Below is the email I wrote to Orange County regarding traffic in East Orange County.
From: rj@www.fixmyroadway.com [mailto:rj@www.fixmyroadway.com]
Sent: Tuesday, April 14, 2015 7:37 AM
To: ‘Renzo.Nastasi@ocfl.net'; ‘district1@ocfl.net'; ‘district2@ocfl.net'; ‘district3@ocfl.net'; ‘jennifer thompson'; ‘district5@ocfl.net'; ‘district6@ocfl.net'; ‘mayor@ocfl.net'; ‘Jon.Weiss@ocfl.net'; ‘Chris.Testerman@ocfl.net'; ‘Blanche.Hardy@ocfl.net'; ‘Lynette.Rummel@ocfl.net'; ‘Alberto.Vargas@ocfl.net’
Subject: FW: What does “fixing the roads” mean to East Orange County
It became very apparent at the staff meeting on April 2nd that the words, “fixing the roads” means different things to different people.
I think there is some definite miscommunication going on as well as a bit of evolution that has occurred over the last couple of years.
Mr. Nastasi presented a chart showing many of the county roads failing as well as Hwy 50. I think it became very clear when Mr. Nastasi explained that the current technology to “fix the roads”, meaning it is reaching capacity or is over-capacity, is to widen the road is not exactly what residents in East Orange County meant when we say “fix the roads”.
I think when staff heard us saying “fix the road”, it was interpreted as widening the roads. I also think that earlier on meaning three years ago to present, we, the residents, were not as educated on all the roads in East Orange County and it took time to come to the conclusions we are at now. Earlier on there was discussions about widening roads as we gained more knowledge about our roadways. This probably added to the miscommunications. Because of this, all of us were looking at different options based on our own personal point of view and through a lot of communication finally arrived at what I will explain below. Of course we cannot speak for everyone in East Orange County but I would have to say that there are very few that possess the knowledge of the area and have been as actively engaged as we are. We meaning the people that you know and invite to meetings on a regular basis.
The turning point for me came when an email thread circulated among East Orange County folks from different areas sharing their own experiences on the roads. This included people living on 419, Lake Pickett, S. Tanner, N. Tanner, McCulloch, Percival and Hwy 50. Through this communication, we realized that the problem was that “back” roads (S. Tanner, Lake Pickett and N. Tanner) have been turned into primary commuter roads of choice. The reason is because commuters do not want to travel on Hwy 50 due to the time spent in traffic jams caused by 8 stop lights within a 2 mile stretch of roadway on either side of the 408 expressway. It became very clear that the problem with our roadways is not the “back” roads but instead Hwy 50. We believe that if the main commuter roads are expanded, the “back” roads will fix themselves.
We also realize that 6-laning Hwy 50 will indeed give a reprieve for several years but in time will also fail. We know it will fail even without new development and the logical thought is that if 5,000 homes are added, the problem will be much worse. We would prefer the “back” roads remain rural and instead focus given to Hwy 50 and the 408. The 6-laning of Hwy 50 to 520 needs to be accelerated and the 408 needs to stretch east also giving more east/west lanes to accommodate traffic far into the future. Perhaps some sort of flyover can be built by the Expressway Authority to circumvent the 8 stop lights on Hwy 50. I would encourage whoever is doing the study to look west of the 408 on Hwy 50 one mile to Alafaya Blvd. as well as east past Avalon Parkway when the study is performed.
We do not want McCulloch, N. Tanner, Lake Pickett or S. Tanner 4-laned including 419 north of Lake Pickett road. We would prefer these remain 2-lane roads. We would like a roundabout at the intersection of McCulloch and Worchester as this would facilitate traffic exiting University Estates to easily merge into McCulloch traffic.
I hope this clearly explains our position.
Sincerely,
RJ Mueller