New Winter Park bike trail starts taking shape

Winter Park’s newest bike trail has finally reached the design phase – more than eight years after it was originally proposed.

Winter Park City Commissioners gave the green light Monday to begin design for the St. Andrews Trail, an L-shaped pathway stretching for two thirds of a mile from the Cady Way Trail to Aloma Avenue.

Former Commissioner Barbara DeVane had proposed the trail during her tenure when it was submitted to the Florida Department of Transportation. Approval of the design funding from FDOT means the trail can finally become a reality.

“Trails are wonderful; we need multiple approaches to be able to not just move our citizens around but have recreation,” Mayor Ken Bradley said. “I hope this is the first of more trails.”

“I’m excited … It’s been on the agenda for many, many years.”

A stormwater ditch sitting directly to the west of the Four Seasons Condominiums will be piped and paved over to make the new trail, which will also include a new park space.

“It won’t cost the city anything,” Leary said.

“Through the design phase we’ll make it something really pretty that people will like.”

The city completed the Lake Baldwin Trail back in 2011, paving a 2,160-foot section that connected the trail’s loop.

Winter Park residents can also venture down the Cady Way Trail and the Cross Seminole Trails.

The Cady Way Trail, a former railway corridor, which was a joint effort between the cities of Winter Park and Orlando, along with Orange County and the Orlando Utilities Commission, was completed in 1994. The original 6.5-mile trail makes up the majority of the eastern border of Baldwin Park.

The southern trailhead of Cady Way is adjacent to the post office on Herndon Avenue, near the Orlando Fashion Square Mall. From there the trail runs mostly north to a pedestrian bridge that crosses State Road 436, between University Boulevard and Aloma Avenue.

Added in recent years was another 2.5 miles of the trail, which passes through the Goldenrod area and then meets up with the Cross Seminole Trail at the intersection of Aloma Avenue and Howell Branch Road.

Winter Park Traffic Manager Butch Margraf noted that Four Seasons residents have expressed concern about losing the ditch, believing it provides a measure of security for the condominium complex. A protective fence will be included along the trail project to keep intruders out, he said.

Winter Park spokesperson Clarissa Howard said the design phase will officially start in the summer, with construction expected to start between late 2015 and early 2016.