Trails / Bicycle Infrastructure

[codypet]

So they were cutting trees down along this stretch today.  I wonder if they're widening the sidewalk to be a trail.  Right now officially if you bike you're supposed to ride through Herndon Plaza and the Fashion Square Parking lot.

[smileguy]

12 hours ago, codypet said:

So they were cutting trees down along this stretch today.  I wonder if they're widening the sidewalk to be a trail.  Right now officially if you bike you're supposed to ride through Herndon Plaza and the Fashion Square Parking lot.

It will be a 10' Mixed Use Path. Some pretty fancy bike racks along the route, too.  I was told the trees are coming down because they didn't have the ROW to place trees and the path, and that GOAA wanted the trees gone anyway.  Hopefully they'll at least replant with crepe myrtle to match the remainder of the trail to the 408.

 

 

 

 

[AndyPok1]

Agreed that sidewalk was horrible.  I didn't even know there was a path to the south because every time I went to Cady Way I had come down Livingston from DT.  Great addition even if it does mean losing trees

[Jolly Roger's Crackers]

Biked the route from Lake Underhill to Cady Way again today.  All three large oaks between the OEA entrance (at Livingston) and Fairgreen Street are coming down. I thought the city might save the largest one (at the corner of Maguire and Fairgreen) but it has gotten the axe also. Oh well. Plant a few Crepe Myrtles and Oaks along the way and all will be fine in a few years, I reckon.  I sure hope they improve that sidewalk stretch between Fairgreen and Colonial, though.  Cheers.

Also....ZERO work done on the Cady Way burned bridge. Grrrrrrrrrr.

[spenser1058]

“Tree City,USA” - it is a joke here in The City Asphalt. And before anyone passes the buck to GOAA, remember who sits on that board and said not a peep: our very own “What, Me Worry?” Buddy!

Mayor Marks put trees all over town - Buddy just watches them demolished all over town and says not a word. 
 

Buddy tells us his goal is to make Orlando one of the greenest cities in the country - given that trees are one of the most environmentally-friendly ways to cut pollution in urban areas, that sounds pretty hollow, doesn’t it?

SAVE THE TREE!

 

[codypet]

On the flip side an old growth oak in my neighborhood fell onto Bumby with nothing so much as a gentle breeze about a week ago.

Now the City is going around marking white x's on the trees that have been rough for a while.

[AndyPok1]

@spenser1058 I legitimately have 0 idea how to make that are trail-worthy without removing the trees.  Please, give insight.  I'm pro-tree, but having a good path there outweighs the value of 3 trees imo.

[Jolly Roger's Crackers]

20 hours ago, AndyPok1 said:

I legitimately have 0 idea how to make that are trail-worthy without removing the trees.  Please, give insight.  I'm pro-tree, but having a good path there outweighs the value of 3 trees imo.

They could have easily routed the new trail to the right (east) of the trees and still lined up with the crosswalk at Fairgreen Street. If the Executive Airport preferred them gone (due to the secondary  runway) then I reckon it was forgone anyway.  I guess it is what it is...and agree that a smooth trail section is much needed in that spot. I biked by there today and the trees are all stumps. On a positive note....it DOES look like the city is "prepping" the sidewalk area between Fairgreen Street and Colonial for trail overhaul (temporary fabric barriers being setup). THAT would be a good thing to be sure. Cheers.

On 7/2/2020 at 7:54 AM, codypet said:

Now the City is going around marking white x's on the trees that have been rough for a while.

Seen quite a few of those in my neck of the woods as well. Cheers.

Edited July 3, 2020 by Jolly Roger's Crackers

[Jolly Roger's Crackers]

On 7/1/2020 at 5:45 PM, Jolly Roger's Crackers said:

Also....ZERO work done on the Cady Way burned bridge.

Per an update from the Parks Division....it's gonna be another three months (from now) before it is repaired/replaced. Please wear your helmet along Aloma (as it is a bit of a "sketchy" detour to be sure). Cheers.

Edited July 10, 2020 by Jolly Roger's Crackers

[codypet]

https://bikewalkcentralflorida.org/2020/08/05/orange-county-works-quickly-to-reconstruct-cady-way-trail-bridge/

 

Soon.

[spenser1058]

11 minutes ago, codypet said:

https://bikewalkcentralflorida.org/2020/08/05/orange-county-works-quickly-to-reconstruct-cady-way-trail-bridge/

 

Soon.

@Jolly Roger's Crackers is gonna be SO happy!

[Jolly Roger's Crackers]

On 8/6/2020 at 9:56 AM, spenser1058 said:

@Jolly Roger's Crackers is gonna be SO happy!

Happy? I'm a parrot that eats crackers and wears a silly pirate hat. I'm never happy. Finally an update on the bridge! Good to see things are progressing...but I'd hesitate on calling it "fast-tracking", OCW (jeez...five/six months?). Oh well...red tape is just a tape of another color, I reckon.  Hopefully the new bridge will be a steel and concrete (aka non-flamable) structure. On a side note...the connector along Maguire (from Orlando Executive Airport to Colonial) is well underway.  The stretch from Livingstone to Amelia has been paved and work had begun on the section from Amelia to Fairgreen St. It is a "poured concrete" section of trail (as opposed to asphalt). Hopefully they will address the section between Fairgreen and Colonial (and it appears that they will). Oh Aloma Ave.....I'll ride your sidewalk for another couple of months but will curse you to the abyss once the Cady Way bridge is fixed. Happy weekend, everybody. Stay safe and Cheers.

[codypet]

Anyone notice the sidewalk still necks down narrow at the Sheltair building?

[Jolly Roger's Crackers]

21 hours ago, codypet said:

Anyone notice the sidewalk still necks down narrow at the Sheltair building?

Yeah. I noticed that. There is a fire hydrant at that corner (and perhaps other underground utilities) that probably factored in. Cheers.

[Jolly Roger's Crackers]

Other trail news....Went on a long ride today. For those familiar with the Cross Seminole Trail...there has always been a gap starting at Layer Elementary School (in Winter Springs) that forces riders to skirt the 419 before detouring through an area of metal scrap yards and riding down Old Sanford Oviedo Rd until you reach the next section of paved trail (navigating a sketchy gravel path in the process). A pretty crappy half mile of riding.  I'd read online recently that a solution for that "gap" there had been finalized. Today I saw what looks like "trail clearing" for that area. Trees and scrub have been cleared for what looks like a 10 foot wide swath alongside the 419 from the Layer School entrance up to a point undetermined. It will be about 20 feet to the right of the 419. It also looks like it will hook up to the next section of paved trail near that area where there is a gigantic "tree mulching" operation (a few trees have been removed there as well). Unclear as to how it will get from the 419 to that point...but it is a start. This is a much needed paved gap in the CST. I'll update again if I get back out there soon. Cheers.

Edited August 9, 2020 by Jolly Roger's Crackers

[codypet]

That's because the tracks still exist in that area right?

[dcluley98]

The RR tracks aren't the problem. Basically, there is no ROW in that industrial scrapyard area, so to connect you have to go on a dirt road in the middle of the scrapyards and then down the  "sketchy gravel path" (which is a very apt description).  I am hoping that JRC means that it will tie back in with that little green space after the industrial park, cross the tracks, and north of the tree mulching mounds. 

 

[Jolly Roger's Crackers]

What I saw yesterday was trail being cleared along the outer concrete wall of the scrapyard. The rail lines are still there but the whole scrapyard is sealed off behind a concrete barrier. It is being cleared from the Layer Elementary entrance (which is being overhauled also) up to a point undetermined...(I didn't ride up the 419 that far) where it will eventually "dogleg right" (sorry for the golf terminology) and join up with the existing trailhead behind that gargantuan mulch facility. I did not see a clear path from the 419 to that point...but a handful of trees had been removed (in that area) for what looks like a connection to the trailhead to Big Tree Park. I'll try to get out there again sometime in next week (or so). Cheers.

Edited August 10, 2020 by Jolly Roger's Crackers

[dcluley98]

That's what I assumed you meant. Cut back east just north of that "Rev Works" building and mulch-pile.

[Jolly Roger's Crackers]

19 minutes ago, dcluley98 said:

That's what I assumed you meant. Cut back east just north of that "Rev Works" building and mulch-pile.

Not sure at this point. I'll have to check it out again the next time I get out that far. The trees that were downed were just east of the mulch area and near the trailhead (to Big Tree)...and it looked like the new path might slip in between the  J&D Transfer Station and B&D Enterprises (if you Google map it). Again...I'm really not sure. Beyond Rev Works looks like a more clean area for a route...but I just don't know. I'll get back out there in the next week (or two) and cruise up the 419 for a better look. Cheers.

[spenser1058]

For our hikers, The Jaxson looks at the Bulls Bay Preserve just west of Jacksonville.

Although it was first developed before the Civil War, it’s just now being opened for access to the public, although it will remain somewhat primitive.

Best of all (and somewhat unusually for Florida), it includes a small waterfall which feeds tributaries of the Cedar and St Johns Rivers.

https://www.thejaxsonmag.com/article/secret-jacksonville-bulls-bay-preserve-and-waterfall

[spenser1058]

Let’s take a ride on the WOT from Rock Springs to the Apopka-Vineland Outpost:

From Orlando Streets 

[spenser1058]

Today we’re heading further south and west on the WOT to downtown Winter Garden.

Downtown WG has had an amazing transformation over the past 25 years as it has become incredibly pedestrian and cyclist friendly, has had an explosion of mom-and-pop retail and gone to extraordinary lengths to not only preserve its historic core but to ensure that developers not only leave it intact but that new buildings complement what is there.

Pretty much, they have gone in the exact opposite direction as the major city in the county.

No doubt most interesting is that this wasn’t the fevered dream of some Birkenstock-wearing, granola-crunching types. It had the backing of two of the oldest, most influential and affluent families in OC. Just as amazing, rather than a cast of do-nothing pencil pushers, they’ve had two long-term city managers who have taken the concept much further than anyone imagined possible. It is a story in contrasts.

From Orlando Streets

Edited August 22, 2020 by spenser1058

[Jolly Roger's Crackers]

eBikes (and gas assisted bikes) should be banned from the trails. Actually...I think they are...as most trails have a "no motor vehicles" sign as you enter them. Numerous times I have had someone whip around me at twice my speed on a power-assisted bike..with no warning. Folks walking are put at risk. Not safe (and not to mention no aerobic benefit). Oh well....I digress. A few trail updates to relay. The Executive Airport Gap is coming along. Most of the area from Livingston to Fairgreen Street is complete (about 85% done). Progress has started from Fairgreen to Colonial (although I have no idea how the city can create a relatively wide path with all the power poles and signage along that stretch...I guess we will find out). There are signs planted along Maguire stating that a finish date is in January (I think) of next year.  I also checked out the Cady Way Bridge the other day. It looks like only the "burned out" half is going to be replaced. The bridge is wood and built on stilts....and what I saw was the charred half removed and the other half still standing. Oh well...better than nothing I reckon. Regarding the Cross Seminole Layer Elementary Gap... I found a few photos courtesy of the Florida Freewheelers Facebook page:

 

Kudos to the Freewheelers for the photos. Looking foward to not pedaling through the scrapyards. Cheers.

Edited August 23, 2020 by Jolly Roger's Crackers

[dcluley98]

Yeah, they are banned. 

Doesn't stop jackasses from being jackasses, however.