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Short end of the stick on wall Opinions Saturday, 13 March 2010 02:22 Osceola County commissioners Monday likely will decide what kind of wall will be built to replace the brick one that now separates homes in Buenaventura Lakes from traffic on Osceola Parkway. The owners of homes next to this busy thoroughfare will be left holding the short end of the stick no matter what kind of wall the county decides to build as a complement to the parkway improvement project, which is already under way and which will take the roadway from four lanes to six. These homeowners will get shafted because they will be forced to contend with an increased amount of traffic and all of its related noise and air pollution once residential and commercial growth starts anew in this corridor. We believe this situation in the long run – and because traffic will be moved closer to backdoors immediately with the additional travel lanes – that property values will drop even more in an already distressed area. The issue here is that the county right of way through Buenaventura Lakes for Osceola Parkway is just too narrow to accommodate the kind of roadway the county is building now and the expected traffic in the future. Putting up an 8-foot or even a 10-foot wall will reduce noise somewhat but is not a long-term solution. This is an example of poor planning on the part of the county years ago and an example of putting a bandage on a serious transportation problem now. The additional vehicle trips coming from the east end of Osceola Parkway when growth resumes inevitably will add to the noise and pollution, as will continued commercial development on the parkway between Michigan Avenue and John Young Parkway. And then there is the matter of the parkway’s possible extension into the area south of Lake Nona. That would bring more drivers through BVL on their way to the Florida’s Turnpike to go south unless a new interchange is built on the turnpike at State Road 417 or there is an extension of S.R. 417 along the east side of St. Cloud to connect with the turnpike farther south.   Please register or log in to post comments. JComments