Trails / Bicycle Infrastructure

[jrs2]

On 3/19/2022 at 7:18 PM, Jolly Roger's Crackers said:

Metro area drivers trying their best to rehabilitate Orlando's reputation for being one of the worst cities to be a pedestrian (or bike rider):

T

That's on Cady Way at North Palmetto Avenue. I hope nobody was present at the time. Hey Zeus Crisco.....can we just slow down everybody?!?!  Oy Vey!  Crikey on a cracker! I digress.

On a lighter note... I bumped into one of my card playing buddies on the trail that day. He's got a deadpan poker face but is a bit of a hot head (DO NOT question him on the accuracy of his chips). Meet my pal Ethan Hawk:

No worries. Happy weekend everybody. Cheers.

I love your name.  The last reference I saw to that was a song by Adam Ant.

Regarding cards and poker, years ago I played with a former boss and coworkers and I truly didn't know whether to stand, hit, or fold and inadvertently faked out everybody, pissed them off, and won more than I should've.

Trails- maybe in the minority here, but, save an easement to Sunrail on the 408 right into UCF, I'd love to see some of the Rails to Trails reclaimed for rail.

[AmIReal]

This is a story that should be read to get detail (behind paywall) if you're into this issue, but the "Plans to fill trail gaps in Lake County bolster dream of region-wide network to bike, walk" concept seems to be moving forward (maybe). From OS, "The Lake County Commission voted Tuesday (March 22) to apply with Tavares and Mount Dora for up to a $25-million federal grant to connect the North Lake towns with the extension of the Wekiva Trail that was built on State Road 46 along the extension of State Road 429. That trail is expected to open in May, providing a way to ride from Sorrento in northeast Lake and connect to trails in Seminole, Orange, Volusia and Brevard counties. Lake County also agreed to a plan to extend Hancock Road and the adjacent trail over Sugarloaf Mountain in Minneola... '

https://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/lake/os-ne-lake-county-trail-connections-20220325-mqfzxrbtivgnxmvldzt5piipmq-story.html

[spenser1058]

“Let’s be careful out there” (if you’re old enough to remember Hill Street Blues) - it’s official, Florida is the most dangerous  state for bicycles:

study says
https://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/florida/os-ne-florida-ranked-most-dangerous-for-bicyclists-20220407-4kiodufnunhzfff2gyv7juro4e-story.html

From The Sentinel 

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Jmg86CRBBtw

From YouTube

Edited April 7, 2022 by spenser1058

[Jolly Roger's Crackers]

On 4/7/2022 at 1:12 PM, spenser1058 said:

..it’s official, Florida is the most dangerous  state for bicycles

I cannot get over how fast (almost) everbody drives....even going 40+ down 25mph neighborhood streets every day. SMH.

On another note...I've seen the progress along Anderson. Looks like the trail bumps out into the roadway at Mills and continues up Anderson until about that subtle right turn (along the Greenwood Cemetary) where it will (apparently) merge with the sidewalk again. Kinda odd...as that unused lane continues east to Hampton. I honestly don't know is going to happen from Delaney to Mills. Either alot of power poles and trees are gonna have to be moved/removed or maybe the whole area from the sidewalk to Anderson is gonna be concrete and we'll just weave and dodge the obstacles as needed. Who knows. Oh well. Cheers.

 

[codypet]

On 4/9/2022 at 5:54 PM, Jolly Roger's Crackers said:

I cannot get over how fast (almost) everbody drives....even going 40+ down 25mph neighborhood streets every day. SMH.

On another note...I've seen the progress along Anderson. Looks like the trail bumps out into the roadway at Mills and continues up Anderson until about that subtle right turn (along the Greenwood Cemetary) where it will (apparently) merge with the sidewalk again. Kinda odd...as that unused lane continues east to Hampton. I honestly don't know is going to happen from Delaney to Mills. Either alot of power poles and trees are gonna have to be moved/removed or maybe the whole area from the sidewalk to Anderson is gonna be concrete and we'll just weave and dodge the obstacles as needed. Who knows. Oh well. Cheers.

 

Greenwood's fence encroaches 20' into the roadway R/W so the trail will move behind the oaks to buffer it from Anderson a bit.  The parking area on Anderson will remain.   I'm hoping by Bumby it forces a slowdown of those people.

I set my cruise at 26 mph on Bumby going north from Curry Ford and I constantly people who cross the double yellow to pass me, only for me to catch them at the Gore light.   In fact last week they unfortunately lost a momma duck and 2 baby ducks to a speeding distracted driver at Lake Como itself.  The remaining 5 babies that were orphaned are yet to be seen since that day.

[HankStrong]

Just yesterday I was going ~55 in a 50 on a 2-lane road with a double yellow line.  Got buzzed by a guy who passed me in the double yellow going roughly 25-30mph faster than I was going.  Didn't even pause, just flew past me and made an oncoming car slam on their brakes.

 

People ask me why I'm supportive of automated cars.  They say robots or AI would be so dangerous on the road.  The real danger wouldn't be the automated cars, it would be the ones with drivers.

[FLClarkKent]

On 4/11/2022 at 9:45 AM, codypet said:

Greenwood's fence encroaches 20' into the roadway R/W so the trail will move behind the oaks to buffer it from Anderson a bit.  The parking area on Anderson will remain.   I'm hoping by Bumby it forces a slowdown of those people.

Ran by this morning. They've staked out where the new fence line for Greenwood will be.

[Jolly Roger's Crackers]

On 4/11/2022 at 9:45 AM, codypet said:

Greenwood's fence encroaches 20' into the roadway R/W so the trail will move behind the oaks to buffer it from Anderson a bit.

Still confused a bit by the routing. There is new curb on Anderson from Mills to that curve (along the Greenwood)...then it abruptly ends and right angles toward the existing sidewalk. I takes up that useless lane on the right up to that point. There is also a "notch" hollowed out (in the concrete) along the curb in this area. Is the trail gonna share the roadway and then veer south behind the oaks along the cemetary? I jogged down Anderson the other day and couldn't quite make sense of it.

On 4/11/2022 at 9:45 AM, codypet said:

a speeding distracted driver at Lake Como

Oy Vey......makes my bird blood boil. I see it every day.

[codypet]

At the risk of setting off some people on the forum Lime is doing away with their fleet of Gen 3 scooters and Jump Bikes and Transitioning fully to Gen 4.  The scooters and bike both have swappable batteries which means they won't be picked up anymore to be charged, and the batteries will be swapped in place where they are.  Which means if you're within 2 miles of downtown, its likely the scooters won't move until another rider decides to ride it back somewhere. 

Edited April 29, 2022 by codypet

[Jolly Roger's Crackers]

I biked down Livingston today and took the bridge over Colonial (heading north on the UT). The stretch along Orange is fully rideably now (north and south). The city is planting alot of mature palms (and other trees) so there are still a few bits barricaded...but I made the ride without issue. It's gonna look really good when completed (I think). The crossover (on Orange) is at Marks and then the trail continues along Weber. All the major gaps are filled on Weber (with exception of around the bases of the utility poles...I am not sure if they are waiting on concrete, decorative bricks or something else). Also..the crosswalk at Weber and Magnolia is still waiting on signals (plus the trail is still busted up on the east side of that intersection). Progress is looking good. Cheers.

Edited May 1, 2022 by Jolly Roger's Crackers

[codypet]

Ohhhhh man Friday the complaining I was hearing from people when they realized a signal was going up at Magnolia and Weber.  

As someone in my field, it really does annoy me when we have public meetings and hearings just for people to complain when the project in question starts getting opposition as its getting constructed.   Where were you during all the public meetings?!?!!?

 

[AndyPok1]

2 hours ago, codypet said:

Ohhhhh man Friday the complaining I was hearing from people when they realized a signal was going up at Magnolia and Weber.  

As someone in my field, it really does annoy me when we have public meetings and hearings just for people to complain when the project in question starts getting opposition as its getting constructed.   Where were you during all the public meetings?!?!!?

 

I will say, and I don't have the answer to this.  But we probably do need to rethink how public meetings and such are announced.  Obviously, we're a high-affinity group here, and I miss them.  I can't imagine the ordinary consumer.  

[codypet]

9 minutes ago, AndyPok1 said:

I will say, and I don't have the answer to this.  But we probably do need to rethink how public meetings and such are announced.  Obviously, we're a high-affinity group here, and I miss them.  I can't imagine the ordinary consumer.  

Admittedly there's the virtual comment period as well that's about a month or so and somehow those get missed as well.  The Anderson Bike Beltway Public meeting I must have sounded to my neighborhood for weeks leading up to it, and I didn't see any neighbors at the meeting.  The moment construction started, the complaints started coming in.  Primarily related to the construction detours.

Edited May 2, 2022 by codypet

[HankStrong]

1 hour ago, AndyPok1 said:

I will say, and I don't have the answer to this.  But we probably do need to rethink how public meetings and such are announced.  Obviously, we're a high-affinity group here, and I miss them.  I can't imagine the ordinary consumer.  

Trade papers and newspaper classifieds!  The future of communication is here.

[codypet]

Looks like the put oaks back on this side.

[spenser1058]

On 5/2/2022 at 1:25 PM, HankStrong said:

Trade papers and newspaper classifieds!  The future of communication is here.

Traditionally, classified ads were the most profitable part of a newspaper.

We were so smart - now you can just post free online and meanwhile we destroyed local journalism! A fair trade off?

[dcluley98]

1 hour ago, codypet said:

Looks like the put oaks back on this side.

That's interesting. The renderings showed the trees on the street side as a "buffer" which is what I would have preferred. 

 

Why did they take the mature trees out if they were going to put them on the same side? Poor planning and result.   They could have put a small foot-wall with periodic benches between the brick-paved sidewalk and more space on the right adjacent to the street for the green area and root-space for the trees to grow.  This design will lead to slower growth of the trees and lack of root space and eventual maintenance issues with them cracking the sidewalk and concrete trail. Lack of foresight. 

Edited May 8, 2022 by dcluley98

[uncreativeusername]

12 hours ago, dcluley98 said:

That's interesting. The renderings showed the trees on the street side as a "buffer" which is what I would have preferred. 

 

Why did they take the mature trees out if they were going to put them on the same side? Poor planning and result.   They could have put a small foot-wall with periodic benches between the brick-paved sidewalk and more space on the right adjacent to the street for the green area and root-space for the trees to grow.  This design will lead to slower growth of the trees and lack of root space and eventual maintenance issues with them cracking the sidewalk and concrete trail. Lack of foresight. 

It's probably best for the regular sidewalk and the trail to share the shade (which would not have been the case of the trees were between the trail and the street), but that doesn't excuse getting rid of the mature trees or poor foresight w/ regard to root growth. 

[codypet]

On 5/7/2022 at 10:17 PM, dcluley98 said:

That's interesting. The renderings showed the trees on the street side as a "buffer" which is what I would have preferred. 

 

Why did they take the mature trees out if they were going to put them on the same side? Poor planning and result.   They could have put a small foot-wall with periodic benches between the brick-paved sidewalk and more space on the right adjacent to the street for the green area and root-space for the trees to grow.  This design will lead to slower growth of the trees and lack of root space and eventual maintenance issues with them cracking the sidewalk and concrete trail. Lack of foresight. 

Don't forget there was a major water line replacement job associated with this due to the water main break last year.  I suspect that job destroyed the roots of those trees pretty significantly.

[spenser1058]

More on construction taking place for the Downtown Loop:

https://www.orlando.gov/Our-Government/Departments-Offices/Transportation/Downtown-Loop

From City of Orlando 
 

[dcluley98]

Not sure where to put this, but the public art statue "I-4 Orb" has been installed in between the OUT trail/pedestrian bridge and I-4 just north of the Lynx Central Station. Looks pretty cool. They are still working on pouring final slab of the base and what looks like lighting for colors at night. 

[spenser1058]

1 minute ago, dcluley98 said:

Not sure where to put this, but the public art statue "I-4 Orb" has been installed in between the OUT trail/pedestrian bridge and I-4 just north of the Lynx Central Station. Looks pretty cool. They are still working on pouring final slab of the base and what looks like lighting for colors at night. 

Can they make it into a disco ball and go retro at UnderI?

[dcluley98]

It is quite far north from where the "Under-I" location will be. 

Edited June 7, 2022 by dcluley98

[spenser1058]

Just now, dcluley98 said:

It's is quite far north from where the "Under-I" location will be. 

Oh. *sigh*

[dcluley98]

As explained previously, the forms and stubs were for the top layer of the pedestal with wiring conduit for the lighting. 

The pedestal is now complete with built-in uplighting (likely programmable LEDs in congruence with the adjacent pedestrian bridge). 

There are stub-outs of piping around the base that could be for additional ground lighting or irrigation. My guess is more lighting, since I did not see a pump installed nearby the site.