WINTER PARK, Fla. — The city of Winter Park is putting plans on hold to improve a busy Fairbanks Avenue intersection after Gov. Ron DeSantis vetoed money for the project in the state budget.

What You Need To Know

  • Winter Park is putting on hold changes to Fairbanks Ave due to veto of state funding

  • Plan would have added turn lanes on Fairbanks Avenue at Denning Drive

  • Austin’s Coffee Shop is glad the project is on hold

  • Project would have most likely required coffee shop to relocate

 

One business that is applauding the governor’s action is Austin’s Coffee, located at the corner of Fairbanks Avenue and Denning Drive.

“We get a lot of traffic from just people sitting in traffic waiting. So, it’s pretty nice,” said Morgan Bagwell from Austin’s Coffee.

The shop has a great spot in Winter Park; such a good spot that the city wanted the property to help with traffic flow in the area.

Winter Park had already purchased land next door to the coffee shop, tearing down a dry cleaner business and nail salon to make way for a new turning lane on southbound Denning Drive.

Next up was supposed to be dedicated westbound and eastbound left turn lanes on Fairbanks Avenue.

To make room, Austin’s Coffee would have to go.

“We didn’t even look when the city said, ‘Hey, you might need to move,’” said Bagwell.

Austin’s Coffee led a social media fight with the city to hold off on the plans. But the city said the project is needed.

Some 26,000 vehicles travel along this corridor every day, which sees on average 10 crashes a year, according to the Florida Senate Local Funding Initiative Request Fiscal Year 2024-2025 report.

Bottlenecks happen regularly and the city believed dedicated left turn lanes would help ease some of the backups.

“Either way there’s going to be a lot of traffic, no matter how many lanes you put in,” said Bagwell.

The coffee shop was dealt a big win earlier this summer when DeSantis vetoed half a million dollars from the state budget for the project.

“With the veto of the funding, we are unable to proceed with the project at this time,” said Clarissa Howard, director of the Winter Park communications department.

If the city proceeds with the plan in the future however, Bagwell hopes customers and the community will come together again to keep their shop intact.

“We’re not going anywhere, we fight,” she said.

The city of Winter Park says other spots on Denning Drive are getting attention.

Currently construction is underway between Webster Avenue to Solana Avenue for mix-use path, pedestrian and vehicular improvements.

Work is expected to wrap up in August.