County addresses Reams Road concerns

District 1 Orange County Commissioner Nicole Wilson hosted a Town Hall meeting to discuss traffic concerns and an updated timeline on the two associated projects in the area.

Annabelle Sikes News Editor

Horizon West residents learned more details about Orange County’s plans to improve Reams Road during a Town Hall meeting Wednesday, April 26.

The meeting, hosted by District 1 Orange County Commissioner Nicole Wilson, featured several Orange County staff members involved with the projects as well as emergency management personnel, including Raymond Williams, manager of the engineering division; Joe Kunkel, director of public works; Renzo Nastasi, transportation planning manager; Roberto Ng, project manager; Abdul Azim, senior engineer; and Dennis Ela, Orange County Sheriff’s Office captain in Sector 3.

The meeting was the first of two. The next will be held at 6 p.m. Monday, June 26, at Bay Lake Elementary School.

“I take your concerns very seriously,” Wilson said. “I wish I had a magic wand, and I wish I had the ability to really speed the process up and make things immediately better. … It has been a big, long slog, but I want to assure you I’m with you every step of the way.”

Reams Road

The purpose of the Reams Road project is to widen Reams Road from south of Summerlake Park Boulevard to Taborfield Avenue.

The proposed design includes two 11-foot-wide travel lanes in each direction separated by a raised median. In addition, a 5-foot-wide sidewalk is located on the south side of the roadway and a 14-foot-wide multi-use trail is planned along the north side of the roadway.

The project also plans to incorporate drainage improvements, lighting, landscaping and a wildlife crossing. Right-of-way acquisition is needed for the roadway and stormwater improvements.

For interim improvements, the county has installed a flashing wildlife crossing, trimmed down vegetation to maximize wildlife visibility, cutback vegetation over sidewalks, installed a speed feedback sign, and milled and resurfaced the roadway between Center and Newmarket drives.

Currently, the project is in the design phase. Right-of-way acquisition also is taking place and is expected to run through the end of 2026. Construction is estimated to begin near the end of 2026.

Williams said the Reams Road project is estimated to cost about $55 million.

FICQUETTE ROAD

Ficquette Road is being widened to improve the level of service, enhance traffic operations and improve safety along the corridor.

The project runs from south of the Reams Road/Summerlake Park Boulevard intersection to south of the Ingelnook Drive intersection.

The proposed design includes two 11-foot-wide travel lanes in each direction separated by a raised grassed median. A shared-use trail will be provided on the west side, and a five-foot concrete sidewalk will be provided along the east side.

The project will include realigning the existing S-curves at the Ficquette Road/Reams Road/Summerlake Park Boulevard intersection. Intersection

“I take your concerns very seriously. I wish I had a magic wand, and I wish I had the ability to really speed the process up and make things immediately better. … It has been a big, long slog, but I want to assure you I’m with you every step of the way.” improvement also will be provided at Old Thicket Trace, New Independence Parkway and the Deputy Scott Pine Community Park entrance. New stormwater retention ponds will be required and additional rightof-way is needed for the roadway and stormwater improvements. Lighting and landscaping also will be provided along the roadway corridor. The project is expected to finish final design halfway through this year. Right-of-way acquisition is ongoing and is expected to continue halfway through 2025. Construction will begin shortly after. Williams said the cost of the Ficquette Road project is estimated to be about $35 million.

CRASH COURSE

Ng presented a map with the traffic engineering improvements in the area. From 2018 to current, Ng said, there have been about 125 crashes along the corridor. Of those, there were two fatalities, nine severe crashes and 23 non-incapacitating crashes; the rest were minor.

Ng said the crashes did not take place in one specific area but rather throughout the corridor.

“All of Southwest Orange County is experiencing a lot of growth — and a lot of pains and aches as a result of that,” Ela said. “We actively work with all of the county partners and the school board as well to try to come up cooperatively with a plan to keep everything cohesive, peaceful and keep traffic flowing and keep kids safe.”

Ng cited improvements added including signs, raised lane separators and span wire signals.

Many residents expressed concern for short-term improvements to traffic in the area as well as flooding with the projects not planned to be completed for another few years.

Don Kendzior, naturalist and president of Noah’s Notes, a nonprofit environmental organization, was not able to attend the meeting but shared his thoughts regarding wildlife mortality through email.

“Although long overdue, the first community meeting afforded the public the opportunity to voice their concerns over Reams Road issues that have far too long gone unaddressed,” he wrote. “As we did not hear anything specific regarding actions to be taken to reduce wildlife mortality, we have sent Commissioner Wilson a letter outlining the short and long-term actions we are calling for to improve public safety and reduce wildlife mortality on Reams Road.”

According to Noah’s Notes, around 1,000 animals — averaging more than 100 per year or one every 3.6 days — have been killed since the issue of wildlife mortality along Reams Road was brought to the county’s attention more than seven years ago.

Kendzior said if short-term actions are not implemented by the end of June, the organization will commence transfer of the matter to its national environmental and animal welfare partners.

“At such time, they will assume the lead and employ whatever resources and actions they deem necessary,” he wrote in an email to Wilson. “Thus, the time that I can remain meaningfully engaged with the issue and facilitate solutions is coming to an end.”

Second Lottery Would Violate State Statutes

In addition to the merger, the idea of conducting a lottery for seventhgrade spots at Innovation Montessori also elicited concern among students and parents. Although the school ultimately decided against this plan, communication from school officials in the past six weeks caused confusion among some parents.

Innovation Montessori High School Principal Jared Stewart, Innovation Executive Director Patrice Cherico and K-8 Principal Cathy Tobin, announced March 24 they would be conducting a second lottery for children in the seventh grade, starting in the 2024-25 school year. After parents voiced concerns, Kia Scott, senior director of OCPS Charters, wrote: “I have spoken to one of the school’s board members as well as to Ms. Cherico regarding the ability to hold a secondary lottery for students already enrolled. It is our stance that this is not allowed.”