ST. CLOUD, Fla. — St. Cloud City Council members will soon be getting an update from Osceola County on the future of local roads.
>>> STREAM CHANNEL 9 EYEWITNESS NEWS LIVE <<<
Osceola County transportation leaders plan on presenting the Southeast Area Transportation Study to St. Cloud City Council in the coming weeks.
The study lays out which roads will need to be widened to accommodate growth in the greater St. Cloud area by 2045.
It comes after St. Cloud City Council members nixed a plan to bring close to 200 townhomes to 27 acres near Lakeview Elementary School.
READ: Pulse national memorial won’t be located on nightclub property, foundation says
At the council meeting where that development was voted down, community members voiced concerns about how traffic would be impacted in an already congested area.
“I mean right now you got to go five miles an hour there’s so much traffic and the kids walking and riding,” said Karen Crane.
Safety concerns on roads near the development were echoed by many, despite the developer sharing how he planned to reroute traffic on roads like 4th and 5th street.
READ: Volusia County commissioners vote to put ‘Stupid Motorist Law’ on hold
“Adding 200 more Town Homes plus approximately 500 cars maybe is an accident waiting to happen,” said Teresa Mailhot.
Osceola County’s Transportation Director Steven Kane said he knows traffic is the number one issue for residents.
Kane said the Southeast Area Transportation Study calculated how 12 development projects that have already been approved will impact traffic through 2045.
The map below shows which roads will need to be widened.
032223 Community Open House Handout FINAL by Adam Poulisse on Scribd
“We took the 12 developers’ traffic as well as regional growth to estimate what traffic will look like in St. Cloud over the next 20 years. And we use that to prioritize the roads that need to be constructed first,” said Kane.
Kane said this study will also help the county figure out how much each of the 12 developers will be contributing to new roadway projects in the future.
500 million in Osceola County Funds are already being put to use for new roadway construction projects this year.
This browser does not support the video element.
Click here to download the free WFTV news and weather apps, click here to download the WFTV Now app for your smart TV and click here to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live.