VI(B) Discussion/Action re: Western Beltway Design Issues. AGENDA 4-2-96
Item VI B
"CENTER OF GOOD LIVING-PRIDE OF WEST ORANGE"
Ocoee S.SLO11 VAN UL:Kl,K1h1
O .�� 1145i -c40., COMMISSIONERS
_ ► CITY OF OCOEE RUSTY JOHNSON
+�- �► D. SCOTT ANDERSON
v O 150 N.LAKESHORE DRIVE SCOTT A.GLASS
�' ?t' OCOEE,FLORIDA 34761-2258
(407)656-2322 JIM GLEASON
*** (5.} CITY MANAGER
1, Of GOOD ELLIS SHAPIRO
STAFF REPORT
DATE: March 28, 1996
TO: The Honorable Mayor and City Commissioners
FROM: Russ Wagner, Director of Planning
SUBJ: Western Beltway Design Changes
ISSUE:
Should the Honorable Mayor and City Commissioners formally endorse design changes to the Western
Beltway which positively impact local transportation network needs?
BACKGROUND:
Recently Staff presented a report to the City Commission outlining various future transportation improvements
which may need to be undertaken in the Ocoee area to ensure that a viable roadway network is maintained.
At that meeting, we specifically asked the City Commission to endorse items directly related to the Western
Beltway that affect the local transportation network.
Staff has since met with staff and consultants of the Orlando-Orange County Expressway Authority to review
these needs as well as a number of other potential projects related to improving access to the West Oaks
Mall from the East-West Expressway. This meeting was very productive, and the Expressway Authority staff
was very receptive to virtually all of our needs. In order to incorporate any changes to final plans necessitated
by our suggested projects, they requested that the City Commission formally endorse these design changes
and take action to incorporate all appropriate local roadway segments into the Ocoee Comprehensive Plan.
DISCUSSION:
The following items as delineated on the attached map were those discussed with the Expressway Authority
staff for inclusion within the final design of the Western Beltway:
E-1 Provide for a bridged underpass at the extension of Roberson Road in Winter Garden to
ensure future continuation of this east/west collector roadway leading from Ocoee.
E-2 Provide for the continuation of Tomyn Road, an important local collector road, to ensure
adequate capacity for future residential and commercial uses planned within this area of the
community. Expressway Authority staff intends to modify the westerly alignment of this
roadway to tie into Warrior Road. This roadway is a direct link to the West Orange Ninth
Grade Center and future Orange County parks planned for this area. This alignment also
minimizes the length of the bridged underpass that would be required to make this
connection.
Page 2
The Honorable Mayor and City Commissioners
March 28, 1996
E-3 Provide for an intersection at S.R. 50 with a future local north/south collector roadway
paralleling the Western Beltway. Once the Beltway is constructed, it is anticipated that the
value of properties adjoining the roadway will be enhanced, dictating the need for
development and redevelopment of lands into higher intensity commercial, business and
industrial uses. A new collector roadway needs to be incorporated into the City's
Comprehensive Plan to provide for the added traffic resulting from this growth.
E-4 Provide for a change to a proposed retention pond situated north of the intersection of
Enterprise Street and Roper Parkway to accommodate the extension of the proposed
north/south collector street paralleling the Western Beltway. A corner of a retention pond
would need to be reconfigured to provide room for the extension of the collector road. The
City will also need to ensure that right-of-way is secured for the northerly extension of the
existing Roper Parkway to implement this collector route and incorporate it into the
Comprehensive Plan.
E-5 Provide for an intersection at the on-ramp of the S.R. 438 interchange with the north/south
collector roadway paralleling the Western Beltway. This intersection will need to be provided
north of the existing Franklin Street since FDOT has indicated that it will work with the
Expressway Authority to realign S.R. 438 so that it extends directly from the intersection at
Ocoee-Apopka Road to tie back to Franklin Street just east of Crown Point Road. Existing
Franklin Street would either be terminated or re-routed east of the interchange, and other
roadways in this area would be adjusted as required to maximize traffic operations. These
changes will need to be incorporated into the Ocoee Comprehensive Plan.
E-6 Provide for the deletion of a bridged underpass at Palm Drive in favor of a new underpass to
the north. This underpass is not needed to accommodate local traffic. Its deletion would
permit the interchange at Franklin Street (S.R. 438) to be lowered and reconfigured to
accommodate the new extension of Silver Star Road from the Ocoee-Apopka Road
intersection. Palm Drive west of the Beltway would be terminated and Pine Street east of the
Beltway would be upgraded north of Palm Drive to tie into a new east/west collector road.
E-7 Provide for a bridged underpass at Pine Street, approximately 1/2 mile north of Palm Drive.
This is presently a private, unimproved road which provides access to a number of small
parcels. The Ocoee Comprehensive Plan currently projects the extension of Wurst Road
westward to tie into Ocoee-Apopka Road in the vicinity of this roadway. In order to provide
for a collector roadway pattern which maintains a maximum one-mile spacing, the
continuation of the Wurst Road extension to Pine Street over to East Crown Point Road would
be beneficial to ensure efficient local access. These extensions would be primarily developer
funded as adjoining development occurs, although the City will need to incorporate this route
into the Comprehensive Plan to formalize the need for this bridge.
Page 3
The Honorable Mayor and City Commissioners
March 28, 1996
E-8 Provide for a bridged underpass at West Road. This is presently an unimproved roadway
which serves a significant number of smaller parcels extending from Clarcona-Ocoee Road
to Ocoee-Apopka Road. Considering the proximity of the proposed Beltway interchange with
the Fullers Cross Road /Ocoee-Apopka Road intersection, as well as the distance between
this intersection and McCormick Road (2 miles), it is desirable to maintain an intermediate
local roadway connection to provide alternate routes within the area. A realignment of West
Road with Ocoee-Apopka Road is possible to increase the distance between the Beltway
interchange and what is anticipated to become an east/west collector route that will tie all the
development west of Ocoee-Apopka Road into a network directly accessing Clarcona-Ocoee
Road.
In addition to the items pertaining to the Western Beltway, City Staff also discussed possible improvements
affecting the East-West Expressway. The idea of providing a direct connection to the off-ramp at S.R. 50
from the west was considered improbable and extremely expensive. Similarly, an extension of the East-West
Expressway to Moore Road was also considered to be highly unlikely and very costly. In both cases there
would be overlapping jurisdictional authority to undertake such projects, and the current design never
contemplated such connections, making retrofitting very difficult. Expressway Authority staff indicated that
these two projects would require federal and/or state funding to ever have a chance of being undertaken.
Additionally, there are no plans to utilize Roberson Road as a future extension of the East-West Expressway
since it would simply parallel the existing Florida Turnpike. Expressway Authority staff did, however, believe
that the upgrading of the existing Good Homes Road interchange into a full diamond would be beneficial and
provide improved access from the west to S.R. 50 and the West Oaks Mall. (See E-9) They indicated that
they would begin investigating this improvement immediately before any further development occurs within
the vicinity of this interchange.
STAFF RECOMMENDATION:
Based upon the items presented for discussion with the Orlando-Orange County Expressway Authority, Staff
respectfully recommends that the Honorable Mayor and City Commissioners move to formally endorse
recommended changes E-1 through E-8 for incorporation into the final design of the Western Beltway to
accommodate local transportation network needs of the City of Ocoee; and further, that City staff is hereby
directed to incorporate in the next amendment cycle any changes within the Ocoee Comprehensive Plan
needed to effectuate those improvements required in support of the Western Beltway project.
RBW/csa
Attachments
C:kapddfile\sr96008