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Light Rail May Be Coming Back

LYNX Holds Workshops For Public Feedback

ORLANDO, Posted 6:27 p.m. EDT October 6, 2000 -- The controversial light rail system may become a reality in Central Florida with a new set of possible routes in order to get cars off of busy Interstate 4.

Light rail was voted down last year, but new plans have the system coming back to Orlando

Light rail supporters said that a light rail system would ease road congestion, and proposed building a light rail in the next five years, a time when the interstate is scheduled for major construction already.

"There is some potential to build a rail system that alleviates traffic both now and when I-4 is reconstructed, and then after the reconstruction. We look at this whole thing as a balanced approach," Randall Farwell of Central Florida Regional Transportation Authority LYNX said.

The studied alignments include running rail along the east side of Interstate 4 from Princeton Avenue to Lake Mary Boulevard. Crossover tracks would also run behind Winter Park Mall and cut west to link with Wymore Road.

NewsChannel 2's Ed Heiland reported that one of the problems Central Florida residents complain of is more congested roads with light rail.

Neighborhoods may become impacted by Lee Road sharing a rail line running by the Winter Park sinkhole on Denning Avenue.

Planner Randy Knight said that the consultants have finally listened to the city.

"We don't see it as a growth tool for us. We just hope that whether it's the I-4 alignment or the Denning alignment, that it will be something for our residents can take advantage of," Knight said. Public feedback will determine more exact routes.

LYNX will hold two workshops to discuss light rail opportunities within the northern Orlando corridor.

The times, places of the workshops are:

Oct. 12 4 p.m. - 8 p.m. Embassy Suites Orlando, North 225 E. Altamonte Dr. Altamonte Springs, Fla. 32701

Oct. 17 4 p.m. - 8 p.m. St. Johns Lutheran Church, 1600 South Orlando Ave. Winter Park, Fla. 32789

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