WINTER PARK, Fla. — A group of neighbors plan to ask the Winter Park city commission later this week to repeal a resolution in favor of a traffic signal along Aloma Avenue.

What You Need To Know

  • Drew and Blakie Bernstein are asking Winter Park to stop a plan to install a traffic signal at Cortland Avenue & Aloma Avenue

  • The Bernsteins are concerned the new light would add more traffic to Cortland Avenue

  • Winter Park wanted to install the light as a part of a larger FDOT project aimed at making Aloma Avenue safer

  • After pushback, Winter Park city manager plans to ask city commission to amend or repeal resolution in support of the traffic signal

Drew and Blakie Bernstein contacted Traffic Inbox because they’re concerned about a traffic signal being installed at the end of their street, Cortland Avenue at busy Aloma Avenue (State Road 426).

“What we're opposed to and what the community is more importantly opposed to is a traffic light at this intersection, which is really unwarranted and unsupported,” said Drew Bernstein.

In June of last year, the Winter Park City Commission approved a resolution, supporting the installation of a traffic signal at Aloma Avenue and Cortland Avenue. City leaders say the hope is to slow down busy Aloma Avenue, and make it safer to turn from Cortland Avenue.

“This is something that we've dealt with for 12 years,” said Drew. “We knew this when we bought the property. It's a challenge. You're typically not waiting more than 10-15 seconds to kind of cross.”

The couple say the traffic signal would do more harm than good. They cite an FDOT study which found more traffic would use Cortland Avenue to access Aloma Avenue.

“We have little kids, we have dogs, we have neighbors across the street, we like to play with them,” said Blakie Bernstein. “So it's going to be much more difficult now to feel like we can feel safe running across the street.”

The city wanted to build the traffic signal just before FDOT began its own work in the area to make State Road 426 safer.

We reached out to both FDOT and the city of Winter Park about the traffic signal.

FDOT’s own analysis determined the traffic signal wasn’t warranted.

After we, along with neighbors, began pressing the city about the plan, city manager Randy Knight sent out an email, “recommending discontinuing pursuit of the signal until after the other FDOT improvements are completed.”

Concerned with the increase in traffic along their street, the Bernsteins are happy the city is holding off on the plans, but they know their work isn’t done yet.

“It's such a beautiful, quiet neighborhood that we've come to love, that our neighborhoods come to love, and we're just looking to preserve that for us, for our next generation, and keep the great charm that we have here,” said Drew Bernstein.

The city manager is proposing the city commission repeal or amend the resolution of support for the traffic signal at their meeting on Wednesday, Feb. 12.

The Bernsteins don’t want it amended, they want it repealed, so they along with their neighbors plan to show up at the meeting.

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