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2016-011 Resolution Relating to Safe and Efficient Transportation for West Orange County RESOLUTION NO. 2016-011 A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF OCOEE, FLORIDA RELATING TO SAFE AND EFFICIENT TRANSPORTATION FOR WEST ORANGE COUNTY; THE NEED FOR IMPROVEMENTS TO THE TURNPIKE INTERCHANGE ON SR 50; CONSTRUCTION OF AN EXTENSION OF OLD WINTER GARDEN ROAD; CONSTRUCTION OF A CONNECTION BETWEEN TOMYN BOULEVARD AND THE TURNPIKE; COORDINATION OF EFFORTS WITH METROPLAN ORLANDO, THE FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION, AND OTHER UNITS OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT; AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF OCOEE, FLORIDA: SECTION 1. AUTHORITY. This Resolution is adopted pursuant to the provisions of the City of Ocoee Home Rule Charter; Article VIII, Section 2 of the Florida Constitution; Section 166.041, Florida Statutes; and other applicable provisions of law. SECTION 2. PURPOSE. This Resolution authorizes the Mayor and City Manager to support efforts to improve the safety and efficiency of transportation in West Orange County, particularly with regard to access to Florida's Turnpike, SR 429, other limited-access highways, and connecting arterial roads. SECTION 3. LEGISLATIVE DETERMINATIONS. It is hereby ascertained and declared that the existing transportation network of West Orange County continues to suffer from poor access to major highways, particularly in the area where Florida's Turnpike, SR 429, and SR 50 intersect, and that the Florida Department of Transportation, through and by MetroPlan Orlando, should be encouraged to design and implement changes to the transportation system so as to provide adequate access to these facilities. BE IT HEREBY DETERMINED BY THE CITY COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF OCOEE, FLORIDA THAT: (A) Access to Florida's Turnpike is restricted by the obsolete design and operation of the access interchange on SR 50 near the western city limits of Ocoee. This is one of the very few original Turnpike interchanges constructed more than 50 years ago - a time when the development patterns and transportation needs of West Orange County were very different. (B) The limited-access highways described above are all under the jurisdiction of the Florida Department of Transportation and are eligible for federal-aid to highways and state transportation funding. Transportation project funding is allocated through a Five-Year Work Program process that recognizes a sequence of planning, design, and construction phases. (C) MetroPlan Orlando is the designated metropolitan planning organization that provides guidance on project needs and priorities to the Florida Department of Transportation on the expenditure of federal-aid funding for West Orange County and has organized itself so as to represent the transportation needs of all citizens in its service area. A highway capacity project, such as the reconstruction of a highway interchange, must be included in the list of Transportation Improvement Projects developed annually by MetroPlan Orlando for it to receive funding by the Florida Department of Transportation. (D) Numerous studies have been conducted by the Florida Department of Transportation over the years that call for reconstruction of the SR 50/Turnpike interchange, and for such reconstruction to be included in the next major construction project. Yet, both the Turnpike and SR 50 have been or are being reconstructed and improved since that time with none of these projects addressing the long-standing needs for improvements to this critical interchange. (E) The need for reconstruction and widening of SR 50 through Ocoee was identified by a traffic demand study in 2002 and subsequently added to the Florida Five-Year Work Program pending available funds. By the time sufficient funds had been identified, traffic growth on SR 50 had actually declined from its prior level, except for the segment from the Turnpike to Maguire Road, while traffic on local roads had grown significantly. During the period 2000- 2010, traffic on SR 50 in Ocoee declined as much as 28% (Maguire Road to Bluford Avenue), while traffic on Old Winter Garden Road went up 59% and on Maguire Road south of SR 50 by as much as 32%. This growth is expected to continue. In fact, the 2002 traffic study predicted that widening SR 50 would double the rate of traffic growth. (F) The most recent published data has average daily traffic on Old Winter Garden Road at 24,940 vehicles, 28,550 on Maguire Road (south of SR 50), and 34,000 on SR 50. Nevertheless, substantial state funds are being expended to widen SR 50 without regard for the decrease in traffic growth on this highway or consideration of how local traffic is to reach that facility, or to make any accommodation for traffic on the local roadways. (G) Traffic data clearly demonstrate that more than 10,000 vehicles per day are traveling north on roads from large population areas south of SR 50 to and from the Turnpike and SR 429 interchanges. This traffic is following a long route on local streets and state highways in order to access SR 429 and the Turnpike, thereby imposing additional burdens on state and local governments to accommodate this pass-through traffic. This traffic is impacting Old Winter Garden Road, which provides access to the Turnpike interchange from the southeast, and Maguire Road, which provides access from the south and southwest. If this traffic could access the Turnpike interchange directly rather than via SR 50, it is likely that SR 50 traffic volumes would fall to a level less than that of the local roads. (H) Much of the traffic that desires access to the Turnpike and SR 429 at SR 50 is being generated by new residential and commercial development occurring south of the Turnpike and SR 50. As a result, demand for access to the Turnpike and SR 429 has grown substantially, which has put more traffic on these local roads. It is common for traffic on Maguire Road at the SR 50 intersection to fail to clear during the green phase of the traffic signal controlling movement through this intersection. The SR 50 road widening project will not improve this operational problem and is actually likely to make it worse as a result of increased intersection clearance times. (I) In addition to the residential and commercial traffic originating and terminating south of SR 50, there is also substantial commercial and industrial truck traffic going to and from large distribution centers located north of SR 50. Much of this traffic seeks access to the Turnpike, which requires using Marshall Farms Road and going through a stop-sign-controlled fi intersection at SR 50 in order to use a few feet of SR 50 to get to the Turnpike on-ramp. On the opposite approach of Marshall Farms Road, SR 50 construction plans to preclude the existing access to SR 50, because of the free-flow exit lane from the Turnpike to eastbound SR 50. In addition, the left turn now permitted to go north on Marshall Farms Road from SR 50 will be closed, and this traffic will need to continue east to Maguire Road in order to go north further exacerbating traffic congestion at this intersection. (J) The proximity of Old Winter Garden Road, Tomyn Boulevard, and Marshall Farms Road, among other local streets, to the existing Turnpike interchange suggest they can be incorporated in a redesigned Turnpike interchange so as to reduce the existing inefficiencies and safety hazards of this interchange by providing more direct access to the Turnpike without requiring drivers to use Maguire Road and SR 50. (See attached map.) (K) A more recent traffic study undertaken by the Florida Department of Transportation found that significant improvements in traffic circulation could be realized by improving local streets parallel to SR 50. As a result of these findings, a connector is being constructed by the City of Ocoee to bridge the gap between Bluford Avenue and Maguire Road north of SR 50. A similar connector is proposed on the south side of SR 50 by extending Old Winter Garden Road west from Maguire Road toward Marshall Farms Road and the Turnpike interchange. This extension also includes one or more connectors to SR 50 to provide improved access to a large commercial area poised for development in the near future. (See attached map.) (L) Ongoing economic development efforts by local governments in West Orange County will continue to cause travel demand to increase and place further pressures on an already inadequate interchange at SR 50 and Florida's Turnpike. In particular, continued development in and around the existing interchange will impede future efforts to reconstruct the SR 50/Turnpike interchange if rights of way and easements are not quickly secured. { SECTION 4. CALL FOR ACTION. Based on the foregoing legislative findings, the City Commission of the City of Ocoee hereby authorizes the Mayor and City Manager to work with MetroPlan Orlando, the Florida Department of Transportation, other units of local government, and any relevant private parties to encourage and participate in the timely development of a design and reconstruction effort for the SR 50 interchange with Florida's Turnpike. Such a design effort should consider the extension of Old Winter Garden Road west from its current terminus at Maguire Road, with appropriate connections to SR 50 and the Turnpike interchange, and construction of a connection from Tomyn Boulevard to the Turnpike interchange. SECTION 5. EFFECTIVE DATE. This resolution shall take effect immediately upon its K' passage and adoption. [Signatures on following page.] tr 5 PASSED AND ADOPTED this 2nd day of August, 2016. APPROVED: ATTEST: CITY OF OCOEE, FLORIDA 114,A ),,aff .1%,„ Melanie Sibbitt, Acting City Clerk Rusty Johns.n, (SEAL) RESOLUTION NO 2016-011 FOR USE AND RELIANCE ONLY BY THE APPROVED BY THE OCOEE CITY CITY OF OCOEE, FLORIDA. APPROVED COMMISSION AT A MEETING AS TO FORM AND LEGALITY THIS 2nd HELD ON AUGUST 2, 2016 UNDER DAY OF AUGUST, 2016. AGENDA ITEM NO. . SHUFFIELD, LOWMAN &WILSON, P.A. By: 411, Cit Attorney ( ( { \ / ( ! ( / ) [ 1 [m i ( I y I ..c s. c's ( ( [ re r ( a` ) . [ �� �° \ P. , . ( o e [ m &n .w &n { { 7 ( (1 { ƒ { [ ® [ I S ® / / slit I (ba / ��© co V \ { fa { �. �1��/'� ' 'e__m¥ ° / \ ° ( m ® ¥ / ( CO 0 ( CO / ( k I { I w r E [ / { 7 ( ( [ [ ( ../ 1 r.; u ligl`! 'r 1 w id _ X I 31 ,4 i , I--) — a &it;g1, :+0- uf& co a,. i t,„t illjilti x 5 i 1:1-31 , 81 . z 8 :rim ,vrt i ,i_i 4i-c'; 3 ------- 2 2* nj izzo i .41 E f§ trol't: I 0 I Ix4,-IA et. 4 r- \ "..-- I _ RI al111111N ._____ 1 a "8-: 0 .e.-8 8 C u) l 5 0 ,c? 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