Winter Park City Talk

Extension of Lee Road

Traffic congestion on U.S. Highway 17-92 and Lee Road has been an area of concern for both the city and the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) for many years. The short stretch of 17-92 between Lee Road and Webster Avenue carries the north/south 17-92 traffic as well as the east/west Lee Road and Webster Avenue traffic. As a result, there are large backups during peak travel times. In 2004, the FDOT proposed an extension of Lee Road to the east of 17-92 to help alleviate this bottleneck. The proposed project has been a part of MetroPlan Orlando and FDOT’s program list of improvement projects since that time and is currently at No. 10.

Following the original schedule, the extension of Lee Road eastward would not have been in front of the city for consideration until at least 2018. However, with the proposed development of the property to the east of the Lee Road/17-92 intersection needing access at that traffic signal, the FDOT conditioned its approval on extending Lee Road now, instead of waiting.

Understanding the need and cut-through concerns expressed by city residents to the east of 17-92, the city explored options that it felt would provide the traffic relief sought without creating additional traffic issues to the east. A compromise route (labeled on the map as “Recommended route”) was proposed to the developer and FDOT. It suggested the extension turn south about midway between 17-92 and Denning Drive and connect with Webster Avenue, instead of extending all the way to Denning Drive. According to the city’s independent professional traffic study, this compromise route would provide relief on 17-92 without impacting the amount of east-west flow through Winter Park. At its May 5 meeting, the City Commission adopted a resolution in support of the compromise route.

This resolution will be sent to the FDOT for its consideration as it decides on the signalized access for the redevelopment of the properties. The City Commission will not be asked to vote on this extension again. However, the next decision that will come before the commission will be in June on the proposed redevelopment project.

No May 26 City Commission meeting

Due to the Memorial Day holiday, there will not be a City Commission meeting held on Monday, May 26. The next regularly scheduled meeting will be on Monday, June 9, at 3:30 p.m.

City Hall closed

City Hall will be closed on Monday, May 26, in honor of Memorial Day, and resume normal business hours on Tuesday, May 27. There will be no WastePro services of household garbage, yard trash or recycling services on Memorial Day. All pickup services will resume on the next regularly scheduled collection day. Have a safe and enjoyable holiday!

Kaboom! names Winter Park a “Playful City USA” Community

On May 13, KaBOOM!, in partnership with the Humana Foundation, announced that for the fifth time, Winter Park was a 2014 Playful City USA honoree. Along with 211 additional cities across the United States, these communities are leaders in playability. Playability is when a city makes it easy for kids to get balanced and active play, making play part of the solution that can move the needle on countless urban challenges.

The KaBOOM! Playful City USA program, sponsored by the Humana Foundation, honors cities, towns and communities across America that are taking bold steps to ensure that all children, especially the 16 million American kids living in poverty, have easy access to balanced and active play in their communities. Cities being recognized like Winter Park span every region of the country, and include Washington, D.C., Chicago, Nashville, Austin, Providence, San Francisco and New York.

KaBOOM!, the national non-profit organization dedicated to saving play, created Playful City USA in 2007 to help local governments address the play deficit. The program succeeds in benefitting children through mayors, city council members, parks and recreation departments, school districts and community leaders.

For more information on the KaBOOM! Playful City USA program, and to see the full list of the 212 communities named “2014 Playful City USA” honorees, visit playfulcityusa.org.

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