dstrawn9889
Well-Known Member
amen, they hold acres and acres of the things in wetlands that are set apart as to always be just marsh and trees...
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Disney Springs development to bring massive expansion to Buena Vista Drive
- Thread starter wdwmagic
- Start date
CDavid
Well-Known Member
Yes, it's needed and has been for years, but I'm not sure widening the road to ten lanes is the right solution to the problem. The area desperately needs more transportation options, and not just within the 'world', but without as well to destinations like International Drive and Kissimmee, and connections to Sun Rail and Lynx buses. There are practical limits as to how wide you can build a roadway, and certainly traffic will only continue to grow in the coming years. Greater public transportation options are needed, convenient for CM's, guests, and locals to access the area easier than driving, whether they be buses, light rail, streetcars, or something else. A dedicated bus lane is a start, granted, but it doesn't do much for off-site visitors who presumably will account for much of the traffic.
MarkTwain
Well-Known Member
Welcome news for the traffic problems, to be sure, but I know I'll miss the trees. I wonder how the DtD hotels will feel about this? The line of trees along Buena Vista Dr are the only buffer between several of the hotel properies and what will soon be a major 10-lane road.
Hopefully they'll find a way to relocate them. I know Buena Vista Dr is the "main" entrance onto property for many and the forest-y feel creates a nice transition from the rest of Orlando.
Hopefully they'll find a way to relocate them. I know Buena Vista Dr is the "main" entrance onto property for many and the forest-y feel creates a nice transition from the rest of Orlando.
maxairmike
Well-Known Member
I really wish there were more room to work with at the 535/Hotel Plaza Blvd. intersection, because it really needs to become an urban interchange (see John Young Pkwy/Osceola Pkwy intersection and the Sandlake/John Young intersection in a few years). As much as traffic going to DTD and Disney property should be helped by a direct exit from I-4 to DTD, the biggest impact on Hotel Plaza Blvd. is the traffic that is exiting the Disney area. to 535. They can play with the timing all they want, but with the current intersection set up they're going to create a massive backup in at least two directions no matter what they do with the timing.
MOXOMUMD
Well-Known Member
It'll almost be a constant 5 o'clock rush hour atmosphere for most of the day.
Disneydreamer23
Well-Known Member
Well at least the traffic will get better!
Captain Chaos
Well-Known Member
I as well... Especially since I tend to stay at SSR (my home resort)... I'd have no issues walking over to DTD from Congress Park instead of taking a car or bus...
MOXOMUMD
Well-Known Member
That'd be a nice walk.
Mouse Detective
Well-Known Member
Currently 6 lanes going to 10 lanes but if 2 lanes are for buses, then they're really just adding 1 lane each way for us in our own cars. But I agree, it's needed.
It's not so much the traffic volume itself but Disney's insistence that if you travel the speed limit on Buena Vista Drive, you will get stopped by a red light at nearly every opportunity.
It's not so much the traffic volume itself but Disney's insistence that if you travel the speed limit on Buena Vista Drive, you will get stopped by a red light at nearly every opportunity.
Next Big Thing
Well-Known Member
It will make traffic go smoother though overall as cars and buses won't be mixed.
71jason
Well-Known Member
That's definitely an issue as well. That left-turn only lane by Scum Trust isn't particularly tourist-friendly, either. In other words, this stretch of road has been begging for an overhaul for years now, regardless of what is done at DTD.
Texas84
Well-Known Member
PhotoDave219
Well-Known Member
I don't.
You're not here all the time. DTD traffic is awful and needs to be reworked
Lord_Vader
Join me, together we can rule the galaxy.
Anything RCID does on BVD is a major upgrade to the area. Traffic in and out of that particular entrance to WDW is horrendous if not nearly impassible. The traffic is so bad TDO routinely uses the back roads to get buses into the area and to boot it took our bus more than 15 minutes to travel from the Marketplace bus stops to the PI/West Side stops the last Christmas.
Last summer, we sat in gridlocked traffic for more than 40 minutes from I-4 to DTD and that was just to the first lot.
If they are adding new lanes, segregating buses into their own lanes we all win. Disney transport is more efficient because it is not being blocked by all the automobile traffic and all the drivers have both an extra lane and no Disney transportation providing a lot more capacity through the congested portions of BVD.
Last summer, we sat in gridlocked traffic for more than 40 minutes from I-4 to DTD and that was just to the first lot.
If they are adding new lanes, segregating buses into their own lanes we all win. Disney transport is more efficient because it is not being blocked by all the automobile traffic and all the drivers have both an extra lane and no Disney transportation providing a lot more capacity through the congested portions of BVD.
maxairmike
Well-Known Member
Still, the largest bottleneck in that area is the 535/Hotel Plaza Blvd. intersection. Until they address that, there will continue to be major traffic issues, it will just clear up faster once you get past the first few hotels on Hotel Plaza Blvd. if you're headed towards DTD from 535. Going from DTD or the hotels, you'll still have the exact same traffic issues. You see similar problems at the I-Drive/Sand Lake intersection, Universal Blvd/Sand Lake intersection, and Universal Blvd/I-Drive intersection. The biggest issue fixing the problem intersection is that they have to work with Orange County, as it is technically their intersection, not the RCID's (see the north property entrance at Reams Rd.)
Figment2005
Well-Known Member
I am going to assume that the I-4 ramp directly into DTD is going to alleviate a lot of those problems. Right now that is the main route to get from I-4 to the DTD area, and that is why it is so congested. Change the entrance and bam, less traffic.
maxairmike
Well-Known Member
Not completely, it only solves about 1/3 of the problem. As I said in the post you quoted, a major traffic issue is the traffic exiting the DTD/Hotel Plaza Blvd. to 535. It has taken me almost a half hour from the Hilton to 535 several times even in the slower times of the year, especially since they changed the timing sometime last year to much more heavily favor the north/south traffic on 535. That change also made getting out of Crossroads at that intersection more of a pain as well. Just increasing lane count to the turn lanes for that intersection (and I don't think that's what's happening, I'm pretty sure the lane increase is just before the West Side/TL intersection to the BVD/HPB intersection, and not all the way down to the 535 intersection) won't necessarily help that situation.
Figment2005
Well-Known Member
The timing has to be that way because of the flow coming in as well as going out. If the flow in is cut/reduced they can readjust the light timing so more cars can exit property.