ORLANDO, Fla. — Big changes are being planned for downtown Orlando that could make Orange, Magnolia and Rosalind avenues two-way streets for the first time in decades.

What You Need To Know

  • Orlando is proposing to make Orange, Magnolia and Rosalind avenues two-way streets again

  • Officials say the goal is to get drivers to slow down and stop in downtown Orlando

  • City leaders say drivers wishing to travel through downtown should use alternate route

That would be the biggest change to these streets since they were converted to one-way streets in the 1970s.

The plans include one lane in each direction, with a median.

Making the streets two-ways would slow traffic down and that’s the point, according to Orlando city leaders.

“The goal is that if you're utilizing the streets in this core, that your destination is already in this core as well," said David Barilla, Orlando’s executive director for the Downtown Development Board. "And you have the best opportunity and the best experience not only to get there, but also to stop there and have a great experience."

Barilla said the plan — which would remove lanes dedicated only to buses, and add bike lanes, larger sidewalks and more pickup zones — would provide a boost to downtown businesses.

With just a single northbound and southbound lane planned for Orange, Magnolia and Rosalind avenues, Barilla said the goal is to get traffic to downtown, not through it.

“If your goal is to maybe get to the other side of downtown, whether it be the north side or the south side, depending on where you are, that there's probably going to be a better solution for you, whether it be I-4 or something else,” he said.

Making Magnolia Avenue a two-way street will begin next year and should be completed by late 2025 or early 2026.

Then work will begin to make Orange and Rosalind two-way streets.

City officials say completion of the project is targeted for early 2028.