Orange County Awarded $20 Million Federal BUILD Grant to Reimagine Mobility in the Region
Orange County Awarded $20 Million Federal BUILD Grant to Reimagine Mobility in the Region
US DOT Recognizes Lake Nona Application among Exemplary Public-Private Partnerships in Significant Regional Mobility Planning |
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| US Secretary of Transportation Elaine Chao along with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and Florida Department of Transportation Secretary Kevin Thibault gathered in Lake Nona to announce the recipients of $900 million in federal BUILD grants awarded by the U.S. Department of Transportation. |
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| Orlando, Fla. (Nov. 12, 2019) – Today, national leaders gathered in Lake Nona to announce the recipients of $900 million in federal BUILD grants awarded by the U.S. Department of Transportation. Among the recipients, Orange County, Fla. was awarded a $20 million grant to create a robust Local Alternative Mobility Network (LAMN) in Tavistock Group’s Lake Nona community in the City of Orlando, accommodating and enabling new transportation solutions for metro Orlando’s fastest growing region. Specifically, the BUILD grant funding will go toward creating new and modifying existing infrastructure in Lake Nona, including multi-modal corridors with dedicated autonomous vehicle lanes, bicycle and pedestrian pathways, an integrated and multi-use mobility hub, and support for autonomous vehicles (AV), all designed to reduce automobile dependency. This is the first BUILD grant awarded to Central Florida. |
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| Click here or the image above to view a video of the event. |
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| Joined by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Elaine L. Chao made the announcement in the heart of the Lake Nona community, one of the fastest growing regions in the state of Florida and one of the best-selling communities in America. “The Administration is targeting BUILD Transportation grants to repair, rebuild, and revitalize significant infrastructure projects across the country,” said U.S. Secretary of Transportation Elaine L. Chao. |
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“With this ambitious project, we strive to create better mobility options,” said Orange County Mayor Jerry L. Demings. “This is about looking ahead to new technologies and innovative transportation solutions to ensure the future mobility of our residents and visitors. Tavistock has continued to be a great partner in our community espousing smart growth and innovation in community-building. We are pleased that they have stepped up to be the sponsor for this exciting project.”
The LAMN project includes five major components aimed at reducing automobile dependency: a full-service mobility hub, infrastructure for autonomous vehicles, a bicycle transportation network, linear park, and linear park bridge. Each component is designed to work with the others to enable intelligent solutions for regional and local transportation in Lake Nona, a rapidly growing area of Orange County within the City of Orlando limits and adjacent to Orlando International Airport, and will better connect residents, visitors, veterans and students to employment centers, medical facilities, essential services, retail, education and entertainment options. BUILD grant funding will support the planning, design, and construction of each component’s critical infrastructure, including shared mobility lanes, dedicated rights of way (ROW), recovery zones for bicyclists, sheltered waiting areas, upgrading of existing pedestrian and bicycle paths, naturally shaded and streetscaped environments, and LAMN wayfinding. |
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| The federal announcement was held in Lake Nona at the University of Central Florida College of Medicine. |
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In addition to the LAMN proposal, Orange County will use key findings from the development and operation of the project that will help expand the program to other parts of the County, including applications in improving mobility for the county’s 1.4 million residents and 75 million annual visitors. This is in addition to the research and education programs being sponsored by Beep, the operator of Lake Nona’s autonomous shuttles, which will provide additional learnings and advancement on autonomous vehicle technologies and the impact they will have on safety and traffic relief as well as serving as a living lab for the broader autonomous mobility ecosystem to innovate, collaborate and pragmatically drive this important technology forward.
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| Lake Nona's core grant team Nick Beucher, Brad Fennessy, Ralph Ireland, Marc Rogers, Jamie Bennett and Chelsea Mastrapa, along with many others who helped bring this opportunity to life. |
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The LAMN plan will also lead to widespread job creation for the project’s maintenance engineers, attendants, operations center analysts, and other jobs affiliated with the ongoing operations of the project. Temporary construction jobs will also be created through the installation and implementation of new facilities and infrastructure.
The highly competitive BUILD grant program funds investments in surface transportation infrastructure and are awarded to projects that have a significant local or regional impact. The FY 2019 BUILD program’s selection criteria gave special consideration to projects that emphasize improved access to reliable, safe, and affordable transportation including proposals that promote regional connectivity, facilitate economic growth or competitiveness, or energy efficiency. Selection criteria encompassed safety, economic competitiveness, quality of life, state of good repair, innovation, and partnerships with a broad range of stakeholders. |
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Project Components
The LAMN five components include:
- Mobility Network Hub
- Full-service hub facility for recreational and commuter users located in Lake Nona Town Center that will connect all modes of transportation and inclusive of restrooms with shower facilities, digital kiosks, seating, bike racks, storage, and access to dedicated parking.
- Autonomous Vehicle (AV) Infrastructure
- Infrastructure required for the safe and efficient operation of an AV fleet consisting of approximately 20 multi-passenger shuttles on the route network. Infrastructure includes dedicated AV stops, shared ROW lanes, dedicated AV lanes, and AV storage, maintenance, and vehicle charging stations. In addition, the AV system and its users will have access to the same services for the shared bicycle and electric assist programs to be offered in Lake Nona.
- NOTE: BUILD grant funds will not be used to purchase vehicles, only to support the infrastructure
- Bicycle Transportation Network (BTN)
- Consists of three facility types to accommodate various users:
- Multi-use trail network (MUT) provides commuter and recreational corridors for bicycle and pedestrian users alike
- Dedicated commuter way provides destination-oriented commuter paths for higher-speed travel
- Enhanced and expanded on-street dedicated lanes support the travel of bicycle users throughout the community.
- The BTN is complemented by strategically located support facilities, called “Recovery Zones,” that allow users to rehydrate, repair, and recover while biking.
- Linear Park
- A linear park connecting a dense, mixed-use environment within Lake Nona Town Center, displacing a conventional automobile street with a dedicated bicycle commuter way, dedicated AV right of way, and pedestrian paths organized around an exposed stormwater conveyance waterway
- Linear Park Bridge
- A dedicated bridge over the highly traveled, six-lane Lake Nona Boulevard, providing bicycle and pedestrian access to the Lake Nona Town Center and Mobility Network Hub.
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| Proposed renderings of Lake Nona's new Linear Park. |
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