Tell Our Leaders We Want A Transportation Plan With the Vision to Serve the Entire Community – Not A Missed Opportunity 

Central Florida’s roads are getting more crowded and dangerous.  We need a transportation plan with the vision to serve our entire community.  And it should be about more than just building roads. 

The time is right for a truly regional transportation solution that expands SunRail, allowing it to serve our entire community well into the future.  And right now, we have the opportunity of a lifetime:

• A perfect route has been twice-approved by federal and state rail and transportation experts and regulators
• Federal infrastructure dollars may be available and key community partners are willing to help fund the project
• Brightline, a private railroad company, wants to build a high-speed train route through Central Florida that SunRail can use for its own expansion

The twice-approved route connects Orlando International Airport with the Orange County Convention Center and International Drive and then makes its way to Walt Disney World.  It would travel alongside SR 528 and Taft-Vineland, through mostly industrial areas – with little impact to residents or our environment.  SunRail could use this route to begin serving local businesses and tens of thousands of local residents.  They could also use it as the first step in a regional expansion plan.

But Brightline has a different plan.  They want to build a route that runs directly from the airport to Walt Disney World.  Their route would follow SR 417 – cutting through neighborhoods and precious wetlands. And it would bypass all the local businesses and the tens of thousands of residents counting on a regional transportation solution.

Brightline says the SR 417 route is cheaper.  But that is definitely up for debate; their numbers are murky at best. 

Tell our leaders it’s time to think for ourselves!  Tell them we need a plan that serves our entire community.  Tell them to say NO to the current Brightline Plan and YES to the SR 528/Taft Vineland Route.