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Downtown Orlando Project Discussion


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I think its because they are lower to the ground? I also noticed on some parts of it they are now on both sides of the road as well, making it even more street lights... I prefer dark highways, less glare and all of the objects you really need to be concerned about are lit up (other cars and reflectors on the road)

I haven't seen the lights personally but you might be on to something. If these lights are on the part of the 408 by the Executive Airport, they might be shorter and more numerous to avoid being hazards to aircraft.

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That was our job when I was still working. It has to do with the raidus of light that shines down on the road. That stretch of road is very wide, thus why it was required to have the extra lamps in the median. Now there's a stretch that has lower posts because of the location of the runway in relation to the highway. That part is just west of the toll booth, just east of the Conway bridge.

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  • 4 weeks later...
  • 3 weeks later...

^ agreed! We have too many effing toll roads in this joke of a town. Why is Orlando the ONLY major metro with one Freeway in the state of Florida? Miami and Tampa, yes, have toll roads, but they also have at least one other Freeway! Jacksonville has NO toll roads! Ugh...I used to love Orlando, but too many money hungry, good ole boy politicians run this town. Crotty is the W-O-R-S-T!!!

I hate it here now.

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JYP & Osceola Parkway next to The Loop: They are building an overpass for JYP and they are widening both roads to 6 lanes each.

That makes 2 non-expressway interchanges that are currently U/C in the metro. If they do the Red Bug/436 interchange, that will be 3. The other of course is the 436/SR 50 interchange.

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I will give u a toll lane on I-4 if u give me a free lane on 408 and 417.

I think people fail to see the idea with these lanes a lot. They're very popular in California and other big cities as a means to help fund roads. They are separate lanes from the expressway that change price throughout the day, depending on how bad traffic is. If you don't wanna pay the toll, you don't have to.

It's a growing trend nationally and would not make I-4 cost anything extra unless you want the luxury.

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I actually agree with the critics on this one; what is the point of a faux bridge?

If Dyer wants an Eastern gateway into the City that is fine, but why something with no architectural or structural merit? It's kind of ironic that the "gateway" into the city is an illusion. For $1.5m they could easily have enhanced the gateway with new trees, shrubs, a sign, whatever. Or hell, they could have donated the money to DPAC.

Article: Sentinel article

Edited by prahaboheme
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...what is the point of a faux bridge?

Each project requires a certain portion of the budget to be set aside for beautification. The purpose is nothing other than ornamentation to break the monotony. I stand with Buddy on this, although I wish he would have spoken up sooner. This is no difference than the "faux" facade on any building. It's to make the building stand out from its surroundings and look interesting or nice, otherwise, why not just build stucco boxes--they'd be a lot cheaper?

Likewise, I am proud to drive visiting family and friends east on I4 past Millenia with the Orlando welcome and the "functionless" ornamentation on the Conroy overpass and look forward to a similiar welcome from the east side.

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I actually agree with the critics on this one; what is the point of a faux bridge?

If Dyer wants an Eastern gateway into the City that is fine, but why something with no architectural or structural merit? It's kind of ironic that the "gateway" into the city is an illusion. For $1.5m they could easily have enhanced the gateway with new trees, shrubs, a sign, whatever. Or hell, they could have donated the money to DPAC.

From the looks of the rest of the 408, we will have plenty of shrubs. There a lot of baby pines out there with a lot of growing to do. As far as "no architectural or structural merit" goes, I kind of see your point, but Florida is flat. Besided a bed of asphalt, what could you build with architectural or structural merit? You could fancy up an overpass or two, but I bet that'd cost a lot more. The "bridge" takes up about 1/10 of the overall beautification budget of the 408 rework. Not that big a piece. I'm just thinking of what a crappy looking road it would be without the beautification work (paint, plants etc.). Sometimes I take the 408 just to look at that median garden. I think it adds a lot to the city.

Edited by cwetteland
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I see the need for beautification and support it 100%. I think the Conroy overpass and interchange is fantastic. It is a wonderful gateway into the city of Orlando and there isn't anything fake about it. My problem is not so much with gateway ornamental as it is with the uselessness of a faux suspension bridge. If they are going to spend $1.5 million they could come up with a better plan.

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I see the need for beautification and support it 100%. I think the Conroy overpass and interchange is fantastic. It is a wonderful gateway into the city of Orlando and there isn't anything fake about it. My problem is not so much with gateway ornamental as it is with the uselessness of a faux suspension bridge. If they are going to spend $1.5 million they could come up with a better plan.

^ I agree. I like the idea of some ornamentation on the bridge but the thing I hate reading about is how the suspension towers are to be 50-feet tall but then the news articles keep stating that the 50-foot figure is from the base of the tower under the bridge. If 20-feet of those towers is under the bridge, how nice these suspension towers/cables look if they're no higher than 30-feet off the road surface? I understand the height restrictions due to the nearby executive airport, but that's pretty weak.

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^ I agree. I like the idea of some ornamentation on the bridge but the thing I hate reading about is how the suspension towers are to be 50-feet tall but then the news articles keep stating that the 50-foot figure is from the base of the tower under the bridge. If 20-feet of those towers is under the bridge, how nice these suspension towers/cables look if they're no higher than 30-feet off the road surface? I understand the height restrictions due to the nearby executive airport, but that's pretty weak.

Sadly they are not much taller than the street lamps. Kind of a bummer because they do look like they could have been very nice! I still dont understand why there are so many street lights on the new 408. If they were doing all this work they could have installed ligting right in the barriers! Still better than not doing it at all though.

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Sadly they are not much taller than the street lamps. Kind of a bummer because they do look like they could have been very nice! I still dont understand why there are so many street lights on the new 408. If they were doing all this work they could have installed ligting right in the barriers! Still better than not doing it at all though.

Regarding the number of street lights, I guess the lower they are, the closer they have to be to give full coverage. Regarding the faux suspension towers, at least they're on a bridge and not in a field or something.

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^^

I've given up on how they always downscale just about everything they plan in this town. The only things they haven't downscaled are OIA and the OCCC and the parks and hotels- based on rooms, not height.

As long as 408 is wide and can handle the traffic and looks updated, then I'm fine with it, but the posts should've been taller I agree.

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  • 3 weeks later...

408:

I didn't realize it before, but 408 is 6 lanes wide at the Lake Underhill bridge heading WB. They added 2 lanes. I'm not sure if EB is 5 lanes or 6 at the bridge. it's pretty impressive, regardless of the short bridge spans U/C.

Yeah, I hopped on the 408 for the first time in a while the other night and was pleasantly surprised at how modern that stretch of expressway appears. Seeing that wide of a highway with sound barriers and the downtown skyline in view made me feel like I was in a pretty big city. It's definitely more impressive than any stretch of I-4 through Orlando.

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Yeah, I hopped on the 408 for the first time in a while the other night and was pleasantly surprised at how modern that stretch of expressway appears. Seeing that wide of a highway with sound barriers and the downtown skyline in view made me feel like I was in a pretty big city. It's definitely more impressive than any stretch of I-4 through Orlando.

I was with the team that designed that stretch of road and it was neat to get on the road and see something I helped design come to fruition. Too bad I'm out of work now, because I really enjoyed doing that stuff.

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Yeah, I hopped on the 408 for the first time in a while the other night and was pleasantly surprised at how modern that stretch of expressway appears. Seeing that wide of a highway with sound barriers and the downtown skyline in view made me feel like I was in a pretty big city. It's definitely more impressive than any stretch of I-4 through Orlando.

I'll tell you where else I get that same feeling: Florida Turnpike between I-4 and 441/528. It is 8 lanes wide with sound walls and lights. it will be that wide all the way to Buleah Rd. by 429 and then I think 6 lanes wide all the way to the SR 50 Oakland exit for Clermont commuters. wow.

Here's where else I get that feeling: 414 extension from 441 west. the highway is already 6 lanes wide and it is elevated most if not all of the way. you can see downtown easily over the treetops. that's a cool effect. it might be the most elevated hwy in CFLA. great addition to the highway network, except, that they need to comllete the interchange with 429-- God only knows when that will happen.

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