ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — Orange County recently conducted a study to identify safety improvements along Hiawassee Road between Balboa Drive and Silver Star Road, a corridor the county says has significant concerns for pedestrians, bicyclists and drivers.
The study found crashes were concentrated near transit stops, including Lynx bus stops — where people often need to cross the road. Proposed improvements include signalized crossings at the busiest stops and a 10-foot-wide shared-use path on the west side of Hiawassee Road in Orlando.
The county is also considering raised medians to help manage traffic and reduce crashes involving vehicles crossing multiple lanes.
According to Orange County, Hiawassee Road ranks fourth on its High Injury Network.
“The High Injury Network is a classification that’s given to roadways and to intersections that are very dangerous for pedestrians and bicyclists. We have a lot of crashes, fatalities, serious injuries. So because of that, that’s why we focus on Hiawassee Road,” said Lauren Torres, senior project manager with Orange County Public Works.
The board accepted the study, but the project has no funding at this time. Leaders said design would be the next step, and that should take a year or two, followed by construction, which could take another year or two.
The county is currently investigating grant funding for the project, but none has been determined yet.