ORLANDO, Fla. — E-bikes, scooters and bicycles are a common way to get around the city of Orlando, but city leaders want to know, what can they do to make it safer for all those riders?
What You Need To Know
- Right now, the city of Orlando is getting feedback so city leaders can come up with a new plan
- They want to know, where do you ride? Where do you feel safe? Where do you not feel safe? What do you think needs to change?
- The city will take all that information to create a priority project list
- The goal is to have a full list in place by fall of this year and then start to chip away at the projects
Right now, the city is getting feedback from everyone. They want to know, where do you ride? Where do you feel safe? Where do you not feel safe? What do you think needs to change?
Some people commute on their bikes to work, like Jorge Barrios, who rides every day from his home in College Park to his job in downtown Orlando.
“I do see a lot of impatient drivers, so I have gotten honked at many times,” said Barrios.
Some of his commute is on a bike path but once he gets downtown, he has to ride with traffic on North Orange Avenue.
“To me, it is important for people who are riding their bicycles to have a dedicated space for them,” Barrios said.
He recently shared those thoughts with city leaders at their ongoing public input sessions.
City leaders will take all that information to create a priority project list.
“If it is something that we hear and get from the community, that makes it a lot easier to make the case of why it is important, we are really doing what the community feels is needed,” said Jacques Coulon, the transportation planning division manager for Orlando.
Some of the projects will be listed in their capital plans and others could be implemented as part of other street projects.
“We just keep chipping away project by project,” Coulon said.
Officials hope to finalize their priority list by the fall and then get to work.
“I would love for these things to happen more quickly,” Barrios said.
If residents want to weigh in, the final public session is Thursday, April 23, at 6:30 p.m. at the Dover Shores Neighborhood Center or you can fill out a survey online.
There will be one final public meeting in July before the plan is finalized.
