Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer, District 3 City Commissioner Robert Stuart and District 4 City Commissioner Patty Sheehan officially opened the first segment of the Orlando Urban Trail from South Lake Formosa Drive to Magnolia Avenue. The event included a ribbon cutting ceremony at Loch Haven Park followed by a free community 5K and 1 mile run/walk with approximately 800 neighborhood residents participating.
The Orlando Urban Trail will serve as an important transportation connection that will eventually link three of the four SunRail stations in the City of Orlando.
“Since I became Mayor, I have stressed the need to focus on transportation and giving our residents options outside of their automobiles,” said Dyer. “The completion of this segment of the Orlando Urban Trail project accomplishes just that and connects our community to multi-modal transportation alternatives.”
This portion of the Orlando Urban Trail will also link Orlando’s Cultural Corridor by connecting the core of Downtown and the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts with Loch Haven Park and its cultural facilities.
“We have been focused on revitalizing Loch Haven Park into a regional cultural arts destination, making this trail and its links even more vital to connecting our community,” said Stuart. “In addition to the trail, the City was just awarded a grant from the National Endowment that will help us further this vision and continue to solidify the area as a hub for arts and culture.”
The new section of the trail adds to the City’s more than 280 miles of urban trails, signed routes and lanes. It includes landscaping to provide shade and way finding signage to accommodate walkers, bicyclists and skaters. The new trail further enhances recreation options with wide paved paths and provides a free public asset to help citizens stay fit and get exercise while exploring explore Orlando.
“Completion of this new pedestrian and bike path provides an increased quality of life for everyone who lives in this area of our City, providing a safe amenity for our families and residents to utilize and enjoy,” said Sheehan.
Once complete, the entire Orlando Urban Trail will eventually connect from Mead Garden in Winter Park through Downtown Orlando encompassing the Dinky Line and Gertrude’s Walk and then extending southwest to connect with the Shingle Creek Trail and into Kissimmee.
