Mark Simpson

Entrance to Embry Riddle (photo by Aerojimmy via Wikimedia Commons)

(Orlando -- WMFE) The Federal Aviation Administration’s partial shutdown is impacting projects beyond just airports.  Embry Riddle University in Daytona Beach has two contracts that have been put on hold -- and several of their staff members are affected.

One is a $20 million dollar project related to general aviation research. The other is a $245,000 contract that covers several projects, including research on the NextGen air traffic control system and helping small aircraft pilots get better weather information.

Embry Riddle spokesman Robert Ross says the $20 million dollar contract is split among research programs at several schools across the U.S. and is distributed by an FAA project called the Center of Excellence for General Aviation Research -- or CEGAR, which is headed up by Embry Riddle.  It includes projects like a $1 million dollar effort to create a GPS-based system to allow airplanes to see each other in real time while flying.

Ross said about 10 people at Embry Riddle and other universities conducting research through CEGAR are affected by the furlough of the FAA’s monitors and grant reviewers. Some Embry Riddle research is monitored by FAA staff who oversee contracts, so those projects are on hold until federal funding comes through.  Ross also pointed out that the university's FAA grant seeking is on hold --  faculty researchers at the aviation school can’t submit proposals to the agency for research funding because of the federal furlough.

The FAA’s funding expired on July 22^nd.  FAA spokeswoman Kathleen Bergen says stopped  projects won’t restart till Congress passes -- and the president signs -- an extension of the FAA reauthorization bill.

For more TN coverage on the FAA shutdown, go here.

(Orlando, FL -- WMFE)

It’s not always easy to ride Central Florida’s public bus system known as Lynx.  It’s not that there’s anything wrong with the buses, but the environment of Florida itself can making the wait for the bus close to unbearable.  Weather in Florida, especially in the summer months can turn from brutally hot, to tropical downpour in just a few moments.

The reality of waiting for Lynx buses is that not all bus stops are created equal.  Some are quite fancy with a roof and open setup, some bus stops offer a 3-sided shelter, others a hurricane resistant bench, and others are just a pole in the ground.  It’s those minimalist bus stops that got Rollins College Environmental Studies senior Brendan O’Connor thinking about ways to make a difference.  He came up with what he calls “The Sit Project”, “It’s a neighborhood solidarity thing. You see something that needs a little help and you can go out and do it.  Why just sit on your butt if you see a problem?”

When O’Connor puts chairs on the street, he looks for a bus stop that needs a little more support.  Sometimes the location is near a business or a busy intersection.  It’s guerrilla art meets good will.  Usually the best time to place “sit chair” is in the evening.  The best kind of sit chair is a free one.

O’Connor has been quietly refurbishing what other people don’t want.  Wicker is good, sometimes metal, or plastic.  A fresh coat of pain, some structural re-enforcement, maybe a parasol.  He says his first time putting out a chair actually got him yelled at by a passer by, but encouragement from others urged him to keep going.

Now two years and over 100 chairs later O’Connor’s efforts are getting more attention.  Local community group the Mills 50 Mainstreet District is taking an interest in the project.  They are working out a deal with a local hardware store to purchase materials to start securing the chairs around the bus stops.  O’Connor says chairs can last anywhere from an hour to seven months before someone usually decides to keep it for themselves.  Joanne Grant, the director of Mills 50, says she started getting questions from around the community about the mysterious chairs that kept cropping up at Lynx Bus stops, a recent write up in the Orlando Sentinel gave her a tip-off, “I wanted to see if we could partner to keep the chairs at the bus stops….We don’t have enough right of way to build bus stops where people can sit.”

Lynx has more than three thousand stops across Orange County.  Only 450 have a shelter or some sort, close to eleven-hundred have benches, and nearly eighteen hundred are just a pole in the ground.  We asked about the standards for Lynx bus stops, in an email spokeswoman Kathy Shaw Clary wrote, “The minimum amount of right of way when we have raised curb and sidewalk is 8 feet.   Safety is our number one priority with both our employees and our passengers.  Regulations within the three major counties and local jurisdictions vary.  In addition, LYNX needs the approval of the adjacent property owners, and zoning regulations are a consideration as well.” She also wrote that Lynx does not have a position on O’Connor’s “Sit Project.”

Brendan O'Connor says he plans to keep working on the "Sit Chairs".  He grows cotton in his yard, along with other plants, and is considering ways to use them in this and other projects as well.

Click Here to Listen to O'Connor talk about what makes a good "Sit Chair".

(Orlando, WMFE) A long roster of dignitaries gathered at the location of the Florida Hospital SunRail stop in Orlando Monday to sign federal funding papers that will send $77 million towards construction of the commuter rail project.

U.S. Congressman John Mica, Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer, Congresswoman Corrine Brown, U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, Florida Transportation Secretary Ananth Prasad, and Federal Transit Administrator Peter Rogoff all sweated it out under a broiling July sky to sign the official agreement.

FTA chief Peter Rogoff says U.S. officials will stay involved with SunRail as the state builds stations and improves rail tracks along the route, “We have engineers doing regular oversight of the project, not just how the dollars are being spent, but also that things are on schedule being done to specs, and that’s an important part of our role to make sure things don’t go over budget or get delayed.”

Sunrail supporters hope that more than 13,000 jobs could come out of building commuter train stations, installing signals, and improving tracks along the 61 mile route.

Projections estimate more than 200,000 jobs could be created through related development projects in cities and towns across Central Florida.

The next major steps in the SunRail process include the physical groundbreaking, completing the sale of the tracks from rail company CSX for $432 million dollars, and acquiring locomotives and passenger cars.

Not everyone at the event was a SunRail supporter.  At least one man stood with a sign that said, “Have a Brain, No Trains,” but the crowd was overwhelmingly positive overall.

More demonstrative of the anticipated development Sunrail is expected to bring, was an announcement from Florida Hospital officials that a new 90,000 square foot office building was going to be constructed adjacent to the Sunrail stop. The facility is expected to hold Florida Hospital and Adventist Health System’s new headquarters.

Artist's Concept of the SunRail Train

(Orlando, Fla. -- WMFE) On Monday July 18, U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood is slated to attend a groundbreaking ceremony in Orlando for the SunRail Commuter train project.  LaHood is also expected to sign papers promising $72 million dollars in Federal funding for SunRail.  Total costs are expected to be around $1.2 billion dollars.

In the roughly two weeks since Florida Governor Rick Scott approved the Central Florida Commuter Train plan contracts have started moving.  The Florida Department of Transportation gave Boise-based locomotive manufacturer Motive Power the go signal on a $17.5 million contract for designing and manufacturing seven SunRail locomotives, with the stipulation that up to thirteen could be built later on. An agreement was also signed with Amtrak and the Florida Central Railroad this week that will provide operational support for SunRail.

Notices to proceed were also given to Archer Western/Railworks for $170 million worth of work related to track improvements along the 61 mile route.  Items still to be finalized include ticket vending machines and closing the purchase agreement from rail giant CSX on the rail corridor.  That will likely take place this fall.  SunRail is expected to start carrying passengers in 2014.

Other rail line ideas are gaining ground in the wake of SunRail’s approval.  One concept is called Orange Blossom Express.  The Express would be small passenger service moving rail riders from Lake County into Orange County with a connection into the SunRail line.  Tracks currently owned by Florida Central Railroad would need to be upgraded before passenger trains could travel on the line.  There is also debate among some local communities about the need for a passenger service.  Advocates for the plan though are hoping to sway skeptics towards supporting a proposal.

Space Shuttle Atlantis (photo by Mark Simpson/WMFE)

(Orlando, WMFE)  The space shuttle Atlantis is sitting at launch pad 39A, waiting for its final mission.

This is not only the final liftoff for this shuttle, but it's the last flight of the United States' 30-year space shuttle program. The four-person crew will be heading to the International Space Station on a resupply mission.

Liftoff is set for Friday, July 8th at 11:26am, but forecasters from the Kennedy Space Center are tracking a weather system which could bring showers and thunderstorms around launch time-- and would ground Atlantis until the weekend.  Record crowds of between 750,000 to 1 million people are expected to flock to Florida’s “Space Coast” for the spectacle.  And NASA is factoring those crowds into its backup liftoff plans. If there are too many people in the area, it could be difficult for shuttle workers to make a 24-hour turnaround to liftoff in the case of bad weather or technical issues.

photo by Mark Simpson/WMFE

This is the 135^th space shuttle mission --  and originally it was not scheduled to happen.  The 134th was flown by the Endeavour, and Atlantis was slated to be its rescue shuttle.  Now Atlantis has no backup shuttle to fly to orbit if problems should arise.  The plan is to use Russian Soyuz spacecraft to travel to the International Space Station, but that could leave some astronauts stranded for up to a year.

After Atlantis lands and the shuttle program ends, the US will lose its ability to launch American astronauts into space on American rockets.  Shuttle launch director Mike Leinbach said planning for private space companies to pick up some of the launch burden is a good thing, but he lamented that the next US space vehicle is not ready to go.

"If they (astronauts) have a problem, then we can't get to the Space Station, and therefore the Space Station would be in jeopardy after a period of time," he said. "I see it as a policy issue, where you're shutting down a system before the next system is up and running.  If I were in charge --  and I'm not -- but if I were in charge I'd do it the other way.  I wouldn't shut down the shuttle system until the next system was up and running so we could guarantee access to the space station."

photo by Mark Simpson/WMFE

"We're losing a bit of our American identity by shutting the system down," said Leinbach, as he reflected on the final moments of the shuttle era.  "The shuttle is an American icon.  Anywhere in the world if people pay attention to the news and see the Shuttle launch they know that's America launching that Shuttle.  No one else does that, and now we won't either."

He added that the loss of prestige is overshadowed by the large number of people who will be losing their jobs after the shuttle program ends.

Plans for a shuttle-like vehicle reach back to the late 1960s, although it took more than a decade between the initial concepts and the first shuttle launch in 1981. In terms of space transit, the shuttle is unique because of its reusable nature.  Leinbach said originally it was thought NASA would be able to put two shuttles a month into orbit, but the reality was each orbiter could be launched only about twice a year.  Still, the vehicle is special because of its cargo carrying capabilities.  The shuttle's cargo bay is about 60 feet long and has carried payloads like the Hubble Space Telescope and launched numerous satellites into orbit.

You can learn more about the shuttle program, as well as its final mission, over at WMFE.

Sunrail is coming to CSX rail lines like these

(Orlando-WMFE)  UPDATED WITH COMMENTS FROM JOHN MICA

Florida Governor Rick Scott has approved SunRail.

His transportation secretary, Ananth Prasad, made the announcement today in Tallahassee.

Scott's decision puts an end to more than six months of waiting for the communities and cities along the route of the 61-mile, $1.2 billion commuter rail line.

Rick Scott had raised concerns about the lack of a dedicated funding source for the rail project, and earlier this year killed a high-speed rail line which many observers believed to be less risky financially. But after meeting this week with local government officials, Prasad told the governor that partner communities understood the financial risks.

If SunRail fails to support itself financially, Florida officials will dip into state funds for local transportation projects -- a threat which Prasad emphasized during his public hearings this week.

Florida Congressman John Mica, a longtime champion of the project, said the Governor made the right decision.

"I think the governor did what a smart business person does," Mica said. "Look at the bottom line and the bottom line is jobs, it’s the economy, it’s a cost effective transportation system for the future."

Mica indicated he's also on board with Governor Scott's efforts to expand the capacity of the Port of Miami to handle new larger ships out of the Panama Canal.

Back in April, Mica hinted that if Scott did not approve SunRail, partial funding for Miami's dredging project could be held up in the US House Transportation Committee, which the Congressman chairs.

SunRail is anticipated to be running by early 2014.

FL DOT secretary Ananth Prasad (second from left) at the Volusia County SunRail meeting. (Photo from the Florida DOT Facebook page)

Secretary Ananth Prasad spent Tuesday in Central Florida as part of a whirlwind tour of the planned rail line. He held six public meetings, starting in Volusia County and ending in Osceola.

Prasad said other badly needed transportation projects in Central Florida will be hurt if local governments have to pay for SunRail’s operating deficits.

"I just want to make sure the local governments, the mayors and commissioners understand that, and the local citizens understand, that they are making a choice," he warned. "They are making a choice to go towards mass transit at the expense of other traditional transportation projects."

But Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer said his city needed the rail line. "If we want to grow in a fashion that will allow us to maintain the quality of life that we have come to expect in Central Florida, and have transportation alternatives and have jobs that will be stimulated by transit oriented development, then it's a must that we get SunRail."

The partners in SunRail are ready to start building. Governor Rick Scott is expected to decide by the end of the week whether to approve the commuter rail line.

You can listen to the whole story here.

(Orlando, Fla-WMFE) Florida Transportation Secretary Ananth Prasad is barreling through Central Florida today, holding six public meetings in cities along the route of the proposed SunRail commuter train.

Governor Rick Scott is expected to decide by Friday whether to approve the project. Communities along the rail line are holding their breath, hoping the project will revive their struggling economies, and some people have already invested money to back up those hopes.

Ryan Von Weller and his partners spent $3 million top buy four acres of land right next to wear the railway would pass in Longwood.

“I’ve been so excited and so disappointed so many times,” he says, “I’m truly excited about this, not only for my own business purposes, but I think it’s going to be a paradigm shift for the people of Orlando.”

Right now it's just a grassy lot with an old auto garage in it. If and when SunRail comes through, Von Weller will build a four-story mixed-use apartment building.

That's just one small example of the investments, which are both private and public, in cities along the proposed route.

Opponents including Tea Party protesters, say the plan is too expensive and plan to protest the public hearings.

State numbers obtained by WMFE show cities and counties along the 61-mile SunRail line will have to spend nearly $7.5 million a year by 2021 to keep the train operating.

Federal contributions are expected to cover $2 million of that, and riders are expected to generate $3 million in revenue.  That leaves a roughly $2 million deficit that will need to be covered.

Secretary Prasad will likely tell local leaders today that the state has no plans to help bridge that gap.

For more details on how the fight over SunRail has businesspeople, civic leaders and private citizens biting their nails and protesting in the streets, read the full story at WMFE.

(Orlando -- WMFE) Supporters and opponents of Central Florida’s proposed SunRail train are ramping up for what could be a boisterous set of public hearings next week.

The SunRail project -- a 61-mile commuter rail project that will be centered in Orlando and run through four counties -- has been in the works for years. It looked to be running forward smoothly -- until the Governor put major contracts related to the commuter train on hold in January pending his approval.

Florida’s Transportation Secretary Ananth Prasad is scheduled to appear in Volusia, Seminole, Orange and Osceola counties, as well as holding a separate meeting with Orlando officials.

Prasad is slated to explain to local communities that taxpayers will have to come through with payments for the $1.2 billion project.  He’ll also explain there is no planned bailout if the commuter line fails to make money.

Already the West Orlando Tea Party is planning to rally on the steps of Orlando’s City Hall to protest the project on Tuesday afternoon.  Spokesman Clyde Fabretti says  SunRail “exposes the taxpayers to unnecessary risk.”  He also says members of the Tampa branch of the Tea Party are expected to attend the rally.

Meanwhile, commuter rail advocates in Seminole County are urging supporters to show up at the public forum between Commissioners and the Florida DOT secretary. An email circulating among planning circles says “it is anticipated that the opposition will be out in force.”

The meetings are set for only a few days before Governor Rick Scott’s long anticipated decision on whether or not he’ll approve SunRail by a self-imposed July 1^st deadline.

(Orlando, Fla-WMFE)  Stakeholders across Central Florida are nervously waiting for Governor Rick Scott’s decision whether or not to approve the region’s 1.2 billion dollar commuter train project.

Scott says he will announce his decision at the end of June.

The Sunrail project has been in the works for years and looked to be running forward smoothly until the Governor put major contracts related to the commuter train on hold in January pending his approval.  But that didn’t stop communities from moving forward with their plans to develop storefronts and other transit related amenities near the proposed stations.

See the Sunrail route here.

Some communities have already paid their consultants, in some cases hundreds of thousands of dollars, and could risk spending the money for nothing if the Governor shuts down Sunrail.

According to Phil Laurien, the Director of the East Central Florida Regional Planning Council, “ It’s a risk if they did not plan for Sunrail.  If we waste the asset of the Sunrail stop to have more high density, transit oriented, walkable development, mixed use where people can shop and live and work, those are tremendous assets.  Everywhere that transit oriented development has been done right it has stimulated the local economy.”

Laurien says he recently was visited by members of the German Parliament looking for places to invest in sustainable development in the US.  He says the Germans consider Central Florida to be a loser region without the commuter train project.

Recently US Congressman John Mica, who chairs the House Transportation Committee heard a presentation on a proposed rail line that would run adjacent to Sunrail from downtown Orlando northwards into rural Lake County, called the Orange Blossom Express.  State transportation officials have 13.8 million dollars set aside to improve rails on that line.  The Orange Blossom Express could be running within five years

(Orlando, Fla-WMFE) City planners, developers, and the general public are still trying to figure out what growth in Florida will look like after Governor Rick Scott approved sweeping changes last week.  They undo much of the oversight capabilities of the state that have been in place for the last 25 years.

Secretary Billy Buzzett of Florida’s major growth management agency, The Department of Community Affairs, joined a panel discussion put on by the Urban Land Institute yesterday in Orlando.  In his remarks Buzzett generally praised the new law called the Community Planning Act, but did say, “The new law is going to allow a lot more flexibility to local government than it did before so there’s going to be less state mandates which does allow more tailor made competitions between local governments, so I would expect to see some of that and I think that’s good not bad."

Read the full story at WMFE.

(Orlando, Fla -Mark Simpson-WMFE)  High gas prices aren't expected to deter crowds from Central Florida this Memorial Day weekend.  Gas prices nationally are hovering around $3.84, about 7 cents higher than Florida's average.

Hotel bookings around Orlando are already higher than last year according to Visit Orlando spokesman Brian Martin, "  So far visitation demand for hotel rooms is up 9 percent."  Martin says he expects the hot summer months of June, July, and August to be strong as well.

2010 was a major slump for visitation, down by about 2 million visitors, but this year is off to much better so far but Martin says it's up in the first four months of 2011.

(Orlando, Florida -- Mark Simpson, WAMU) A report by the group Transportation for America says the four deadliest metro regions for pedestrians in the U.S. are all in Florida. Orlando tops out the list, followed by Tampa/ St. Petersburg, Jacksonville and Miami/ Fort Lauderdale.

Researchers examined 10 years of fatality data to calculate a “Pedestrian Danger Index.”  The report showed the Orlando area reported 557 pedestrian deaths between 2000 and 2009.  Older Floridians, age 75 and older (4.31 per 100,000 people) and African Americans (3.74 per 100,000 people) made up a large section of pedestrian deaths according to Transportation for America.

The report comes just weeks after Orlando’s northern neighborhood, the City of Winter Park, passed a “Complete Streets” resolution aimed at making its streets more friendly to pedestrians, cyclists, and other street users.

The report’s website provides a map of fatalities in the Orlando region.  Many of the deaths occurred along busy arterial roads that lack sidewalks.  Transportation for America says 67% of similar streets nationwide where pedestrian fatalities occurred over the last decade are eligible for federal funds to improve them.

Many Central Florida cities and towns have state highways that run through them and become the "main street".  Often times traffic is traveling between 45-50 Miles Per Hour, and crosswalks are infrequent.  This causes many pedestrians, including wheelchair bound seniors, to take their chances dodging cars and hoping their timing is right to cross.

A Google News search for "Orlando Pedestrian Killed" reveals dozens of stories from across Central Florida.

Transportation for America last released a report in 2009.  It also ranked the Orlando Metro region highly on its list.

(Orlando, Fla. — Mark Simpson, WMFE) Central Florida lawmakers took action to stop gas gauging and create complete streets last week. Tourist attractions aside, many towns in Central Florida can be pretty inhospitable to pedestrians and cyclists, with roads so busy it's difficult to ride a bike or even cross the street. Now Winter Park is joining a growing national movement to adopt "complete streets" that accommodate more than just cars. City Commissioners passed a resolution last week that lays out rules for a gradual adoption of complete streets.

The complete streets philosophy calls for features that improve roads like wider sidewalks, narrower lanes, and moving buildings closer to a road’s edge, according to Washington state-based Transportation expert, Dan Burden, who was in town for a presentation to Winter Park City Commissioners. Orlando is the third Central Florida city to adopt such a plan.

Right now, crossing a street in Winter Park legally, even to get to a bus stop could mean walking as far as 20 minutes to find the next official crosswalk. For a more detailed picture of pedestrian challenges and complete street initiatives in Winter Park, read the full story on WMFE.

Orlando, hasn't adopted complete streets planning models, but the city recently enacted tougher rules targeting gas stations near Orlando International Airport. Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer was concerned that two gas stations close to OIA were regularly charging about $2 higher than the average price for gas with little signage about the price. Unwary customers, usually tourists, often fill up without seeing the price as they head to return their rental cars and end up stuck with an inflated bill. That leaves a bad memory on the way out of town, harming the Orlando tourist brand.

Since Orlando can't regulate the price of gas, it passed an ordinance requiring the stations to post a sign with the price visible from the street or face a fine of $250 a day. As of Wednesday afternoon there were still no signs posted though.

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(Orlando, Fla-- Mark Simpson, WMFE) Central Florida Republican Congressman John Mica says he's carefully reviewing Governor Rick Scott’s proposal to deepen the port of Miami to accommodate a new class of larger ships.

As chair of the House Transportation Committee, Mica is in charge of signing off on Federal dollars for the project. At a meeting in Orlando Monday, Mica made a point to compare that process with the Governor's review of Central Florida's planned commuter train.

Governor Rick Scott wants to spend $77 million of state money to dredge the Port of Miami, but total costs for the project are expected to be as high as $150 million.

Congressman John Mica's committee gets to decide whether to approve an additional $75 million in federal money that would make up the difference.

Mica didin't directly  say he was linking that decision  to the Governor's  approval of the SunRail commuter train ... but he did bring up the similar timings for the two decisions, “ I get to authorize the project for the deepening at the federal level. Right now I’m studying them very closely as the Governor is studying the rail project very closely and I’ll make my decision next month in June about the time he makes his decision.”

Mica is referring to Governor Scott’s months long review of   SunRail's financial viability.

That has put a lot of SunRail supporters, including Mica, on alert, especially after the Governor torpedoed Florida’s High Speed Rail hopes in February.

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(Orlando, Fla. -- Mark Simpson, WMFE) The Central Florida lawmaker who sued Governor Rick Scott’s administration for scrapping Florida's high speed rail plan says he feels vindicated after the Governor’s office admitted it mis-stated how much money the state had spent on the project.

But Senator Thad Altman says he’s not sure what legal course to take now that the rail money is being offered to other states.

Melborne Republican Thad Altman argued before the Florida Supreme Court last month that Governor Rick Scott had a constitutional duty to carry out the high speed rail program which had been approved by the previous governor.

As part of the counter-argument, the governor’s legal council  told the court that the state had spend $110 million already on the project. But this week, the governor's office said that number was too high.

Senator Altman says he may consider asking the  Court to reopen the case -- but he thinks there’s little chance to get the federal money back.

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Supporters of "Complete Streets" say this type of situation could be avoided with regulation changes

(Orlando, Fla. -- Mark Simpson WMFE)

Advocates of the “Complete Streets” movement hope they are on the verge of gaining ground in Central Florida.  Planners at the City of Winter Park, located north of Orlando, say they have drafted a “Complete Streets” resolution for the city.  Mayor Ken Bradley is also supporting the measure which is expected to come up for a vote in about two weeks.

Dan Burden, executive director of the Walkable and Liveable Communities Institute was in Winter Park this week to discuss improvements that could be made to local roads.  He says a complete street is a thoroughfare “where a person can just naturally switch seamlessly from mode to mode”. That means encompassing walking, biking, driving, and even moving big trucks down the road. Burden presented those concepts to Winter Park commissioners while in town.

Listen to Dan Burden explain how "road" psychology impacts driving speeds

dan burden on visual friction

Meanwhile Orlando land use attorney Rick Geller is pursuing an effort to tack “complete streets” language to a state transportation bill, while the legislature is still in session this year. He says “complete streets” are needed at the state level to set standards for local communities to emulate. It’s not clear if Geller’s language will be picked up before the session concludes May 6^th, but he says he’ll back next year if it’s not.

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Rendering of What Median Improvements Could Look Like

(Orlando, Fla. -- Mark Simpson, WMFE) Commissioners at the City of Winter Park, just north of Orlando, voted unanimously this week to kill a nearly $2 million  beautification project, hampering a planning strategy that put greater emphasis on mixed use development. The original plan was was part of a $9 million street and sewer upgrade along the main road leading into the city’s west side.

The section of Fairbanks Avenue in question is actually a state road. It runs from Interstate 4 to Winter Park’s center. The beautification project would have happened parallel to planned work upgrading sewers in the area. City planners wanted to add planted medians to the center of the road, in coordination with a planned repaving by the Florida Department of Transportation.

The medians would have eliminated a center turn lane, known commonly as a “suicide lane.” Planners say the medians would make the road safer by reducing conflict zones during turns and slow down traffic. However merchants along the Fairbanks corridor became concerned about paying an anticipated $340,000 assessment for the improvements as well as forcing customers of some businesses to make u-turns to reach them. They showed up en masse at the City Commission’s meeting this week to express their worries. Commissioners voted to go ahead with planned sewer and repaving, but axed the median component citing cost concerns.

The beautification efforts would have also started an incremental experiment with form based codes in Winter Park, which are considered to be a leading trend in city planning. The city of Miami overhauled its entire planning and zoning code to transform it into a form-based code called Miami21.  The plan went into effect last year. During the 20^th century U.S. cities were influenced by Euclidian zoning, which separated residential, commercial, and industrial zones from each other, placing them in designated areas. Form-based codes allow mixed use buildings, such as ground floor commercial spaces with residences on a second level, to be built on the same site. They also rely on pictures and give builders and planners an image of what forms and layouts are preferred.

David Zusi, the Waste Water and Utility Director for the City of Winter Park, says because the commission voted down the median portion of the upgrade project the beautification efforts will be up to businesses around the area. He also says, attempts to use form-based codes in Winter Park will continue, but he didn’t provide details.

Zusi indicated that installing medians would likely not be considered again for at least a few years, by then, the state will have finished repaving the section of Fairbanks Avenue.

City planning staff had been working on the project since 2005 under a previous City Commission. It had been estimated to take one year and cost just under $9 million dollars. New estimates without the median are not available yet.

(Orlando, FL -- Mark Simpson, WMFE) The dream of improving rail transit in Florida isn’t dead… completely.  High speed rail desires dissipated after weeks of dancing back and forth between HSR supporters - including US Senator Bill Nelson and U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood.  The two fell short of convincing chief opponent, Governor Rick Scott, that cost concerns over the $2.6 billion project would be resolved.

There is one other Florida rail project that is currently in a state of suspended animation — Central Florida’s Sunrail commuter train.  It's supposed to run on 61 miles of track between Deland and Poinciana.  It's been approved and is supposed to be up and running by 2013. Planning and contract work worth about $235 million for the project is on hold while Governor Scott reviews Sunrail.  Scott says he will not make a decision until July when the new fiscal year begins for Florida. Supporters of Sunrail are worried though, because the Governor followed a similar review process before rejecting federal High Speed Rail money in February.

This week, Orange County Mayor Teresa Jacobs met with Governor Scott for a half an hour to discuss the Sunrail project, and she told the Orlando Sentinel that she thinks Scott is still undecided. The Sentinel also released an analysis that shows the price of Sunrail is going up by close to $5 million because of the Governor’s hold on the project.

(Orlando, Florida -- Mark Simpson, WMFE) It looks like there may still be life in Florida's High Speed Rail Project. We've posted the announcements and public statements all day long, from the DOT, Gov. Rick Scott, and others. At the end of a day that saw several meetings, public pronouncements and back door negotiations, here's where the Tampa-Orlando bullet train stands.

US Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood has agreed to give Florida one more week to come up with a way to build the proposed rail line before the DOT reallocates the $2.4 billion in federal funds allocated to the project. Governor Rick Scott says he is willing to listen.

Today was supposed to be the deadline imposed by the US Department of Transportation for Florida to come with a plan to work around Governor Rick Scott's refusal of federal money for high Speed Rail.

Governor Scott met with LaHood in Washington D.C. and asked for more information on the proposed Florida High Speed Rail line.

Scott refused the money last week citing concerns about the state's financial liability if the project did not generate enough money to cover its estimated $2.6 billion dollar cost.

U.S. Senator Bill Nelson and US DOT lawyers have been working on a legal workaround since the Governor's refusal and may yet arrive at a solution.

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