The City of Orlando launched a study of the Virginia Drive corridor in July, 2016, including an area bound by Princeton to the north, Mills Avenue to the east, Marks Street to the south and Orange Avenue to the west. The City initiated the study in order to develop an infrastructure and land use plan for the Lake Formosa and Park Lake/Highland neighborhoods, as it continues to attract more dense development, a la The Yard and Mills Park. We first wrote about the Corridor Study HERE.

The findings of the study have just been made public, and we’ve embedded it in the post below. The drafts below are just suggestions from the Study team. Nothing has currently been adopted by City Hall. The next steps of the process will be to choose which of the attached alternatives are best for the area and then to identify a formal strategic plan to carry out the chosen development scenarios. The plan is scheduled to be voted on by City Council in early 2017.

As shown in the graphic above, Virginia Drive could be receiving some Complete Street treatments, including on-street parking, bike lanes, sidewalk enlargements and a possible roundabout at the intersection of Virginia and Haven. Brookhaven Drive could also be getting more formal on-street parking, street trees, and a pedestrian connecting to Virginia. This would likely be seen as an amenity for the upcoming The Yard – Crossman development, more on that HERE.

The Study also suggested the reworking of Lake Highland Drive along the north section of Lake Highland Park. The City suggested the placement of a cross walk/speed table near the school parking lot, bulb outs with landscaping, an ambulatory sidewalk that hugs the periphery of the park, and the placement of an observation deck/gazebo on the lake.

lake-highland-drive

Lake Formosa would see some love as well, with the construction of a boardwalk along the steep southern shore which would connect Alden Road to the Urban Trail behind Mills Park. An observation deck would be placed along the boardwalk, directly across the lake from the Mennello Museum of American Art.

lake-formosa

 

To read the all of the suggestions that came from the Study, simply scroll down. Some of the other projects that stood out the most to the Bungalower team included a possible pedestrian underpass that would connect the Lake Formosa Trail to East New Hampshire Street, completing the sidewalk network in the adjacent neighborhoods, multiple intersection enhancements for safer pedestrian movement, and the completion of the Lake Ivanhoe trail loop on the western side of the lake in College Park.

 

Brendan O'Connor

Editor in Chief of Bungalower.com

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  1. I believe you are supposed to turn left on Haven Drive (behind Fresh Market) when driving east from Orange Ave to 17-92 (cars cross the striped area after the cross walk turning left into the lot). It doesn’t help that there is a sign telling you to turn left ahead. When driving west on Virginia from 17-92 to Orange Ave, you make a right into parking lot in front of Fresh Market. Cars leaving the lot tie up traffic turning left across the striped area where they are only supposed to turn right and head west towards Orange Ave. A tight cluster of an area to be avoided during rush hour.

  2. To build the roundabout they will need to buy part of the property on the corner where Ten 10 Brewing Company is located. Maybe no impact… but

  3. yes. You’re adding hundreds of apartments. Restaurants and bars. ??????? Do you even live in this area; and recognize the traffic issues at present?

  4. So your argument is that new construction will increase congestion, not the streetscape redesign as you originally posted?
    Also, as someone who went to college for urban design, who attended the meetings on this project, and who met with the engineers in person regarding this project, I can assure you that they not only analyzed the impact of these changes based on current conditions but also included the anticipated growth due to new developments, like the Yard.
    The fact is, despite the fact they ran the numbers based on an assumption that the number of “trips generated” would increase, the increasing walkability of this neighborhood, especially with mixed-use developments like the Yard, has actually resulted in less car trips generated daily because more people are walking and biking to their destinations because they’re in such close proximity.

  5. Sam Gallaher are you kidding me? Have you seen Virginia at both Orange and 17/92 weekdays? Traffic is backed up for blocks.

  6. Ok, so when you’re driving down Virginia Drive from Orange Avenue to Mills Park… where are you supposed to turn left to enter??? Via Haven Drive? Or their driveway when you cross the Orlando Urban Trail?

  7. This project is going to cause massive congestion. They should make Virginia 1 way between Orange and 17-92.

  8. Could we just get some more crosswalks? I can’t make it to Santiagos in time for happy hour because I can’t cross the road while walking #TooTrue

  9. You know in the event someone decides to drive a car through a belly dancing class Tammie Lange

  10. I like the improvements for Lake Highland drive and the park. Love the speedbump for LH drive. People fly down that street.