Many of the people who live and work along Orlando\u2019s busy Corrine Drive corridor, home to the iconic East End Market, Kelly\u2019s Homemade Ice Cream, and Leu Gardens, agree it needs a long-planned makeover. They envision vibrant landscaping, safe pathways for walkers and cyclists, and calmer traffic.<\/p>\n
But business owners and residents are worried about the project plan to eliminate some parking and reduce lanes in an area already booming with congestion, both on foot and by car.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe already have a problem with parking out there,\u201d said Maria Viloria, who purchased a home near Corrine Drive\u00a0in 2019. \u201cPeople want to go to East End Market and then can\u2019t find parking, so they keep going toward our neighborhood and just park in front of my home.\u201d<\/p>\n
Viloria, who lives just across the Orlando border in Winter Park, said people have even parked in a neighbor\u2019s driveway during busy weekends. Less street parking might make it more crowded on neighboring roads, she said. \u201cIt could be a safety issue if people keep parking on both sides of the street,\u201d she said. \u201cLike how will a fire truck fit?\u201d<\/p>\n
Local transportation officials have planned for at least 8 years to transform one of Orlando\u2019s busiest roadways. Last week, the city presented updated plans for the project to the public with an aim to start construction as early as 2027.<\/p>\n
The project will revamp a 2-mile stretch beginning at the intersection of Corrine Drive and Bennett Road west to the curve near Leu Gardens. The corridor then follows a bit of Forest Avenue south before taking in Virginia Avenue to Mills Avenue.<\/p>\n
The plan calls to reduce lanes on Virginia Drive from two to one in each direction, and to construct wider sidewalks, stretching up to 10 feet, that would serve both pedestrians and cyclists. The current, temporary green bike lane, put in place in 2023, will be removed and repaved as part of larger shared use sidewalks.<\/p>\n
It will also eliminate some on-street parking on Virginia Drive from Mills Avenue to Forest Avenue and add raised crosswalks in an effort to make the corridor more walkable.<\/p>\n
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The overhaul of Corrine Drive corridor calls for reduced lanes on Virginia Drive and enhanced sidewalks that would serve both pedestrians and cyclists. It will also eliminate some on-street parking on Virginia Drive from Mills Avenue to Forest Avenue and add raised crosswalks in an effort to make the corridor more walkable.(City of Orlando)<\/p>\n
On Corrine Drive, one travel lane will be reduced in width and the number of on-street parking spots \u2014 including some of the most prized ones near the East End Market \u2014 will be reduced to make room for trees and plants.<\/p>\n
The project will revolutionize pedestrian safety for the area, said Patrick Panza, operations director for Bike\/Walk Central Florida. Because it\u2019s a residential area, Panza said bicyclists will slow down for pedestrians on the shared use path and it won\u2019t be an issue.<\/p>\n
The corridor has seen an explosion of growth in recent years, accompanied by an increase in traffic. In 2024 Corrine Drive alone had an average traffic count of 11,900 vehicles daily, according to the latest data from the Florida Department of Transportation, an all-time high. Four years ago, the same road had 1,000 fewer cars daily.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe concern about the impact to traffic is valid,\u201d Panza said. \u201cBut I caution everyone to keep in mind the big picture that the small increase in traffic time is a small price to pay to save pedestrian lives.\u201d<\/p>\n
The project is estimated to cost between $10 and $15 million and could take a decade, but funding still has yet to be secured.<\/p>\n
While the city is planning on receiving both a federal earmark and state funds administered through the Florida Department of Transportation, it is still identifying additional construction funding through a mix of local, state and federal sources, spokesperson Ashley Papagni said in an email.<\/p>\n
Final construction plans are expected next fall, she said, which will then go to the City Council for approval before construction contracts are awarded, she said.<\/p>\n
Some say they can\u2019t wait for the improvements. Bike enthusiast and 50-year resident Robert Raymond said he\u2019s thrilled the bike path will be turned into a shared use path. He and his wife Jane sometimes ride their tandem bike to a yoga class along the corridor.<\/p>\n
\u201cRight now there\u2019s a green bike lane, but the ground\u2019s a little rough so you have to be careful because the asphalt is old and chipped,\u201d Raymond said. \u201cAs long as there\u2019s a way to get around that doesn\u2019t involve riding in the road because Orlando is extremely dangerous \u2026 This is great.\u201d<\/p>\n
Andres Gonzalez and his wife purchased their home in the corridor two years ago. They said eliminating some on-street parking is concerning, but the trade-off to get better walkability is worth it.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe raised crosswalks may slow down traffic, but it will be beneficial and helpful for us as well,\u201d Gonzalez said. \u201cWe need cars to slow down a bit to have a safe place for pedestrians to cross the street.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gene Willard is the third-generation owner of Willard Appliance Inc., located in the heart of the corridor on Corrine Drive. He also owns a large portion of the commercial plaza where other business owners rent from him. Willard said he\u2019s all for making the corridor more beautiful, but worries the finished project will cut off parking access for customers and delivery trucks.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not going to work,\u201d Willard said. \u201cTraffic is so bad, and you\u2019re going to make it two lanes. And there\u2019s semi trucks that are having to park in the middle of the road in that center lane to unload their goods to service all these businesses because they can\u2019t get in there.\u201d<\/p>\n
Across the street from Willard is the famous East End Market, one of the corridor\u2019s biggest draws. Owner and founder John Rife said in the 12 years since East End\u2019s opening, the corridor has changed with the addition of schools in the area attracting young families and lots of bike riders and walkers.<\/p>\n
Rife said the project is both good and bad, as increased walkability will benefit stores across the corridor. But he estimates businesses could see a 50% reduction in sales during construction depending on the timeline, potentially leading some to close.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen the development is happening in front of your store it is extremely impactful,\u201d Rife said. \u201cI think it\u2019s temporary, but for small business owners, which is predominantly the businesses along Corrine Drive, they usually don\u2019t have the capital reserves to weather a storm like that.<\/p>\n
Overall, Rife said he\u2019s optimistic the project will benefit the neighborhood, even with less parking. He also said the influx of families in the area means that pedestrian safety should be prioritized and the project will offer that, once completed.<\/p>\n
\u201cI love seeing the bike rack full of big and small bikes and scooters so keeping people safe while they\u2019re commuting around is important,\u201d Rife said. \u201cThe perception that there\u2019s not enough parking is probably a good thing because then more people will walk or ride their bikes.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Many of the people who live and work along Orlando\u2019s busy Corrine Drive corridor, home to the iconic…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":18672,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[15392,139,141,140],"class_list":{"0":"post-18671","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-orlando","8":"tag-last-week-the-city-presented-updated-plans-for-the-project-to-the-public-as-construction-aims-to-begin-as-early-as-2027","9":"tag-orlando","10":"tag-orlando-headlines","11":"tag-orlando-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18671","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18671"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18671\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/18672"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18671"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18671"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18671"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}