ORLANDO, Fla. — Tourists’ days of jumping out of the way for scooters and e-bikes on Grand National Drive is over now that the city of Orlando has finished work on a major upgrade.
Mayor Buddy Dyer, Commissioner Bakari Burns and others cut the ceremonial ribbon on the project, which doubled the number of lanes on the road from two to four and expanded the sidewalks to wider than 12 feet.
The project was intended to make the street safer and more accessible for all types of transportation, while drawing investment to the north end of the I-Drive district.
“We’re hoping that in the next 10 years, a lot of these vacant lots, a lot of the dilapidated buildings will be gone,” Burns said.
Currently, the stretch of road is home to Fun Spot and a few restaurants. Hardly anyone was using the sidewalk during the middle of the hot May day.
Burns spoke of a vision of mixed use developments that bring more housing to the region, along with commercial activity.
The city will begin the second phase of the project soon, which will take the improvements two blocks further south to Carrier Drive.
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