Orlando is asking for public input on what should change for riders using bikes, e-bikes and scooters across the city. City leaders are collecting feedback now on where people ride, where they feel safe and where they do not. The goal is to build a priority project list for the Orlando bike plan, with officials hoping to finalize it by the fall.
Public meetings focus on safety and access
The update comes as many people continue to use two-wheeled transportation to move through Orlando, including daily commuters and downtown riders. One of them is Jorge Barrios, who rides every day from College Park to his job in downtown Orlando and says part of his trip still forces him into traffic on North Orange Avenue.
Barrios said he has dealt with impatient drivers and repeated honking during his commute. He told city leaders that riders need dedicated space, especially in busy areas where bicycle traffic mixes with cars.
Residents are being asked the same basic questions at the city’s ongoing public input sessions: Where do you ride? Where do you feel safe? Where do you not feel safe? What needs to change? Officials say those answers will help decide which projects rise to the top.
How Orlando plans to use the feedback
Jacques Coulon, transportation planning division manager for Orlando, said the community response will help the city make the case for projects that residents identify as important. He said the information will shape a priority list that can feed into capital plans or be folded into other street projects.
Coulon said the city is moving forward “project by project, ” reflecting a step-by-step approach rather than one large construction push. The broader effort is meant to improve safety and comfort for riders across the city, including people on bicycles, scooters and other micromobility devices.
The city’s outreach is also tied to the larger Orlando bike plan update, which city materials describe as a way to support a connected and low-stress bikeway network for people of all ages, abilities and backgrounds. The current public sessions are meant to help shape that update before it is finalized.
What riders are seeing now
In downtown Orlando, biking is evolving alongside e-bikes and scooters, adding speed and complexity to streets already shared by pedestrians, commuters and delivery traffic. City rules and newer state regulations are part of that shift, and officials are trying to balance access with safety.
For riders like Barrios, the issue is immediate and personal: safer routes, less conflict with drivers and a more direct path through the city. For city leaders, the next step is to sort through the feedback and decide which changes can move first.
The final public session is Thursday, April 23, at 6: 30 p. m. at the Dover Shores Neighborhood Center, with one final public meeting in July before the plan is finalized. Orlando officials say the feedback gathered now will help determine what gets built, what gets added to capital plans and what can be done through other street work as the city moves ahead on the Orlando bike plan.
