At that same time the City of Orlando was building new roads and highway interchanges for Universal. They also installed a bunch of custom road signs. A few years ago they built a pedestrian bridge for Universal because they were essentially obligated to do once Universal made the request.
My city built a new access road connected to a new traffic light for a Walmart being constructed because a traffic impact analysis determined an intersection it would have otherwise had people doing u-turns on would be turned into hell on earth* without it and putting up a no u-turn sign would have just pushed the problem down an already congested road that they were already and still are dealing with an unacceptably high level of traffic related deaths on.
I didn't follow the development closely but it's my understanding Walmart bought and "donated" the land and we paid for the light and about half the road which runs paralell to the front of their parking lot behind other businesses.
I don't think it would be a stretch to say that roads and highway interchanges connecting up to Universal weren't in the public interest, given the location and the residents and other businesses in the immediate vicinity impacted by their presence.
Obviously, Orlando wanted Universal to expand.
I remember what getting there from I-4 was like when they still had their own curtsy trams, only one park, and no shopping district, too.
I'm not sure which pedestrian bridge you're talking about but again, I think a similar case could be made for public safety given the traffic in that area.
I'm not sure anyone could argue that the parking garages at Disney Springs really benefit anyone besides Disney and their tenants - unlike the multiple pedestrian bridges RCID built for them, too, which are clearly a major safety improvement in that area.
But anyway, please understand that I do not care.
I do not care that Disney got access to parking garages financed with government bonds. I do not care that Universal has custom road signs.
I waded into this, simply pointing out that I can understand how someone else might care and I think it's okay for someone to have a dissenting view from the herd when we are discussing opinions but really, I don't care - not at all - at least, not in the sense that any of it this history has bothered me.
I
do care how this whole controversy started with our govenor going unhinghed and attacking a private business in purely spiteful retaliation over the public debate of a goverment choice that, in a healthy functioning democracy or republic, should be at least accepted, if not welcomed, by the government.
Desantis is still a public
servant, right?
But I'm getting pulled into some weird sort of debate where people I fundamentally agree with are trying to argue with me because I see
one point someone on the other side is trying to make that a lot of people seem to not want to acknowledge.
I agree Disney has/had special advantages from their arrangement that other tourist related business in Central Florida don't have. I disagree it is/was a problem.
Mostly, I now wish I'd just let Captain hang alone (sorry capt), since, as I've said, repeatedly, I don't even agree with him.
*my words - not theirs.
