Orlando city leaders to explore turning major one-way roads into two way

City expected to seek bids from consultants this spring

ORLANDO, Fla. – Orlando transportation leaders are soon expected to begin the process of selecting a consultant to investigate the viability of turn popular roadways, such as North Orange Avenue, North Magnolia Avenue and Rosalind Avenue, into two-way streets.

"The two-way conversion piece is just one part of this overall downtown master plan study that will look holistically at ways to improve safety and mobility for pedestrians and bicyclists, quality of life, economic vitality within downtown," a city spokesperson said. "Once we do have the consultant on board, we estimate the study will take 12-18 months."

Orlando Transportation Director Billy Hattaway told News 6 this option could become more favorable after the I-4 Ultimate project is completed.

"We would expect there would be a lot less through traffic on these two roadways and more destination traffic which is what the city needs to make it more viable," he said.

This latest study is also expected to incorporate the recently completed North Quarter study, which looked into two-way street options north of downtown.

A switch to two-way streets woudl likely help downtown restaurants and other businesses, Hattaway said.

"Having visibility from both directions is really important," Hattaway said. "You have much better chance of success when you have tow way streets than you will from one way."

City leaders told News 6 it could take several years before a study, renderings and construction are complete.

Additionally, no road work would begin until the I-4 ultimate project is done.


About the Author:

It has been an absolute pleasure for Clay LePard living and working in Orlando since he joined News 6 in July 2017. Previously, Clay worked at WNEP TV in Scranton, Pennsylvania, where he brought viewers along to witness everything from unprecedented access to the Tobyhanna Army Depot to an interview with convicted double-murderer Hugo Selenski.

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