A Road’s Impact of Progress

By Johnny Duncan

During the last decade, Orange County’s population has grown by approximately 2.8 percent annually, significantly higher than the 2.2 percent annual growth experienced by the state as a whole. Southeast Orlando, already undergoing a surge in development surrounding the Lake Nona area, is bracing itself for the new UCF medical center and the Burnham Institute. This incredible expansion demands new roadways to serve as relief valves routing traffic away from the thoroughfares already bursting at the seams.

Avalon Park Boulevard runs between Alafaya Trail and Colonial Drive and is a corridor that was built to provide such relief here in East Orlando. But, even with all of the detailed planning and design by engineers and project managers, some of these roads become burdened themselves. These new routes quickly become crowded with traffic overflow and local residents taking advantage of a new shortcut.

Hal Henson, a resident of Avalon Park since 2002, has lived in Orlando since 1957. He experienced the outrageous population growth as well as the progressive road projects in Orange County. “I worked for IBM and installed the first computer system for the County in the late 50s so I’ve witnessed the many years of progress.”

Mr. Henson is upset with the number of eighteen-wheel trucks that use Avalon Park Boulevard. “These trucks are loaded down with materials and they drive irresponsibly down Avalon Park Boulevard which is 99 percent residential. I think that with five different school zones, and being an all residential area, the trucks should use another route. We are seeing big rigs coming from the OUC Stanton Energy Plant and trucks hauling all sorts of materials. These trucks are damaging the roads and are a potential hazard to the residents and their children.”

In response to one of Mr. Henson’s letters sent to Orange County Mayor Richard Crotty, Ruby Rozier, Manager Orange County Traffic Engineering Department, stated that Avalon Park Boulevard was designed, constructed and paid for by the developers as a four lane public arterial road. Ms. Rozier notes that, according to the Florida statute section 334.03, arterial road “means a route providing service which is relatively continuous and of a relatively high traffic volume, long average trip length, high operating speed, and high mobility importance.” She also explained that the preliminary studies revealed that, in order for development to occur in this section of the County, a North/South parallel facility similar to Alafaya Trail would be needed to relieve congestion. Avalon Park Boulevard was designed to replicate Alafaya Trail and provide access from SR 50 to SR 528.

Mr. Henson is pointing out the truck traffic on Avalon Park Boulevard to inform the residents of Avalon Park of the danger existing from the uncontrolled traffic that will only increase in the future. He considers it a danger to the families of this community if traffic continues to be diverted from Colonial Drive, which Mr. Henson states is “the most dangerous road in Central Florida.”

With new business coming to this area, restricting road usage may be difficult. As Ms. Rozier puts it, “Because of the functionality of Avalon Park Boulevard and the construction activity in the area, we are unable to restrict trucks from using this road.”

Traffic concerns will remain a constant reminder of Orange County’s progression. The best we as citizens can do is to voice any concerns regarding roads as Mr. Henson does, and offer suggestions to our community leaders. In this case, Ms. Rozier’s response to Mr. Henson is that she will inform Sheriff Kevin Beary about the problem so that he can issue citations to truck drivers that exceed the posted speed limit.