WAJAS
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Posts posted by WAJAS
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I wonder if we can get @thelakelander from the MetroJax forums to get his opinion on the comparison. I don't have an account over there, but someone should reach out.
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4 hours ago, AmIReal said:
I think the plan would run into the same problems it has always run into. Some of the cities (Orlando, WP, Maitland, Windermere) offer better services than OC so the citizens are less inclined to support consolidation. Other cities like Apopka, Christmas, Plymouth would balk at the sizable tax increases. I suspect all of the cities governments would be disinclined to support losing their power.
The things I would most want out of consolidation, such as working together to solve transportation issues and economic development, can be handled by joint venture arrangements without centralizing the entire county decision making.
On the transportation side, that can also be accomplished by consolidating the current multi-county transportation organizations (Lynx, Sunrail, CFXA) and giving them dedicated sources of funding from each county.
Consolidations in OC would likely result in an odd arrangement, like Jacksonville, where some cities aren't absorbed.
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1 hour ago, AmIReal said:
It doesn't appear they have any committed. The flyer still shows all spots open.
That hasn't been updated in a while. The Orange/Robinson project is only shown as proposed.
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The 15 USD minimum wage is likely to occur very soon with the incoming stimulus. Its a part of the current proposal. Also of note, the current form of the stimulus would eliminate the disability minimum wage and the tipped minimum wage. These are some pretty significant changes that Americans will notice in their everyday lives.
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9 hours ago, Urban Mail Carrier said:
Disappointed that it will be built in the middle of nowhere, however I recognize it’s a step in the right direction. Hopefully the MCO connection comes to fruition...
While this doesn't go to downtown Deland, this is good that a decision has finally been made that the county is okay with.
On the possibility of a downtown Deland station: The track spur that leads to downtown Deland is actually just short of the current station on the mainline. In the future, the extension to downtown can be completed with the only sunk cost being the station itself, which is downsized in this proposal. Only a small section of track would become unused. Also, the most likely scenario is the original station stays to serve those that drive to the station because the downtown Deland station would likely have limited parking due to lack of available land.
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2 hours ago, codypet said:
Went on a bike ride and didn't expect to see this. That's some serious progress
It feels like they just approved it a few weeks ago.
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5 hours ago, jrs2 said:
Man, I'm getting dizzy...
Um, last I checked, Socialists WERE fascists...
So I tend to steer clear of this thread, but this is just false. Honestly, your failure to know the difference is a bit alarming.
Fascisim is a far-right ideology with significant authoritarian and ultranationalism. (ie. Nazis, Fascist Italy)
Socialism is generally a left ideology, but its like saying that a light is on. How socialist is something? How bright is the light? Medicaid, Medicare, unemployment support, social services, public libraries, postal service, Amtrak, student loans, social security, veteran's affairs, student loans, government subsidies, corporate welfare (bailouts), etc. are all concepts that stem from socialism, yet the US is not what anyone who studies political and economic ideology would consider socialist. The light is dim.
Socialism also means different things depending on the context. In Marxist theory, it's the transitionary ideology between capitalism and communism. This would be akin to the brightest light using my previous analogy.
Lastly, just because someone calls themselves something doesn't make it true. The Nazis weren't socialist. The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) isn't democratic or a republic.
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2 hours ago, AmIReal said:
OC is dusting off the old pans for the fancy pants pedestrian bridge at Sandlake and I-Drive. "the county released a request for proposals for the International Drive Pedestrian Overpass Intersection Analysis and Overpass Conceptual Design Study"
Honestly needed. That road acts as a barrier for people staying on either side of I-Drive.
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9 hours ago, prahaboheme said:
Talented people are leaving Orlando.
What is this in reference to?
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9 hours ago, spenser1058 said:
What will the space program look like in the Biden administration? The Tampa Bay Times takes a look:
Space has always done better when its not a partisan topic. I personally appreciate Biden's lack of comment during the election cycle, but at this point I would expect some more details on his policy going forward. Based on the official policy's, I expect they'll continue Artemis but push the landing to a more reasonable 2028. That's where it was for most of Trump and Obama.
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4 hours ago, spenser1058 said:
“sometimes good decision making takes place outside the political realm”. That’s of course why businesses spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on political contributions every year - they think it has no effect.
In this case, it was just the government involved. If you don’t think politics matter, take a look at Naval Training Center -Orlando. Oh wait, we can’t. Even though it was widely acknowledged Orlando had better facilities and the weather was more conducive to training here, Chicago won out because its clout in Congress and with the Clinton administration was better than that of Bill “I saved your Navy base” McCollum.
Of course, the reason NTC-Orlando existed in the first place was because of a “little” gift LBJ gave to his good buddy from the Texas hill country, Martin Andersen (then owner/publisher of the Sentinel and one of the most powerful folks in Orlando during the ‘50’s and ‘60’s).
Oh, and back to space. Do you think some great rule of logic dictated that Mission Control is located hundreds of miles away in Houston instead of at KSC? Nope, it was old-fashioned pork barrel politics.
To this day, NASA operates in states across the country just like Amtrak operates the Sunset Limited with precious few riders through several states. Why? To engender support from the folks in Congress from as many states as they can.
Surprisingly, this is a very good overview of why NASA is in most places.
Why does Huntsville have so much space and aerospace in the first place? Politics.
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5 hours ago, orange87 said:
Not saying Florida is the most well-educated state, but compared to Alabama, I'd think they may struggle to find enough qualified people in Alabama. Not sure most people would be thrilled to move to Alabama to work there.
Generally yes, but Huntsville is a huge area for aerospace and, specifically, space. People will locate there to work on those projects in spite of the location.
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5 hours ago, AmIReal said:
Nice work. Is there still a proposal that includes light rail to UCF?
EDIT: I read this wrong at first.
There's a study by Lynx for premium transit on 50, but the connection to I-Drive is from the old light rail proposal from about two decades ago. A more likely scenario is the I-Drive and 50 portions are built independently, but may eventually link up in the future.
Honestly, any LRT options are going to be pushed off until the next large-scale fed infrastructure bill, so its the waiting game for now.
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Time for another look at this stuff. @smileguy I partially used .KMZ data from your previous map fyi. This pretty much compiles a lot of the current proposals and/or studies into a single map. This takes into account the US 192, SR 436, and SR 50 studies from Lynx for routing. Green is inspired by one of the alternatives in the OIA Connector study. Blue is inspired by the old light rail proposals, the SR 50 study, and the I-Drive circulator proposals. Sunrail East/West comes from a proposal from Brightline that will be presented to the CFRC in February. Brightline comes from Brightline. OBX is the Orange Blossom Express proposal from about a decade ago.
Here is a link to the Google Map overlay: Ideal Orlando Transit 2021 - Google My Maps
Light Orange - CR Sunrail
Dark Orange - CR Orange Blossom Express
Yellow - Brightline (Sunrail East/West is next to this in Orange from Disney to Innovation Way)
Blue - LRT UCF / Downtown / I-Drive
Green - LRT I-Drive / OIA / Lake Nona
Pink - BRT Apopka / Altamonte / OIA
Purple - BRT West Colonial
Red - BRT US 129
LRT = Light Rail Transit
BRT = Bus Rapid Transit
CR = Commuter Rail
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1 hour ago, JFW657 said:
Right, but that applies only to the one person who was in a fight with the victim.
What I'm saying is that if the cop had died of something like a heart attack, they cannot charge every single rioter they arrest with murder.
At least I don't think they can.
If he died from a blow to the head with a fire extinguisher and they catch who did it, I believe that person would be the only one charged with his death.
Well, Good Samaritan laws can compel a bystander to aid the officer. If they don't, the penalty is typically just a fine. I don't know if this law exists in DC though.
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14 minutes ago, spenser1058 said:
We wanted to paint them all white just for @JFW657!
Personally, I think painting all the buildings downtown a lovely shade of pink would be FABULOUS...
Let's do the colors of Cinderella's Castle in Magic Kingdom!
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Two things:
- Can we all agree that Uptown has become North Quarter? People I talk to have begun using it as if its common parlance. In that vain, @bic or @sunshine should rename this thread to fit. ("North Quarter / Uptown")
- What park serves North Quarter? I have never lived there, but I have noticed that there does not seem to be a convenient park for such a residential area. Should there be one created or a nearby one expanded to fit? What property could it be located in (Orlando Sentinel, Vertical Medical City, etc.)?
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The Central Florida Expressway Authority (CFXA) is currently compiling their 2045 Masterplan. They are accepting comments from the community through March 21st, 2021 at this link: Master Plan | Central Florida Expressway Authority (cfxway.com) (click "Take Survey").
I was sure to state my preference for investment in new technologies. Also, I prefer they optimize the current system before expanding it any more with the exception of some specific projects (408 eastward being the main one). Lastly, I emphasized the need to welcome and (if possible) help fund alternative forms of transportation through their corridors.
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5 hours ago, aent said:
Yes but why expand to Orlando? They have no properties near stations in the under construction Orlando route or even the proposed Tampa route. Why keep spending on these stations if they've already built the ones where they want to increase property value? Especially if service is not a priority?
I'm not arguing that service isn't a priority, but its subordinate to increasing the property value. The expansion to Orlando will bring passenger traffic and attention that will increase the current property values in South Florida even more.
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13 minutes ago, aent said:
Yes, but those delays were a result of legal challenges from governmental entities along the coast. Since they started construction they seem to be moving fairly fast and keeping on schedule. There is little reason to believe there will be any legal challenges on an MCO-Disney expansion.
I've asked numerous times without a response from you, can you please either provide some sort of example of other priorities for expanding to Orlando (or Disney). Since you've ignored me every single time, the only possible conclusion is entirely false. Time to put up or shut up.
If you're referring to other priorities for Brightline, then they have been public about at least one of them. The original purpose, and arguably still the main purpose, of Brightline was to increase the value of the FEC properties along the mainline. The Miami Station largely capitalized on this.
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18 hours ago, nite owℓ said:
Yep the design is not unheard of in other cities/countries, but since it's uncommon in Orlando I think the design contributes to people's dislike for Solaire's garage. I mentioned that particular garage because I like the architecture and the interior spiral and the garage are almost totally enveloped vs "open air".
I actually like it more than a normal garage ramp. They make it easier to exit and decrease oncoming traffic in the garage.
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15 hours ago, nite owℓ said:
I wouldn't say the ladies own the club individually, but I'm pretty sure the Rosalind Club's members can vote to dissolve the club or sell the property... Same as U-Club, except the RC can use the proceeds to move elsewhere. The RC members are the ones to pushing to demo 7-eleven as part of their agenda to expand the park - so yes, now they too can abide by their own standard.
I'm certainly not against park expansion and I understand the need for it. We've already expanded the park years ago to the tune of $8.5M and you know what that got us? 1.8 ACRES = 78,408 sq. ft. of actual usable park space: https://goo.gl/maps/KKsQaxr8PZveh8xCA (https://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/os-xpm-2013-02-01-os-lake-eola-houses-20130201-story.html). Granted some of the old historic homes had to be demolished, but the South Eola expansion was definitely worth it. And since it's located on the quieter end of Lake Eola, people are more inclined to set out blankets and chill, practice yoga, etc. OLT wants to spend $3.5M to acquire a little more than 5,000 sq. ft. That is an absolute joke for what we'll be getting with no guarantee that City Centre will be next.
Personally I like having storefronts frame that entrance leading to Lake Eola park. The unwelcoming ambiance I mentioned goes well beyond the pedestrian scramble (which is something I've requested the city traffic engineer to implement years ago - and I continue to request crosswalk improvements). I live next to Lake Eola so I kinda get to see the usage patterns of where people congregate, etc. The outer perimeter of Lake Eola Park along Rosalind and Robinson does not get utilized on a day to day basis unless there is an event (although Lake Eola Charter School uses the Northwest lawn for PE/recess on school days). People naturally gravitate towards the inner areas within the park away from heavy car traffic. Who wants to sit down and read a book or have a picnic on the corner of Rosalind and Central breathing in noxious fumes, next to loud traffic, bass music, Harley's revving, etc. It's simply not a welcoming ambiance and that has more to do with the high volume of traffic on Rosalind (which sees 17k+ vehicles daily). Does that rendering look like a place where you'd sit down & relax? I can tell you one of the things it'll be used for... a place for dogs to relieve themselves used by nearby residents who don't want to walk further to one of the other lawns. Hmm, now that I think of it another dog park could actually work here lol.
The hard transition I spoke of is quite visible in the rendering especially with City Centre's huge wall looming over it. Does that look welcoming to you?? 7-eleven and the other storefronts currently serve a purpose and they help ease the transition down Central Blvd into the park. This pocket park literally looks like the vacant lot on Orange/Pine that has persisted for years after the original structure burned down or one of the many blighted lots in Parramore where the city bulldozed a trap house to get rid of a plague on the neighborhood. It's not an organic transition - it's a transition by demolition and it looks horrible. It's not my job to fix all the ills of Rosalind Ave, however, I think it's pretty naive to assume the existing problems on Rosalind won't affect the usage of the new pocket park. Even if they manage to come up with an easement into the main park, it will still seem like an island unto itself. I'd rather have all or nothing - either demo Rosalind Club, 7-eleven AND City Centre or don't touch any of it.
Like I said earlier, we already know things take forever and a day to come to fruition in Downtown Orlando. We will be stuck with an ugly pocket park for years to come if 7-eleven is allowed to be torn down without assembling all parcels first! Take a good look at it:
Interesting info on the clubs.
I'm not sure where you got that 1.8 acres from as the article you linked mentions 1.3 acres (56628 sqft). That 1.3 acres also includes Eola House, so the actual usable park space is less (about 46000 sqft). That ends up at about 185 USD/sqft. The corner property is 700 USD/sqft, so about 3.7 times as expensive per area unit. For property that is closer to the CBD and at a major intersection, I don't think this is that extreme.
I agree that those portions of the park are underutilized. However, that is more a lack of vision on the city's part. If the road is the problem, which it definitely is, then make the park feel more separated from the road. A row of shrubbery/hedges or a berm would fix that but the balance here is between making the park accessible, peaceful, and safe. I personally would put a see through fence, like on Eola Drive. It makes it safer to use the park with kids near the road, but it also keeps line-of-sight to ensure security and safety.
Your last points show the difference in our opinions well. I am okay with gaining something small in route to the larger goal, but you do not believe that the larger goal is reasonable or even possible in the short term. The result being something that neither of us want, which is the pocket park pictured. This is the first project of the Orlando Land Trust, and I hope that in the future they improve. Part of this would be having commitments or, at least, verbal agreements that all of the lots are purchasable before buying the first one. This may have occurred for this project, but I honestly do not know. I am okay with a bumpy ride and hope all involved use this as a learning experience that will advise future purchases.
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On 12/24/2020 at 12:56 PM, aent said:
Did the Democrats cut out the billion dollars they're sending out of the country to places like Pakistan gender studies to fund it? Cause that was Trump/GOP's request
Ignoring the clear generalization, this package includes the omnibus spending for the government in 2021, which includes USAID programs. It's how the US keeps allies and supports our interests abroad. Is the idea that USAID should end? Because that could be a disaster for foreign policy. Also, correct me if I am wrong but that was a GOP request that Trump has not endorsed it.
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19 hours ago, nite owℓ said:
Personally, I wish those old women would put their money where their mouth is and sell off their own property to the city, but it seems they have no intention on doing so. Hmmm, I wonder why. If they really want to expand the park and they aren't doing it for selfish reasons (i.e. getting rid of undesirables), then they should sell their own property FIRST. Getting rid of the 7-eleven building is a minimal Return On Investment on $3.5 million considering it's such a small sliver of land located on an busy, unwelcoming intersection for pedestrians. The South Eola park transition worked because it's transitioning from a more residential neighborhood. The Rosalind/Central streetwall currently frames that intersection nicely and destroying it will create a hard transition from the CBD into the park.
Pardon my lack of knowledge, but do these woman also own the Rosalind Club?
Also, the price of the land is hardly a reason not to expand the park. No park in any urban setting would ever be able to fully serve the community if city governments did not expand them as the city grew.
Why would the unwelcomeness of the intersection effect the viability of this purchase? This logic is the reason why most transit systems fail. The beginnings of a solution are presented, but because they do not fully solve the problem the solutions are disregarded. The problem then stays because any full and immediate solution is too expensive. The expansion of the park further opens it to the CBD and provides additional recreational facilities for downtown workers and residents. If the intersection is unwelcome, then say it should be fixed. The whole Rosalind corridor next to the park is unwelcome, and that should change. A pedestrian scramble, like Bungalower suggested, is one way improve this.
I don't understand how a hard transition between the park and the CBD is bad. Any downtown park in any city has a hard transition: Central Park in NYC, Centennial Park in Atlanta, Bayside in Miami, etc. Oak trees or similar could also maintain the street wall effect at the intersection if that is of concern.
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SunRail
in Orlando
Posted
I think he thought the funds would have been better spent on the OIA extension, which I agree with based on the ridership projections. On the bright side, once this is over they'll be able to focus on future projects.