Is Celebration Florida’s Future Road Extension Going to End its Magic?

It is very likely that most if not all of Celebration Florida’s residents have heard of the future plans to extend Celebration Boulevard. The road extension would connect Celebration Boulevard to County Road 532. As a consequence, the connection could create a shortcut, a bypass from main highways like Interstate 4, State Road 417 and US Highway 192 into Celebration. This extension would definitely bring more cars driving through our town but the question at hand is if it would be a good and necessary change in the name of progress or if this is not necessary and would not be a good decision for Celebration as it would impact our calm streets, jeopardize children's safety and destroy our wildlife. Let’s review some important points to help you decide.

The Project

As per Osceola County’s website (https://one.osceola.org/celebrationboulevardextension) it is stated the following with an update date of 13/Nov/2024:

“Osceola County is assessing alternative routes for the extension of Celebration Boulevard from County Road (CR) 532 to the Mattamy Homes Development.

This feasibility study will evaluate three alignments including proposed drainage pond locations. The facility is anticipated to be a 2-lane avenue with 12-foot travel lanes, a 16-foot median, as well as bicycle and pedestrian features. The study involves a range of engineering assessments, environmental analysis, and public involvement to ultimately arrive at a preferred alternative while minimizing impacts to the surrounding environment and the citizens of Osceola County.

The Feasibility Study was completed and adopted by the Osceola County Board of County Commissioners in October 2022. This project is pending design and construction.”

Based on the above, only the first step of the extension project has been completed as of the date of this article which is the Feasibility Study. The next step of this project is the design stage, currently this project is not funded for design. Then comes the stage of Right-of-Way Acquisition which generally begins when design is approximately 60% complete. Then comes the actual Construction stage and this project is not currently funded for construction.


The Promises

This project has been presented as a promise of being beneficial to the residents of Celebration more specifically to the residents of Island Village because it would provide another entrance into the neighborhood allowing residents to cut through the Interstate 4 traffic when coming home.

Another promise was the fact that more cars into our town could mean more people walking around our streets which could translate to more customers to the businesses of Celebration. After all, who wouldn’t like a little progress?


The Issue

The issue is that the extended roadway is foreseen to deviate traffic as it could be used as a cut through path, a bypass from several directions, from Interstate 4 in the Championsgate area into Island Village but also from State Road 417 and US Highway 192 to cut through Celebration to get to the other side of Interstate 4 through Celebration Avenue and into Celebration Boulevard, this would impact the entire Celebration community including the downtown area. Not to mention the impact on exit 62 on Interstate 4 as it would become the new exit 58. Trying to get to Disney would be a new nightmare. Island Village Elementary, Celebration High School, our children's playgrounds, and our protected Wetlands would be placed in harm's way on Celebration Boulevard by an estimated 30,000 plus cars per day. This projection was found in an Osceola County study (https://one.osceola.org/celebrationboulevardextension), forecasting potential damage that would alter our community indelibly and irrevocably. How would this really impact us? Let’s imagine just a few scenarios.

Imagine Celebration Boulevard today with an additional estimated 30,000 plus cars per day, now think about our children running around and playing on our playgrounds, riding bicycles, getting off school and crossing the streets with thousands and thousands of cars from already stressed-out drivers escaping traffic and rushing trying to get somewhere. This is a parent’s worst nightmare to say the least.

Now imagine Celebration as calm and peaceful as it is today. Then add the same 30,000 plus cars per day of potentially angry drivers and it doesn’t sound so peaceful anymore, does it? Part of Celebration’s magic is how calm and serene it feels, how happy the residents always are peacefully walking their dogs, it is the small town feeling that contributes to our magic. With this road extension, our magic could be gone forever.

Now also imagine our wildlife as it is today. It is a huge pleasure to see and experience it on a daily basis as part of living in Celebration. We have endless birds, deer families, wild turkeys, coyotes, armadillos, wild pigs, a bear and I even heard stories of a wild cow coming out from the woods. Many more cars, more people, more noise, traffic and pollution would scare away our beautiful animals and our Celebration community would never be the same.

Last but not least is the impact on property value. As you can also imagine, all of the above mentioned factors would impact the value of properties in Celebration. Would you have bought your Celebration home if you knew the town was as busy as the surrounding cities with perhaps more crime and that Celebration Boulevard was another North Old Lake Wilson Road in Championsgate? I am not sure if I would have bought mine.

Photo: Interstate 4 traffic at 8:30 AM on Monday 12/9/2024 around exit 58 that could potentially come into Celebration Boulevard as an escape.


Conclusion

One thing is for sure, it is extremely important for the residents of Celebration to be informed of the potential impacts of this road extension project and make your own decisions based on the direct impact to your life. If you feel that progress will be good for Celebration, you and your family, then you are on the right track with no further action needed from your side.

However, if you feel this road extension could potentially affect or even end Celebration’s magic there is still time to raise your voice against this project. You can provide your support to those who believe in preserving Celebration’s unique character, ensuring our children's safety, maintaining our property values, and protecting our environment by signing this petition today: https://chng.it/FBPyjNFTTZ