is a part of that, too. Don't want government tipping the scales of the market? They've done that with fossil fuels for my entire lifetime. And farming. And many other industries that have been deemed critical to our independence or future. I fail to see the difference. The country that pioneers this technology will have a major leg up for the remainder of this century. Worried about us subsidizing other governments? I can understand that. But how much money are we talking about here, and how does it compare to what we do with the military? Arguably we have been subsidizing the defense of numerous allies for quite some time. And, arguably, it has helped stabilize huge sections of the world. It's the future. New industry, cleaner air, new types of jobs, less dependence on foreign natural resources. The argument seems to boil down to: But what if we do it for no reason?! Edit: I should add that I DO understand why it's a political issue. Political tribalism. As soon as the GOP made this a campaign issue it suddenly became evil to 45% of the country. No questions asked.

Nice. There is also this: http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/orange/os-oakland-art-museum-20170717-story.html

It's easy to miss. It's basically a roundabout with a couple tiny 1 story buildings next to it. But charm is the right word. https://www.google.com/maps/@28.556661,-81.6280934,3a,75y,0.12h,87.04t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1svCkWIJDok0PSzqgvqduk8A!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

Yeah I guess I tend to agree. When I said it "needs it", I mean the place just generally lacks dedicated pedestrian pathways outside of the trail. But the lack of traffic, and general sleepiness of Oakland (how long will that last?) makes walking around fine. It's good to see Oakland getting out in front of the issue, though. Growth is inevitable. Prices are rising in the area quickly. Especially for us renters.