Big Idea Compilation v.8.4.2014
Each of the Project DTO Task Force Committees was charged with discovering what people think about Downtown Orlando. What are our shortcomings? What can we do better? How do we advance our downtown? Committees used a variety of public outreach techniques, including social media, interviews with stakeholders, public opinion surveys, and collaboratives such as the Midday Mingle. Task force committees also researched urbanist trends in other cities and spent considerable time simply observing firsthand how downtown works. This “Big Idea Compilation” is a report of our findings. The purpose of this report is to give the Project DTO Executive Advisory Committee the information it needs to formulate policy recommendations to the City of Orlando and the Orlando Community Redevelopment Agency.
Pedestrian and Bike-oriented Downtown
Commit to walkability and creating the Nation’s best pedestrian environments |
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Upgraded and enhanced pedestrian connections and crossings |
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Connect walking/biking paths between neighborhoods, places, and districts |
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Create more shade to encourage pedestrian activity |
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Green spines connecting all of Downtown with Complete Streets–pedestrian and bike prioritized |
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Reevaluate accessible pedestrian crossings and passages, especially adjacent to sidewalk cafes–pedestrian environment should be prioritized and maximized |
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Superior walking and bicycling experience |
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Wider, repaired sidewalks; more street trees and shade; enhanced LED street lighting |
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Ped and Bike Corridors linking areas of Downtown |
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Complete Orlando Urban Trail and add more routes |
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Bike rental stations along Trails and biking corridors |
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Walkability around new MLS stadium to be prioritized |
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Bike amenities – parking/storage/shower hub |
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Events
Facilitate pop-up performances and arts showcase opportunities |
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Event-friendly permitting process/City-environment |
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Signature multi-day event drawing regional and national crowds |
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Family-oriented events |
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Special events on Church Street |
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Embrace our history and share it through Downtown tours |
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Annual Parramore Jazz Festival |
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Bring baseball back to Tinker Field and add cluster of ballfields for tournaments |
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Annual “One Great Week for Downtown” volunteer event |
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Host quarterly “meet your neighbors” events in various neighborhoods |
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Annual diversity celebration event |
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Events for seniors |
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Plazas, Parks, and Open Space
More plazas |
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Activate plazas with seating, food, events, and temp uses |
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Bonuses for inclusion of plazas in new development |
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Pine/Orange is a key location for pocket park or space for pop-up retail |
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Pocket parks |
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Temporary uses for vacant lots in Parramore and South Eola |
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More playgrounds |
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Dog Parks: Uptown and South Eola |
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Activate and connect Lake Lucerne to Downtown core |
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Activate Heritage Square |
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Complete path around Lake Ivanhoe |
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More green space |
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Promote CNL Arts Plaza as a primary place in Downtown |
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CNL Arts Plaza activated at all times, not just during events |
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Plant more trees in the CRA |
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Purchase Constitution Green for use as permanent park |
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Increase City’s tree canopy goal from 40% to 50% |
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Coordinated system/network of open space, parks, and green streets in Downtown, connecting places |
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World-class, family-themed park |
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Splashpad |
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Demonstration Areas |
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Shade on Wall St Plaza |
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New open spaces north of Colonial Drive |
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Recreation
Active and passive recreation |
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Downtown sports leagues |
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Recreation fields/courts for sports leagues |
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Youth sports programs |
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Interactive, accessible play and exercise equipment |
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Indoor spaces for families |
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Iconic Public Art |
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Grand Boulevard/Pedestrian MallÂ
Magnolia Ave |
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Washington St |
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Orange Ave |
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Pine St |
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Lake Eola Park
Loch Haven Park
Branding/Marketing
Redesigned master plan including merchants, beach, art, etc. |
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New Amphitheater |
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Redesigned Amphitheater |
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Redesigned master plan including merchants/dining, active park uses, etc. |
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Multimodal transportation connection to Downtown core |
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Coordinate branding and marketing efforts with Visit Orlando, EDC, and Tourist Development Council |
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World class cultural destination |
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Orlando = Opportunity |
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Authentic Orlando |
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Communicating the holistic urban experience that Downtown offers |
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Urban sophistication |
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Accessible and intuitive to visitors |
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Embrace our intimate city size |
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Focus on being a Millennial Magnet |
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Social media buzz |
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Increase marketing budget to provide for a concerted, long-term marketing plan for Downtown |
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Creativity – be as creative as our citizens |
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Marketing campaign to promote our neighborhoods and historic districts |
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City and Downtown websites to include historic info, tour info, Downtown & Main St events, etc. |
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Promote the drop in crime in Parramore through a marketing program |
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Create an Urban Market |
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Partnerships
Alignment with Visit Orlando, EDC, and other agencies |
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Visible presence of Visit Orlando in Downtown |
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Strengthen coordination and alighment of priorities with FDOT |
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Partnerships with Orange County, LYNX, and State to establish consisten funding sources for transportation needs, operations and maintenance |
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Collaboration between Orange Blossom Trail CRA and Downtown CRA to promote economic development along OBT corridor |
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Hands on Orlando and Heart of Florida United Way to develop opportunities for civic involvement |
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City roles and internal protocol
Create an Arts & Culture Department with professional administrators, annual revenue stream, and a new City Board to administer the budget |
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Create an Event Programming staff position |
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Make it customary for each meeting to begin with a “meet and greet” |
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Create a Chief of Health position |
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Urban Design
District Creation
Redraft the Downtown Urban Design Guidelines |
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Include outdoor public space for arts and cultural amenities |
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Requirements/incentives for iconic skyline and architecture |
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Updated Streetscape Design Guidelines |
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Cultural Arts District(s) |
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African American Cultural Heritage District in Parramore |
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Redefine the Cultural Corridor as Church Street from Parramore to Magnolia and Magnolia St from DPC to Courthouse |
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Expansion of existing historic districts |
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Create new historic or conservation districts in Holden-Parramore, Arlington Heights/Lake Dot |
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Parramore Main Street and/or expand Church St Main Street westward |
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Downtown’s Nighttime Presence
Bridge Districts – I-4 and 408
Education
Wash buildings in color and lights |
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Interactive digital art displays |
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Permanent and Temporary digital art and media installations |
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Create usable, active and recreational space in the Bridge Districts, no more surface parking |
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Activate space beneath 408 bridges |
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Region’s highest quality education in Downtown |
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Create an arts magnet high school in Downtown |
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Repurpose part of the Orlando Public Library for arts education |
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K-8 school |
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UCF Downtown Campus |
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“Cradle to Career” education program |
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Reconvene the Downtown Schools Consortium |
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Lifelong learning opportunities available at a centralized online resource |
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Schools as community hubs |
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High-profile, distinctively designed museum in Downtown |
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Historic Preservation
Adaptive reuse of city-owned historic buildings |
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Creation of a commemorative park where historic structures can be located to avoid loss |
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Update all of Downtown’s Historic Surveys (Florida Master Site File) |
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Create new Historic Surveys (Florida Master Site File) for new areas |
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Historic plaque program |
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Neighborhood marketing program |
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Creation of a non-profit foundation to acquire, repurpose and rehab historic assets |
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Maintain existing zoning to ensure neighborhood compatibility of new developments |
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Catalyst Sites
Wayfinding UAOS, ULT, A
Identify and purchase sites that connect places and fill in gaps, and market for redevelopment |
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Dynamic, electronic, interactive wayfinding systems |
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Interactive kiosks that provide a police help-line in an emergency |
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Iconic Gateways/Markers for Downtown and Neighborhoods/Districts |
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Urban Agriculture |
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Rooftops and Skyline
Iconic Skyline/Rooftop Activation |
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Incentivize or require iconic rooftops and/or rooftop activation |
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Active Rooftop Program: active uses, solar panels, green roof/park, and/or urban agriculture |
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Lighting
Retrofit existing street lighting with white LED on key corridors |
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Decorative lighting along the redefined Cultural Corridor |
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Enhance lighting in public and private plazas |
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Conduct a light study of Downtown, fill in all poorly illuminated areas within areas of high density living and destinations of Downtown |
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Enhance and add lighting in Parramore to increase perception of safety |
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Bar Hours
Conference/Meeting Facility
Transportation
Pilot Program: Test workability of extended hours with possibility of raising age to 21+ in the future |
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1,000 seated capacity |
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Free/affordable meeting space venue/public gatherings spaces |
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Expand SunRail services during midday, evening and weekends |
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Convert one-way streets to two-way traffic |
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Complete Streets network comprised of key corridors (East/West-Robinson and Washington, and North/South) |
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Eliminate regular vehicle travel on Magnolia (Lymmo only) and enhance the remaining ROW for pedestrian corridor |
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Transit connections between Downtown and Main Street Districts/surrounding neighborhoods |
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New Intermodal transit center to accommodate public and private transportation (Megabus, Red Bus, LYMMO, car and bike share programs, etc.) connected to a network of pedestrian and bicycle corridors |
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More bike racks |
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Transit link between Downtown and OIA is critical |
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Expand transit offerings |
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East/West transit option to bring in people from outside of Downtown |
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Restore brick streets in neighborhoods |
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Parking
Dynamic parking systems to enhance user experience, through apps, smart meters, etc. |
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Expand Valet Parking Services |
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Valet expansion at Church St, Wall St, and DPC |
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Eliminate metered parking during lunch hours |
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No meter fees on Saturdays |
Digital Services
Downtown Orlando app |
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Digital tour of Downtown app |
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Historic walking tour app |
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Historic tour videos provided to OC Regional History Center, online and schools |
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App for citizens to notify OPD of panhandlers |
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City online tool to match people with local volunteer opportunities |
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Events app |
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Public Restrooms
Business Recruitment and Development
Add public restrooms in Downtown |
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Events should be required to provide trailer-style restrooms |
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Drugstore |
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Create/encourage pop-up retail opportunities: book sales, hurricane supplies, Christmas market, Leu Gardens plant sale, Darden test market events |
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Parramore Farmer’s Market in Fire Station #2 |
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Business friendly City, easy permitting and easy for businesses to start up here |
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Streamlining permitting and M/WBE processes |
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B2B mentorship program |
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Information kiosks & digital architectural displays to promote local small businesses |
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Aggressive promotion of incentives and business-friendly changes to market DTO as most business-friendly city in the Southeast |
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Hoteliers, restauranteurs, retailers and cultural programming synonymous with sophistication |
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Commit to Tech and Entrepreneurship |
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Accelerate high-growth companies/Grow a billion dollar company from Downtown roots |
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Attract a Fortune 1000 company |
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Capitalize on Downtown’s location between two world-class hospitals |
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Support private investment and place-making to create world-class downtown |
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Ensure the success of Creative Village |
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Promote Parramore as next redevelopment opportunity area |
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Ambassadors
Reinstitute formal Ambassador Program |
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Citizen volunteer program “Obassadors” as Downtown Ambassadors |
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Homelessness & Aggressive Panhandling
Support the Rethink Homelessness effort |
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Support permanent supportive housing efforts |
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Aggressive crack-down on panhandling |
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Develop a public education program surrounding panhandling |
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Crisis Intervention Training for OPD officers patrolling Downtown |
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City support of Christian Service Center, Rescue Mission, Coalition for the Homeless and Salvation Army |
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Development of database of homeless shelter availability |
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Public Safety
Visible community policing to enhance the perception of safety |
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Visibility of homeless creates a perceived safety issue; homeless is synonymous with Downtown Orlando |
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Downtown Neighborhood Watch |
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Transforming empty lots and blighted areas into transitional spaces for pop-up events |
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Safety in Parramore: CPTED, code enforcement, visible policing, more lighting, more surveillance cameras |
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Police substation in CityView relocated to the Men’s Service Center to combat safety perceptions |
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LYMMO
Commercial ground floor activation
Housing/Residential
Expand hours of operation |
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More unique, recognizable vehicles |
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Connect service to surrounding neighborhoods |
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Expand service north and south of Downtown |
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Reevaluation operations, routes, and overall community impact of LYMMO |
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Evaluate possibility of connecting senior residential buildings to LYMMO |
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Not mandatory retail use (must allow other uses in the space) |
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Development that seeks bonuses should not require ground floor mixed-use space |
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Mixed-income housing, development bonuses |
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Infill vacant lots within Parramore neighborhoods |
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Residential along Church St, and in Creative Village & South Eola areas, Incentivize |
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Encourage market rate and mixed-income housing |
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Elevate stature of other historic areas, such as Arlington Concord |
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Programs to help residents make aesthetic improvements to homes |
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Neighborhood associations in Lake Dot, Holden/Parramore, and South Eola |
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Neighborhood aesthetic improvement program |
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More affordable housing for seniors |
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Train hotel concierges on Downtown |
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Tactical Urbanism/Temporary Events
Support busking |
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Blow-up Orlando Swan that visits surprise locales |
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Dependable, inspiring surprises |
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Visible area of Downtown transformed as a social gathering space |
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Consider moving Chamber of Commerce and EDC into a central location turning current location into a full-block park |
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Infrastructure
Civic and Social Leadership
Energy and Green Building Program
Invest in high-tech infrastructure (gigabit fiber optics) for competitive advantage of place |
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Undergrounding of overhead utilities |
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Free wifi/broadband technology in Parramore |
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Foster collaboration between faith-based orgs, service orgs, and civic groups |
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Create Downtown Faith Leaders Group |
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Host a quarterly open-to-call civic lunch forum |
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“Collective Impact” – addressing issues as a community to solve common issues |
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Incentives for energy efficiency and green building (new construction) |
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Create healthy workplaces |
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Implement property-assessed clean energy financing for voluntary energy financing |
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Resolve chilled water cost issues that prevent expansion/hinder development of new customer base |
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Develop iconic solar program for parking garages along I-4 |
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Recycling program expanded for Downtown commercial and Multi-Family
Shared recycling space for Wall St and Lake Eola by 2015 |
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Marketing materials on how to recycle downtown and concierge services by 2015 |
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Better public recycling opportunities, associated with public art by 2016 |
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phased-in recycling requirements for commercial and multi-family buildings by 2018 |
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Low-Impact Development – Stormwater/green infrastructure demonstration project |
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Swimmable Lake
Improve water quality on at least one lake Downtown to allow for swimming, |
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Beach |
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Establish a Downtown eco district |
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