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Residents meet with county transportation officials at a July 19 public forum for input on widening and improvements to Canoe Creek Road, including an upgraded intersections at Old Canoe Creek Road and Nolte Road. PHOTO/TERRY LLOYD -
The project includes an enhanced intersection of Canoe Creek and Old Canoe Cereek. PHOTO/OSCEOLA COUNTY
Concerned St. Cloud and Osceola County residents attended a public meeting on July 19 hosted by the Osceola County Transportation and Transit Department, to discuss proposed improvements on Canoe Creek Road.
A Project Development and Environment (PD&E) Study is being initiated on a 4.65-mile segment of Canoe Creek Road from Deer Run Road to U.S. Highway 192 (13th Street).
The study is being conducted in partnership with the City of St. Cloud, and will evaluate widening the existing two-lane Canoe Creek Road to a fourlane divided urban roadway. In addition, other improvements including continuous sidewalks and buffered bicycle lanes will be evaluated. Those attending had an opportunity to ask questions of county and consultant staff and submit written comments at the meeting.
The purpose of this project is to improve traffic mobility by adding capacity to Canoe Creek Road, which links areas of significant growth in the county, as well as providing intersection and operational improvements within the study area. This project will also evaluate improvements to bicycle and pedestrian facilities. Total project cost, with all of the desired alternatives, will be over $150 million.
“This project is one of our top two priorities, along with Old Lake Wilson Road on the west side of the county, as far as priorities that can be done with federal funds,” said Steven Kane, Director of Transportation and Transit for Osceola County. “Completing this PD&E study will allow us to get this project into the process for that funding,” According to information provided online by Osceola County as part of the upcoming study, 550 crashes occurred between 2017-2021 in the study area. These crashes included six pedestrian crashes with one fatality, and four bicycle crashes with another fatality. Forty-nine percent of crashes were rear-end crashes. The five signalized intersections in the study area, at Deer Run, Old Canoe Creek Road, Nolte Road, 17th Street, and U.S. 192, exceeded the average annual crash rate.
Currently, the signalized intersections at U.S. 192 and Deer Run Road operate at unacceptable levels of service. Along with intersection improvements along Canoe Creek Road, additional traffic signals at Settlers Trail, Creek Woods Drive, and Portofino Vista Boulevard, just south of Pine Tree Drive, are proposed in the study.
“I am not sure, at all, that this plan takes into account the impacts of all of the proposed residential development we already know about, let alone what else is likely to develop in the coming years. Additional access to the Turnpike is also needed,” said State Representative Paula Stark, whose district 47 contains most of the portions of Canoe Creek Road being studied for improvement.
The project is not currently funded for design or construction.
For more information on the study, and to provide comments, see https://bit.ly/3Q6l4po
