ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. – For years, Orange County has said it’s been working to make roads safer by lowering speed limits, and on Tuesday, commissioners took action by approving these decreases in eight different locations.
The approvals include the following corridors, as listed on the consent agenda:
- Good Homes Road from Old Winter Garden Road to Silver Star Road from 45 mph to 35 mph
- Southwest Christmas Road from East Colonial Drive to Llewellyn Road from 45 mph to 35 mph.
- Landstar Boulevard from Wetherbee Road to Osceola County Line from 45 mph to 40 mph.
- Turkey Lake Road from Central Florida Parkway to Vineland Avenue from 45 mph to 40 mph.
- South Sheeler Avenue from Apopka Boulevard to Keene Road from 45 mph to 35 mph.
- Keene Road from Sheeler Avenue to Ocoee Apopka Road from 45 mph to 35 mph.
- Town Loop Boulevard from John Young Parkway to East Town Center Boulevard from 35 mph to 30 mph.
- John Young Parkway from Equity Row to Central Florida Greenway from 55 mph to 45 mph.
The stretch of Turkey Lake Road from Central Florida Parkway to Vineland Avenue cuts through the tourist district and is also part of the area Commissioner Nicole Wilson represents.
“People want to walk and bike and they can’t do that if they’re worried about a car that’s, you know, driving the speed limit you would see on (Interstate 4) or (State Road) 408,” Wilson said.
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She added three locations that will see changes in the coming weeks are in District 1 and are mostly residential areas.
“Hunters Creek in particular we had a safety meeting this time last year, and people’s biggest concerns were, Why are we letting people go 50 to 55 mph?’” Wilson said.
The county’s traffic engineers said pedestrian safety in particular has led them to take a closer look when citizens call and bring certain areas to their attention. News 6 reporter Catherine Silver spoke with Vibuti Patel about the process to make the county safer for everyone.
“We look at the greater depth and background of it,” Patel said. “Do we need to extend the limit? Is only reducing the speed at a certain mile going to be effective?”
Patel shared a study done on Good Homes between Old Winter Garden Road and Silver Star Road. It shows there were three crashes involving pedestrians and bicycles within a five-year period and 403 crashes of all types.
Kyle Sobash walks the neighborhood with his family. He told News 6 he hopes lowering the speed limit from 45 mph to 35 mph in that area will make a difference.
“You can always hear the car tires peeling out and speeding down the street,” Sobash said. “There’s all kinds of kids in the area.”
Wilson said she thinks the action the county takes now will allow it to prevent a tragedy instead of reacting to one.
“Anytime we can see something happening that we are able to do and get done ahead of time, foreseeing that there may be issues in the future, it really fells like a positive step toward keeping everybody safe,” Wilson said.
Patel noted that she’s seen speed limits change across at least 30 locations in the three years she has worked for the county. County officials are working on a plan to lower the number of traffic fatalities and get results with MetroPlan Orlando.
Orange County Public Works said it hopes to switch out the signs in the corridors approved for speed limit decreases in the coming weeks.
But first, the department will put up message boards notifying drivers before the change.
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