Commuter Rail is on its way.

Orange, Osceola, Seminole and Volusia Counties are moving forward with the 61-mile, $615 million Commuter Rail project that will stretch from DeLand to Poinciana with the first phase set to open by 2010. This is the first large-scale, alternative transportation effort in the region.

Through the “How Shall We Grow?” visioning process over the last 18-months, feedback from nearly 20,000 Central Florida residents has indicated that they want more transportation choices and connections between urban areas. Commuter Rail will provide the opportunity for more walkable communities to develop near transportation centers, allowing easier access to jobs and places of recreation and entertainment.

As part of the visioning project, city and county officials were also asked to weigh in on what their cities would look like in 2050. Twelve (12) of 86 cities in Central Florida envisioned themselves as regional cities and the others projected to be hamlets, towns, small or medium cities. Transportation experts have been working closely with elected officials to incorporate Commuter Rail in the region’s future transportation plans.

Connecting cities through Corridors is one of the four key themes that emerged in the “How Shall We Grow?” process. The ultimate vision is to have the region connected by a balance of roads, light rail, streetcars and buses while further preserving and protecting Central Florida’s precious green space.

Commuter Rail is the first part of an interconnected transportation system that can manage future growth, ease congestion, improve quality of life, enhance safety and mobility of goods and people while generating new economic opportunities for millions of residents, ensuring Central Florida is moving from vision to a reality and closer to becoming a world-class region.

“How Shall We Grow? – Creating a Shared Vision for Central Florida” is an 18-month process that brings together local, regional and state agencies in a partnership to design our collective future. The Florida Department of Community Affairs, Florida Department of Transportation, the Central Florida MPO Alliance, East Central Florida Regional Planning Council, Orlando Regional Chamber of Commerce, and myregion.org have combined their professional talents and resources to take this message to the people of our region. For those unable to attend the Summit, it will be available for viewing on their computer screen at www.wftv.com.

myregion.org - A Regional Development Program - is an organization of citizens and leaders from public, private and institutional sectors who have launched a program to prepare the Central Florida Region to compete more effectively in the 21st century while enhancing the quality of life of its citizenry.