An ambitious, 20-year plan for Orange County that will remake hundreds of miles of sidewalks and roads more pedestrian, and disability, friendly.

  • 20-year plan would fix cracked sidewalk pavement, add more ramps and enhance audible pedestrian signals
  • Upgrades meant to help pedestrians, especially those with disabilities
  • Orange County plan to cost $180 million

County Commissioners passed an Americans with Disabilities Act Infrastructure and Transition Plan Tuesday. The plan is expected to cost around $180 million.

In order to get the county’s more than 2,800 miles of sidewalks to state guidelines, they’ll improve cracked pavement, add more ramps, remove obstacles and enhance audible pedestrian signals.

Leaders hope the upgrades will help mobility, especially for those with disabilities or impairments.

“It needs to be as safe as possible for pedestrians, let alone pedestrians who can’t see,” said Judy Mathews, who is an independent life skills and Braille teacher at Lighthouse of Central Florida.

The 37-year-old was born unable to see, only finding out she was blind when she was six or seven years old. Mathews can’t see shapes or colors, only light, and relies on her guide dog, Keats, to be her eyes.

“Keats and I have a really special bond,” she said, as the pair walked through Orlando. “We get on the city bus and he will find an empty seat for me.”

Yet, Mathews says there’s one problem: the lack of well-maintained sidewalks and audible pedestrian crossing signals in Orange County.

“I can’t stress enough the importance of having sidewalks, usable sidewalks,” she said. “It is frustrating and the dogs are trained to stop if there’s crumbling sidewalk.”

County leaders said that a vital part of their transition plan is community involvement. Through public meetings, emails and letters, they’ll take stock of necessary upgrades and add them to their improvement list. The millions to fund the project will come first out of Orange County coffers then, potentially, state grants.

For Mathews and others, the price tag is worth it.

“We want to make sure we can be as safe as possible and that we can get where we need to,” she said.