Orlando Bike Beltway Needs Two Downtown Gaps Filled

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By Mark Baratelli
The Orlando Bicycle Beltway, one of 10 neighborhood infrastructure improvements coming to Orlando, is an 8.25 mile loop that will circle through the Central Business District all the way to Fashion Square/Colonial area and back once completed. It will ultimately connect Downtown to the region’s trail system. This beltway will utilize the existing Orlando Urban Trail, Cady Way Trail, and Lake Underhill Path.

The beltway will connect to and use existing trails, such as the Cady Way and Orlando Urban Trail. It's a part of the 40-mile network of urban bike trails within the City of Orlando.

There has been a focus on completing the beltway due to the addition of the bike share program, increased residential density, burgeoning sports and entertainment complexes, and new and expanding bus and rail transit options.

To complete the project, two gaps must be addressed:
  1. The North Quarter area which needs to connect to the existing Dinky Line Trail at Magnolia
  2. The Downtown Connector Trail: the southern section of the beltway which will start at the existing Lake Underhill Path and travel west along Anderson Street to Rosalind Avenue, nearly two miles. It will be a minimum of ten feet wide. This segment of trail will better connect the Lake Como, Lake Davis, and Lake Cherokee neighborhoods with a safe and convenient alternative transportation option to access the Central Business District. 
Both gaps exist within the downtown Central Business District, one of 3 major network areas the trail contains. Those 3 networks are southeast, southwest, and northeast. Both will be fixed soon thanks to a new Florida Department of Transportation Local Agency Program Grant.