HomeMy WebLinkAbout2001 04 09 Consent C NEW Letter to Congressman John L. Mica
COMMISSION AGENDA
ITEM C
Consent X
Informational
Public Hearing
Regular
April 9, 2001
Regular Meeting
~.
Mgr. / Dept.
Authorization
REQUEST:
Commissioner Cindy Gennell is requesting the City Commission review a
letter that would be forwarded to Congressman John L. Mica. This letter
is before the Commission at the request of Commissioner Gary Brender of
the City'ofLake Mary.
PURPOSE:
The purpose of this Agenda Item is for the Mayor and Commission to
review the attached document and offer their support of a proposed letter
to Congressman John L. Mica.
CONSIDERA TIONS:
This letter is coming before the Mayor and Commission at the request of
Commissioner Gary Brender of the City of Lake Mary.
It is requested that the City Commission of the City of Winter Springs
review Attachment "A" and offer their support by signing this letter and
mailing it to Congressman John L. Mica.
It is suggested that the Mayor sign the attached document, on behalf of the
City Commission.
CITY Of' WINTER SPRINGS
REGULAR MEETING - APRIL 9. 200 I
CONSENT AGENDA ITEM "C"
PAGE 2 OF 2
FUNDING:
None.
RECOMMENDATIONS:
It is recommended that the Commission show their support for the
attached document, and having Mayor Paul P. Partyka sign the document.
ATTACHMENTS:
A. Letter to be sent to Congressman John L. Mica.
COMMISSION ACTION:
ATTACHMENT
"A"
/ ,\
9 ;
CITY OF WINTER SPRINGS, FLORIDA
1126 EAST STATE ROAD 434
WINTER SPRINGS, FLORIDA 32708-2799
Telephone (407) 327-1800
April 9, 2001
Congressman John L. Mica
Florida House of Representatives
2445 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Dear Congressman Mica,
In the last six months, we have become aware of the final design plans for connecting the
new segment of the Greenway (SR 417), to Interstate 4. Unfortunately, the CUlTent
design of the Greenway ramp to westbound Interstate 4 does not provide a connection to
County Road 46-A. We are extremely concerned that while current plans meet all state
and federal requirements, it is going to create havoc in the local community by forcing
traffic that would better served exiting on the West Side of Interstate 4 onto Rhinehart
Road.
As a point of information, the immediate area sUlTounding County Road 46-A and the
Interstate 4 interchange will ultimately have more than 6,000,000 square feet of office
space, as well as thousands of housing units. As designed, the motoring public wanting
to get to these developments will be forced to exit the Greenway (SR 417) AT Rhinehart
Road, then travel either northeast to SR 46, or southeast to County Road 46-A, in order to
gain access to the west side of Interstate 4. The same problems, except in reverse, would
exist for those wanting to get from the Heathrow/HIBC/Colonial Properties area to the
Greenway (SR 417). Those scenarios, coupled with traffic that truly needs to exit on
Rhinehart Road to do business on the eastside of Interstate 4, would be a nightmare. If
not remedied, it is our belief that what should be perceived, as a great transportation
improvement will become nothing more than major gridlock, especially during rush hour
periods.
From the historical perspective, I believe that the original design for this segment of the
Greenway (SR 417) was a system-to-system interchange with access to County Road 46-
A. However, funding became a problem and the link was cut sometime prior to 1995.
Granted, some of the development which has come to the 1-4 Corridor may not have been
envisioned at that time, but the reality is that much of it already exists and the rest is
planned over the next five to ten years. To construct the link between two major highway
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Letter to Congressman John L. Mica
page 2 of2
systems and not include linkage to the most intense local user, and then leave the
subsequent traffic flow problems with local authorities, does not seem practical.
Seminole County, Sanford, and Lake Mary will have to deal with the traffic congestion
that we believe the current plan creates.
In summary, we believe very strongly that this is an ideal time for government at all
levels to be proactive, and at least have a plan to deal with this problem on the front end,
even if the improvement must wait until after current construction is completed. We
know because both state and federal roadways are involved, it will require their approvals
and participation. However, to not address these anticipated negative impacts at this time
is probably a good reason why people lack confidence in government. We have
discussed this issue with our Legislative Delegation and the Expressway Authority, and
also received several calls of concern from the impacted business community. I think all
agree that this problem deserved serious consideration.
Thank you in advance for your consideration.
Mayor Paul P. Partyka
City of Winter Springs
COPY: Mayor and City Commission
The Honorable David Mealor, Representative, District 34
The Honorable Brady Lessard, Mayor, City of Sanford
The Honorable Daryl McLain, Chairman, Seminole County Commission
The Honorable Dick Van Der Weide, Chairman, Seminole County Expressway
Authority
Mr. Kevin Grace, Manager, Seminole County
Mr. Tony Vanderworp, City Manager, City of Sanford