Residents in many downtown Orlando neighborhoods have noticed a mass effort to fix and upgrade sidewalks. In 2021, the city of Orlando created the ADA Transition Plan Update, a program to repair sidewalks and bring them into compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act.
But the improved sidewalks aren’t just for folks with disabilities.
“[They] help create a great quality of life,” explained Dr. Ashley Papagni, Orlando’s public information officer. “Sidewalks help improve walkability for families with strollers, seniors and others. When people are walking, they’re healthier.”
To proceed efficiently, the city has been doing the work neighborhood by neighborhood, first removing the damaged sidewalk portions and then pouring new concrete.
“When we have a stormwater project, we also handle the ADA issues at the same time, such as the Summerlin Avenue project,” said Howard Elkin, division manager for the Streets and Stormwater Division. Elkin has been with the city for 15 years and has seen the technology change.
“We were one of the first cities to use new machines that will shave off [sidewalk] lips that stick up, to eliminate tripping hazards,” Elkin said. A contracting company was hired, and it took about four years to get through the entire city. Now it goes much more quickly.
“Grinding down the old sidewalk sections was more cost-effective,” Papagni said.
The new wheelchair accessible ramps also include “truncated domes” — the bumpy surface that alerts vision-impaired folks of a crosswalk. Older ones were screwed in; now they’re poured into the concrete, so they won’t come loose.
Residents can also visit Orlando.gov to “request a new sidewalk.”
“Constructability — trees and landscaping — can be challenging,” Elkin said. “Our goal is to have at least a sidewalk on one side of each street.”
Finished neighborhoods include Colonialtown South, Lawsona/Fern Creek and Lake Como. Baldwin Park is up next.
Many Orlando neighborhoods have seen sidewalk repairs and the installation of ADA-compliant crosswalks. (LOGAN LAMPHERE)