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Residents of the city of Winter Parklocated within the metropolitan area of Orlandoin Floridawill be affected by a recent decision of the governor Ron DeSantiswhat vetoed hundreds of projects from the state budget for infrastructure works. Among them, there was one that allocated half a million dollars for improve the Fairbanks Avenue intersection y Denning Drive.
This is what the intersection between Fairbanks Avenue and Denning Drive looks like.Video capture/Spectrum News 13
“With the veto of financing, We cannot go ahead with the project at this time,” he lamented Clarissa Howarddirector of the communications department of Winter Parkto local media Spectrum News 13. The initiative aimed to construction of a turning lane at that intersectionto help streamline traffic and avoid a dozen accidents a year.
The work was already underwayX @WinterParkFla
The DeSantis’ list of vetoesfor a total of US$949.6 million, includes the US$500 thousand of the project denominated “City of Winter Park – Fairbanks and Denning Intersection Improvements (HF1230) (SF 1547)”The city government had planned to invest another US$950 thousand, but after DeSantis’ decision to withdraw state funding, it announced its suspension due to lack of funds.
In it detail of the initiativeWinter Park had described it as “one of the main priorities of the city”. According to local media, it had already purchased land at that intersection and demolished a dry cleaners and nail salon to build another turn lane on southbound Denning Drive, which is already operational. Now, the development of this new turning lanewest and east on Fairbanks Avenue, necessarily involved the purchase and demolition of a coffee shop called Austin’s Coffeewhich launched a social media campaign to prevent the project.
Austin’s Caffee was set to be demolished for turn lane projectVideo capture/Spectrum News 13
Local authorities stressed the vital importance of the project, whose implementation was in the hands of the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) and local transportation engineers. The report noted that About 26,000 vehicles pass through this intersection every day. and warned: “In the last five years, there has been a total of 48 accidents in this place (almost 10 crashes a year) and have sometimes caused material damage. The improvement will drastically mitigate these problems and improve the quality of life.” Thus, the measure would benefit approximately 34,000 households, 6,400 businesses, 70,000 employees and 76,000 residents which are located less than five kilometers from that point.
The city anticipated that with the project completed, citizens would be able to maneuver with a protected left-turn lane at the intersection without creating a bottleneck for through traffic on a congested, high-volume state highway. In turn, promised that the safety and efficiency of the intersection would improve both for the pedestriansas for the transit and the multimodal users equally.
The lack of an exclusive turning lane caused traffic jamsVideo capture/Spectrum News 13
“Overall, this would take the area to the next level and augment existing projects underway, including improvements to nearby MLK Parkand the potential to support future reinvestment in the area,” the proposal stated.
The suspension of state funding left the project unfinished and full of uncertainty. According to the local media, when asked about the cut, The Republican governor said there are other priorities in the state of Florida before the improvement of this intersection in Winter Park.
THE NATION
