Oviedo city officials envision traffic plans as population grows
One point of traffic concern in Oviedo, especially during early morning and afternoon rush hours, is Mitchell Hammock Road.
The mayor doesn't see widening it very likely.
"There's no ethical way to take somebody's home to turn it into a road, especially on a road where more than half of the traffic is not city of Oviedo traffic,” mayor Megan Sladek said.
The mayor believes part of the solution is that as they grow and develop, some of those developments need to be constructed in such a way that you don't need a car.
"Create a place where it's not mandatory to own a car or have access to one to have a quality of life that's sensible,” Sladek said.
She’s talking about developments with first-floor retail, second-floor offices, and residential above that. A walkable life.
Also, it’s about getting people to rethink the trips they're taking by car as the city prepares for 16,000 more people over the next two decades.
"Say you're dropping off a kid at a friends’ house, half a mile away, maybe you can walk or bike,” Sladek said.
There was talk of autonomous shuttles, but Oviedo's mayor feels the cost of $360,000 a year is too high.
They may look at adjusting the length of red and green lights to keep traffic moving, adding turn lanes and making some roads and streets more bicycle and scooter friendly.
They know a certain number of people are not going to buy into fewer car trips, but they're open to any and all ideas.
"We're putting all the ideas out there. If somebody in the community has an idea, bring it to us, because we don't want to leave any great ideas out,” Sladek said.
The city will meet again on the mobility study in September.