News Feed

The Rotary Club of College Park is having an Instrument Drive this winter to collect new or used instruments for Edgewater High School. Instruments are being collected now through Monday, May 10, 2010. The Edgewater High School Band is accepting any instrument but is in need of clarinets, flutes, trumpets, trombones and other woodwinds and brass instruments. Please drop off your new or gently used instrument at the weekly College Park Rotary Club meetings,  Thursday mornings from 7:30 am - 8:30 am at Dubsdread Country Club, 549 W. Par Street, Orlando. Or if you can’t get out call Pam Potenza at 407-375-3963 to come pick up your donation.

For more information on the Instrument Drive please contact Ginger Malcom at gmalcom@cfl.rr.com

Rotary, founded in 1905, is a volunteer organization of 1.2 million business and professional leaders uniting to provide humanitarian service and goodwill through community service projects. Rotary club members work locally, regionally, and internationally to combat hunger, improve health and sanitation, provide education and job training, promote peace, and eradicate polio under the motto Service Above Self.

Feel free to join us for a meeting to see what your College Park Rotarians are doing for your community. Meetings are every Thursday morning from 7:30 am - 8:30 am at Dubsdread Country Club, 549 W. Par Street, Orlando (breakfast included). For more information visit www.CollegeParkRotary.org 

By Berti Hunt, Safety Committee Chair

If you think or feel that something is wrong or suspicious, it probably is - CALL 9-1-1...

You should consider the following activities or persons as suspicious.

1. A person or vehicle that stays in the same place for an unusual length of time. Hiding behind trees or buildings.
2. A vehicle drives around your block frequently, slowing down, speeding up. etc.
3. A person looks into cars, moving from car to car and/or tries door handles.
4. A car leaves or arrives from a certain location, without lights at night.
5. A person sells or conducts business out of his car, van, truck or other vehicle
6. Continuous repair operations at a non business location
7. Unusual noises, such as gunshots, screaming, or dogs barking continuously.
8. A person exhibiting unusual mental or physical symptoms (may be injured/under the influence of drugs/may be in need of medical attention).
9. Sound of breaking glass.
10. Going door to door in a residential area, especially if one or more goes to rear of residence.
11. A person runs at night for no apparent reason transporting an unusual or valuable object during the night.
12. Forcing entrance or entering an unoccupied house.
13. Heavy traffic to and from a residence if it occurs on a daily basis.
14. Loitering around schools, parks or secluded areas
15. Offering items for sale at a very low price.
16. Loitering or driving through a neighborhood several times or appearing as delivery person with a wrong address.

This tip is from Neighborhood Internet Crime Spotters (N.I.C.S.). N.I.C.S. is a great grassroots way to keep each other aware of criminal activity in our neighborhood. The intent of N.I.C.S. is to provide legitimate information to members in order to enhance safety and security where we live and work…being safe is being informed. Members receive emails with crime related updates and sightings.

To join N.I.C.S. go to http://groups.yahoo.com/group/collegeparknics

The College Park Neighborhood Association hosts the upcoming Sunday In The Park event with the help of local businesses and residents.  We are especially dependent on volunteers to ensure that everyone in attendance has a great day.  Please consider spending some time as a volunteer this year.  This is a great opportunity to meet your neighbors and support this event.  This is also an opportunity for middle school students and high school students to earn community service hours.

Sunday In the Park is scheduled for March 21st and will be held in Dartmouth Park.   

Volunteers for the following shifts are needed:

Setup	10:30 to 11:30
First Shift	12:00 to 2:30
Second Shift	2:30 to 5:00
Breakdown	5:00 to 6:00

Note: Setup and break-down shifts may involve some lifting.

Please contact Lillian Scott at 407-428-0676 or scottmommy@hotmail.com

On February 23rd, Commissioner Stuart held an open house to discuss the Vassar Street and Edgewater Drive intersection. If you have spent any time near that intersection during peak times, there appears to be serious issue with traffic flow.

• The left turn lanes from Edgewater to Vassar are offset, and make for a confusing intersection.
• Also, because they are offset, the traffic light must remain red on Edgewater Drive for so long, that traffic gets backed up and clogs up the Princeton intersection. (as seen in the picture.)
• Finally, the crosswalks are pedestrian controlled and change the timing of the lights, so there is no way to sync them with the Princeton light.

So, the City is exploring options around this intersection, and soliciting our input. At the open house we were presented 2 plans (Alternative A and Alternative B), given a chance to discuss them, and provide our feedback and additional ideas.

I went to the meeting with the opinion that we should remove the light, and all of the intersections should be right turn only.

However, after reviewing the plans, I quickly realized that people traveling south on Edgewater that might be trying to get to SunTrust or other businesses, would instead be forced to turn a block earlier, onto Rugby. So, rather than just push the problem up a block, I became a fan of Alternative B, which is all right turns except for southbound Edgewater Drive. Another aspect of Alternative B is to always have the southbound lane green unless a pedestrian presses the crosswalk button.

But Alternative B is just my opinion, decide for yourself, and even suggest other ideas.

To do so, just visit this page that Commissioner Stuart has setup. There you can learn a little more about both alternatives and share your thoughts.

So share them with the City, or they will never know your point of view.

The College Park Partnership, College Park’s Orlando Main Street is looking for a new manager.

We’re posting it to our site to encourage neighbors who already care about College Park to apply. If you think you have what it takes to manage the Main Street program for College Park, follow the link below, and throw your name into the hat.

http://www.preservationnation.org/main-street/jobs/manager-of-the-college-park.html

Best of luck!

By Monarcha Marcet

Citizens of College Park, it is almost time for the great Oak Tree Leaf Drop. During this spring event our neighborhood gets a taste of what “northerners” call “Fall”.

When the leaves drop we rely on the street sweepers to help us keep the volume of leaves under control and out of the lakes. In order for the street sweepers to do their job efficiently and correctly we must do our part by keeping our trash containers out of the roadway. Also, the City trash collection personnel must do their part by placing the trash containers back on the right of way and not in the street.

If this is not enough reason to keep containers out of the street, please examine the photograph below. While the cans on the left are incorrectly placed in the roadway, the cans on the right are correctly on the right of way. As you can see, the containers in the roadway become hazards. 


Of course, keeping your containers out of the street is also the law as documented in this City of Orlando Municipal Code reference:

(8) [which states the] Responsibility of Owner/Occupant. No person having custody or control of residential or commercial premises from which solid waste, construction and demolition debris, or recovered material is collected in the City of Orlando shall permit or cause any such material within his control, to become a hazard to public travel, health, or safety, or to become a nuisance of any sort.

So, between cans in the roadway being hazards, and street sweepers being unable to clean our streets and protect our lakes, and the law making it the right thing to do:

Please – do your part to keep the neighborhood's roads clear by keeping your cans on the right of way.

By Linda Stone, the Traffic Committee's Community Action chairperson

The Princeton / Smith traffic committee was started in 2007 to help preserve the residential nature of the corridor that connects I-4 to 441. 

The primary focus has been west of Edgewater as the road design and incorporated school zone have tempered potential offenders to the east.  The committee was started by concerned residents of College Park to ensure traffic patterns were not adversely impacted by the approval of a new Super Wal-Mart at the corner of Princeton and John Young Parkway. The initial goals of the group were to limit illegal truck traffic, minimize speeding and establish a baseline of existing traffic in the area prior to the store’s opening.

After two years, with the support of the CPNA and Commissioner Robert Stuart, marked progress has been made. The baseline picture for current traffic has been achieved, primarily through permanent traffic monitoring devices which have been installed on both Smith and Princeton to count, classify, and measure speeds of passing vehicles. With these devices and the help of the City of Orlando, targeted enforcement of both unlawful truck traffic and dangerous speeders is now possible. In addition, new signs have been installed on both ends the corridor clearly posting the limitations on trucks and directing them to turn away.

The committee plans to continue their pursuit of secondary goals including stricter enforcement and the installation of traffic calming devices. If you would like to help your neighbors, please remember to observe the posted 30 mph speed limit and report illegal truck traffic to the Orlando Police Department.

Over the last several years, there have been small changes to College Park streets:

• Lane changes - Edgewater Drive was reduced to a single lane each direction.
  
• Traffic Calming - Streets, like West Hazel, received traffic calming in the form of speed bumps while others, like Westmoreland received traffic circles and speed bumps.
  
• Street Closings -  A few, like part of Preston St. and Dubsdread Circle, were closed altogether.
  
• Street Openings - Rarely, like in the case of the alley behind the Wellesley, a new street is born.

As any city changes and grows, so does its needs and plans for its streets.

While the above changes have several years between them, there are a lot of potential street changes coming up. So, we thought we would take a moment to list out the projects we are aware of and make sure you are in the know:

• Vassar Street @ Edgewater Dr. – The Vassar Street and Edgewater intersection traffic lights have caused congestion problems for several years. There are plans to change the intersection and we may even end up with a traffic light at Rugby instead. To see more about these plans, be sure to attend the Open House meeting on February 23rd.
   
  
• Rollins Street @ Orange Ave. – This summer, Rollins Street will be realigned at Orange Avenue to create a four way intersection. As we learned when Florida Hospital presented their plan to us at the February meeting, this change will also bring turn lanes off of Orange Avenue, and the same will eventually happen at the King Street and Orange Ave intersection. Also, further down the road, the last block of Winter Park Street will likely be closed, as we reported a couple of years ago.
   
  
• Eagle Way @ Edgewaer Dr. – As we learned at the Edgewater High School - Construction Update, a new entrance to Edgewater High School will create a new intersection with a traffic light on Edgewater Drive. This entrance for student parking will be on a new street called Eagle Way. Also of course there will be some updates to the way traffic flows with the entrances on Maury and Par as well.
   
  
• Winter Park Street Traffic Calming – The residents of Winter Park Street have been clamoring for traffic calming for years, but now that it is close, it is not as sure a thing. See our article for more information.

So, as you can see, the streets, they are a’ changin’. Be sure to attend the Open House meeting on February 23rd next Tuesday to learn more about the Vassar Street and Edgewater Drive intersection plans.

By Bertie Hunt, Safety Committee Chair and Carol Francis
 
Craig M. O’Neil  was named  Block Captain of the Year for District 3 yesterday at Leu Gardens during the City of  Orlando’s leaders Luncheon. Craig works endlessly to make sure his neighbors and friends in College Park / Maury Rd. are as safe, and informed. Craig’s Neighborhood Watch Group, Maury Rd. was named best in the city.

His achievements:

Reducing Crime
Craig is a great neighborhood watch block captain for College Park / Maury Rd. He is also part of the North College Park Neighborhood Watch Group. He is always sending information to the Maury Rd. residents that may concern them as to safety or crime. He is always one of the first persons to contact OPD when necessary to get the correct information.  When the CVS Store was robbed Craig went down there to let the management know we in College Park were concerned, and if neighborhood watch could we be of any help. He told them that we would not be shopping there anymore until they made it safe for us.  They installed additional parking lights and added night security at the door.
 
Neighborhood Involvement
Over the past 2 years Craig has organized “Clean up Maury Rd”, with the help of the City of Orlando’s Jody Goosetree . He brings neighbors together walking up and down Maury Rd. picking up trash along the way.

In April 2009 he along with Janice Rahill with the City of Orlando and volunteers organized by Craig planted 28 trees along Maury Rd. to beautify the area.

Craig was a driving force behind National Night Out 2007 and 2008, placing 2nd.

When CVS had a garage sale last December in conjunction with the Lee Middle School Safe House, Craig immediately stepped in to support this project and made sure that the Neighborhood watch group got involved with donations of items to be sold.  $1,400 was made.

Promoting Personal Safety
Over the past two years Craig has organized meetings with the neighborhood residents and Comm. Stuart and City representatives to have sidewalks installed along Maury Rd. on the south side of the street.  These sidewalks will run when completed from Ardsley Dr. to Edgewater Dr.  This project was just started Nov. 2009.   He is very concerned about school safety and speaks with EHS / Lee Middle School SRO when the occasion arises.

He worked with the City of Orlando to have new speed limit signs installed and that changes were made to the school zone lights so that cars slowed down where there were students.

Building Relationships
I personally have seen Craig out in the rain delivering information to the neighbors, wanting to make sure they got what they needed.  Craig has attended every neighborhood watch meeting we have had for Palomar for the last 7 years, until he started his own about 4 years ago.

Now he attends all of them.  He also helps others form their own groups.

Craig was also involved with the Luminaries along Maury Rd. last Christmas. This project supports the EHS baseball program.  Maury Rd. was beautiful.

Other
Not only does Craig find time to devote to Neighborhood Watch but is the Assistant Director, For the City of Winter Park Communications Department.

College Park Neighborhood Association (CPNA) invites you to a candidate forum for the District 3 City Council Seat. The 2010 General Election is on March 9, 2010.

The candidate forum will be held March 1st at the College Park Community Center as part of our monthly meeting, which begins at 7 PM. The forum will begin at approximately 7:30 PM, followed by a candidate meet and greet.

The event is free and open to the public. Both candidates for the District 3 seat have agreed to participate in the forum. The candidates are Robert Stuart and Larry Spade.

Candidates will be asked a series of questions regarding a variety of community issues. Questions will be selected by a Questions Committee consisting of members from CPNA. If you would like to suggest a question please email your suggestion to our president, Eben Self at president@collegeparkorlando.org. In addition, the forum audience will have the opportunity to submit questions in writing at the event. These questions will be used as time permits.

We hope to see you at the meeting!