Opponents shoot down road project

1,000-plus appear before county commission to derail S.R. 429 expansion

The Daily Commercial - September 18, 2001
By JACOB OGLES
Daily Commercial Staff Writer

TAVARES State Road 429 will not cross Lake County borders, thanks to a unanimous decision from the Lake County Board of County Commissioners.

The Orlando-Orange County Expressway Authority had intended to expand the road to wind through east Lake County, and came to a meeting with commissioners Tuesday hoping for their approval of the plan.

But nearly 1,000 opponents of the expansion also came to the meeting to voice frustrations about urban sprawl.

Commissioner Welton Cadwell cited a "huge roar" from the community that indicated expansion of the road at this time was a bad idea. Rather than spend several hours debating the virtues of rural life, commissioners ended debate and construction plans early.

"But we can't turn our back on the transportation needs of this county," Cadwell said, "Remember this clapping 20 years from now when we may still have these transportation needs."

Representatives from the Authority said the road would not move into the county without the support of the commission.

But both representatives of the Expressway and county staff argued reasons why extra roads are a necessity in the county.

Census numbers collected in 2000 show that Lake County's population has risen above 220,000, and has grown faster than the rest of the state.

"Unincorporated growth has occurred at a rapid pace, even though rural parts of the county have resisted," said Public Works director Jim Stivender.

According to staff, the many lakes and wetlands in the county leave few areas ripe for road expansion. The areas where State Road 429 would have gone were among the only ones where environmentally sensitive land wouldn't have been infringed upon.

Even though the decision to terminate expansion was unanimous, traffic statistics made some commissioners hesitant.

"I will vote for the motion (to terminate), but we need to look to our needs and seek remedies," said Commissioner Bob Pool.

But opponents of the plan said that if the roads expanded into rural east Lake County, then growth would follow it.

"I grew up in Atlanta and I have never seen miles and miles of roads fix anything," said Egor Emery, president of the Lake County Conservation Council. "Every time I see someone build a road to mend a road, they soon have to build it longer and wider."

Diana Combs, who moved to Lake County after the Expressway expanded closer to her home in Ocoee, said that heavy commercial development tends to grow up around major roads. She cited a mall which was built in Ocoee near a major exit.

"One thing that comes in can change the area forever," she said. "Quickly, all the stores and restaurants come in."

Staff was instructed to continue working with the Authority to find more acceptable means of alleviating traffic congestion in Lake County.