The City of Orlando officially kicked off construction this morning on Phase I Improvements of Magnolia Avenue, launching the first on-the-ground phase of the city’s effort to remake the corridor into a more walkable, two-way downtown street.
Phase I focuses on South Magnolia Avenue from Jefferson Street north to Livingston Street, and is expected to take roughly six months to complete before moving to the next segment and eventually progressing to South Street. The project will convert Magnolia back to two-way traffic, remove most of the dedicated LYMMO bus lane and fold buses into general traffic, and add on-street parking.
Construction is happening block by block and using full curb-to-curb roadway closures as crews rebuild the corridor. Sidewalks are expected to remain open throughout construction, with occasional short detours near intersections.
The Magnolia redesign is one of the early implementation projects tied to Orlando’s broader downtown strategy to reduce fast, one-way street patterns that can make walking, biking, and transit use harder. The city notes Magnolia was converted to one-way in the 1950s to accommodate commuter traffic following the construction of Interstate 4.
Orlando Shine was on site this morning to capture video of the kickoff, which is embedded at the bottom of this post.
