Recap: October 15 Neighborhood Working Group Meeting
Topic: Physical Neighborhood improvements
October 15, 2024
L. Claudia Allen Senior Center
Working Group Co-chairs, Clay Rivers (Washington Shores Neighborhood Association) and Ayub Fleming (Orlando Housing Authority) introduced themselves and encouraged the group to bring all their ideas to better the neighborhood and to be competitive with their ideas.
Kathy Carton from EJP kicked off the meeting with a presentation (found here).
Ayub Fleming shared more about some of the solutions they developed for the Choose Goldsboro Transformation Plan in Sanford:
Cottage home program: In order to increase homeownership and utilize over 200 infill lots, the city designed architectural plans for 2,3 and 4 bedroom homes, which the Building Department approved and offered for free to builders saving them up to $25,000 - $35,000 in addition to stream-lining the permitting process.
Zoning: The city changed the zoning regulations, at the request for community members, to restrict carports and duplexes in an effort to improve the neighborhood aesthetic and encourage single-family homeownership.
Pedestrian Safety: The city redesigned sidewalks and addressed road issues to reduce jaywalking.
Internet: The city installed public Wi-Fi to provide widespread access to internet.
Mr. Fleming explained that the Choice Neighborhoods planning process is like a funnel. All of the ideas go through and get narrowed down, so that the best ideas with likely partners and funding emerge as the priorities for implementation.
The following are highlights from the group discussion:
Internet:
The internet is unstable and unreliable in the area.
Reliable internet is needed to attract and support businesses and/or professionals who may work from home.
Multiple internet providers are needed so that people have a choice. Otherwise, the one carrier doesn’t have incentive to offer quality service.
StarLink was mentioned as a potential affordable solution to provide better quality internet.
Transportation:
A feasibility study was recommended to see if the downtown shuttle might be expanded to include the Choice-Orlando footprint.
Participants complained that the buses in the neighborhood do not go to the places people need/want to go.
There is a need to extend the hours that transportation is available to and from the common places that people in the area are employed (such as the theme parks) since the current options do not align with people’s work schedule.
Access to many of the services and amenities identified in the Resident Survey such as a health center and grocery store can be addressed with improved transportation. However, it was noted that many residents have mobility issues and may have trouble accessing services even if they are nearby.
Provide free shuttles from the senior housing site to the health center, grocery store and/or other places they need to go.
History of the Area:
Create a Culture historical center. There is history in the community that needs to be preserved.
One participant shared that a local 20-year-old recently asked about the significance of the statue of the first two black police officers in Orlando (statue at Wooden Ave. and Hankin Circle). Young people don’t understand the significance of the neighborhood, the people who live here, the churches, or even know why Division Street is called Division Street.
Set up a committee to create a walking tour of the historically significant places in the neighborhood that could be tied to the cultural center downtown. The Legacy Museum in Montgomery was provided as an example.
While there was a recommendation for a central place, there was also a suggestion of installing historic markers or even a virtual tour. Something like this was set up in the 90s where buses toured the historical sites.
Murals can be a great way to depict historical figures and places.
Some historically significant people/places named included: Paul Perkins, Guardian Care, Division Avenue, Chief Wilson, Eccleston, Carver Shores streets being named after Black baseball players, First Black police officers (Judge Belvin Perry’s father), St. John’s and Washington Shores Presbyterian Church.
Follow up: Lift will set up a follow up conversation on how to memorialize the important history in the area.
Community Cohesiveness:
The neighborhood demographics are changing from 100% African American but there is not a lot of integration with the newcomers. How do we bridge that gap? Language barriers need to be addressed.
Safety Issues:
Speeding along Spaulding Road is dangerous. It’s a racetrack from Bethune to Wooden. There has been a request for a traffic study in the area to evaluate the need for speedbumps.
The area around the Washington and Tampa intersection is unsafe area as well and is known for Nascar racing, red light runners, cars peeling outs doing burnouts late in the nights, tour bus noises from companies not permitted and trash dumping along the roadsides.
The intersection at Central and Tampa by Lorna Doone Apartments is dangerous to cross.
Handicapped ramps on the sidewalks should be marked in yellow so they can be visible to those who need them.
Need better lighting in the local parks such as Barker, Lizzy Rogers, Rio Grande, and the Football Field on Tampa Avenue.
Pedestal lights should be installed along parkways or walking areas. Research opportunity to install solar/battery lights.
The city should conduct a photometric plan of the Choice-Orlando footprint to assess the lighting needs.
More police in the area are needed. There is a substation at Lake Mann Homes but residents complained that there is no consistent police presence there. It was also noted that there is a larger presence of unmarked police cars in the area.
A pedestrian bridge that crosses over John Young Parkway is needed. When the road was expanded, a pedestrian bridge was discussed but it wasn’t needed at that time. Now there is much more traffic, and the bridge is a needed to safely cross the parkway.
There is an opportunity to rethink the street layout for Lake Mann Homes as part of the redevelopment and look for ways to better design streets for pedestrian safety.
A request has been made to the City to complete a traffic study for Spaulding Road.
One participant noted that in other countries they have emergency knobs or phones on the side of the road. There could be a HUB that can be a 24-hour call center.
Other Neighborhood Needs:
OUC (Orlando Utilities Commission) needs to address frequency and duration of power outages in the area. After the last hurricane, outages were only out 36-48 hours which was less than normal. However, the power goes down too often and for too long in this part of town.
Need quicker and more effective response to address blighted properties.
Streetscaping: Goldwyn and all the streets in Washington Shores could use some overall beautification and landscaping.
Senior citizens need assistance trimming their trees.
Address ‘Rooming Houses’. There are houses in the neighborhood that are only 1,000 square feet with two bedrooms, but have six cars in the driveway. There are also many Air BnBs in the area. City staff noted that there is an existing rule that homeowners must register their home as a home share if they intend to use it for short-term rental.
A central place for civic and community services in the neighborhood is needed. The post office is too far away (on Orange Blossom Trail) as are other county services, i.e. ID renewal, etc. This could also be a great place for Amazon safety boxes where people can receive packages.
Increase communication so that people know about the services available for them to access.
Redevelopment sites:
There are so many weather events in Florida that one participant suggested that every unit should have a storm room.
The redeveloped site should offer a full-service community, live/work/housing. Ex. Hamp