ORLANDO, Fla. – A spate of state-ordered road work happening to crosswalks around Central Florida will include at least 14 more in the city of Orlando, which has shared a list of intersections that will experience traffic impacts as a result.
Beginning Wednesday and said to last for several days, delays and detours can be expected from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily at the following locations:
- S Rosalind Avenue at E Jackson Street
- Church Street at S Rosalind Avenue
- Magnolia Avenue at E Concord Street
- Orange Avenue at Concord Street
- N Orange Avenue at E Central Boulevard
- S Orange Avenue at E Pine Street
- S Orange Avenue at Church Street
- Summerlin Avenue at Washington Street
- Amelia Street at Ronald Blocker Avenue
- Amelia Street at Chatham Avenue
- Amelia Street at Putnam Avenue
- Central Boulevard at N Eola Drive
- W Kaley Avenue at S Division Avenue
- Corrine Drive at E End Avenue
In a news release, the city told drivers to follow posted detours and advised the street closures and times are subject to change.
“As a municipal government, the City of Orlando must comply with state and federal law,” the city said in a news release Wednesday. “(...) The Florida Department of Transportation has ordered the removal of some enhanced crosswalk and intersection treatments that were originally implemented by the City of Orlando as part of our investments to increase safety and the visibility of pedestrians and cyclists. Per the orders from the state, these previously approved treatments must be replaced with traditional pavement markings.”
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It’s the latest official messaging to address the crosswalks following a directive from U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy ordering that all such artwork be painted over nationwide in the interest of safety.
The rainbow crosswalk installed in 2017 with FDOT’s approval at the site of the former Pulse Nightclub was among the very first of these removal projects in our area, drawing the ire of locals and activists who accuse the state of a dubious motive and a lack of transparency. Not only was it removed in the middle of the night, but when FDOT later sent the city a letter outlining a list of 18 street art locations deemed non-compliant with state design standards and slated for removal, Pulse was not included.
As paint-rolling FDOT crews and chalk-holding protesters contend for the final word outside Pulse, Florida Highway Patrol troopers and Orlando police have since been seen at the intersection, apparently to dissuade people from coloring the crosswalk any further.
[VIDEO: Package of chalk for sidewalk protesters shuts down Orlando Pulse site]