This week's submission has to do with the rapidly growing Winter Garden area.
- Megan Millican remembers orange groves along Avalon Road
- Now the two-lane road is not enough for increased traffic, she says
Megan Millican, who lives in the area, wrote in this week ...
"Are there any plans for expansion of Avalon Road to at least two lanes in each direction between State Road 50 and Sunridge Boulevard? Traffic has gotten really heavy here and will continue to grow with more residences going up."
Megan moved to Winter Garden more than four years ago and even in that small amount of time she says the area has dramatically changed.
"Right across the street were just orange groves, there were no houses in the area. Just our neighborhood,” Megan said.
With the recent boom in housing, Megan says that Avalon Road, still just a two-lane road, is overwhelmed at times between Stoneybrook Parkway and Colonial Drive.
"There's only one lane in each direction which is causing a lot of backup with all the development and the people moving into the area,” explained Megan. “It's hard to turn onto Colonial when it's all the way backed up. You wait maybe four traffic light turns until you actually get up to the intersection."
That extra congestion has also made Megan more vigilant to watch for not only for her own safety but for pedestrian safety as well.
"Definitely concerns about accidents,” said Megan. “There are a lot of children that are leaving school or are going to school on the sidewalks. You never know when somebody is going to just quickly try and turn and maybe hit one of those children."
As for Megan if nothing is changed soon, she fears the worst.
"It's only a matter of time to see something,” said Megan. “If you're driving forty five miles per hour on Avalon and somebody all of sudden stops short to make a left-hand turn, you may hit them."
News 13 reached out to Orange County government and here was its latest update.
“The County has an agreement with Winter Garden to improve Avalon Road from Tilden Road to SR 50 (Colonial Drive). The county is responsible for widening the portion of Avalon from Florida’s Turnpike to SR 50 (2 to 4 lanes). We have secured a consultant and have scheduled the RCA kick-off meeting for October 18, 2017. Typically, the RCA study takes a year. The portion south of Turnpike is under Winter Garden’s control.”
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