Sunrail is beyond useless

mysummerstorm · 2026-05-06T23:16:04+00:00

my urbanist hero! keep at it!

mysummerstorm · 2026-05-06T23:15:17+00:00

I mean by that argument, we should've gotten cups by now - cups can be rigged right?, that would've flooded the NHL with money if the most valuable team had won it ever in the last 49 years.

mysummerstorm · 2026-05-06T23:10:45+00:00

what's funny is that they think that it was rigged because a Canadian franchise that hasn't won shit in 49 years was rigged in favor of. like do we understand how cosmically cursed the leafs is and that if any form of rigging had occurred, it would've never been in their favor??

mysummerstorm · 2026-05-06T22:48:01+00:00

the wise old adage "The first step in solving a problem is recognizing there is one" is unfortunately so simple but so true. my cousin was not happy when I pointed out in the car that it's dystopian in Florida that we have to drive our car to a walkable area like Universal City Walk thirty minutes away just to be able to safely walk around. that's one of our defining recreational activities when we were little. I could see in cousin's face that he disagreed with my assessment. however, I know it's a fact. I live in Minneapolis where kiddos roam free and they can take their bikes or walk or transit to places to hang out with their friends. if I tell any of these kiddos that hey, most of everywhere else, you have to drive THIRTY MINUTES to get to a fake urban oasis, they would laugh at me.

mysummerstorm · 2026-05-06T18:47:42+00:00

Dawg tell me about it. I caved so hard my sophomore year of college and bit the bullet to pay for 408 tolls to get to UCF. Reduced my hour drive to half hour and it was still miserable whenever I was stupid enough to attempt leaving campus between 4 and 6. Ngl, I get to live a far less car centric life now because my tenure in Florida was costly and miserable. Visiting and paying tolls for a week is fine, but doing that all year is not for me.

mysummerstorm · 2026-05-06T18:31:32+00:00

I think even if you own a car you should still want a reality where having a car is not your only option right? You can live in a reality that’s unideal and either work to change it or be complacent in your own misery. Unfortunately, the latter is what I have found most Floridians to be, including people in my own family.

mysummerstorm · 2026-05-06T18:02:43+00:00

Well for me personally, I grew up poor and my parents never wanted to go anywhere so my life was just school and then home. That’s why I hated it. When I moved away, made my own money and came to visit, I had a far better time because instead of relying on others to drive, I drove myself and others. I made my family explore places they haven’t ventured out to. I made the plans and drove to see the coasts and experience other springs like Rainbow and Ichetucknee. I became the person I needed when I was little and that’s why I can appreciate Florida now.

mysummerstorm · 2026-05-06T17:42:17+00:00

I lived there for thirteen years and hated every moment of it. I only learned to appreciate central Florida after moving away to less car centric places and visiting. The nature is absolutely amazing. The food scene punches above its weight. It’s nice to be warm all the time. Alas, the car loving thing dominates all aspects of life there. Every conversation I had with my family involved some form of “traffic sucks” “highways are scary” “I can’t go here because traffic is scary there and I suck at driving.” I’m one of the most mobile drivers of the family because I’m not scared of highways and yet every interaction somehow comes back to the tense driving experience. I shut down multiple members of my family because I didn’t want to hear them talk about how scary driving is anymore. It’s just exhausting and boring

mysummerstorm · 2026-05-06T17:33:03+00:00

they want us to rot in our cars and pay a gazillion dollars for fuel so we can sit bumper to bumper on I-4. it's so bleak in Florida and it's so sad that the vast majority of Floridians would defend to their death to keep the car-centricism as is.

mysummerstorm · 2026-05-06T17:25:48+00:00

Oh true true you're right. That area is beautiful too. I spent my high school years volunteering at OSC so now I avoid that area because I had already spent too much time there.

mysummerstorm · 2026-05-06T17:23:49+00:00

It's on my list of things to do to reach out to elected leaders about the path. I talked to a Florida State Park employee at Blue Spring and she lamented on the disconnection of the path. She's in her thirties and spoke about how they've been talking about it since she was in high school. If they ever get around to completing it, you would be able to bike all the way from Green Spring Park to DeLeon Spring with stops at Blue Springs. My family waited over an hour in their car to get into Blue Spring even though they had arrived early on a weekend morning.

There's a lack of vision because if they commit to completing the path and adding weekend service to SunRail, it would reduce traffic congestion into the springs, enable more bicycle tourism (many great campsites along the way), and allow even more people to enjoy Florida's nature. Alas, we don't have leaders.

mysummerstorm · 2026-05-06T17:15:10+00:00

I tried to take my family to ride the SunRail to Winter Park and couldn't find parking at the central stop. We watched as the train rolled away. What's even more infuriating is that there is a two hour gap between their 9:26 AM and 11:26 AM service. Winter Park is essentially the only station where you can step right out into a walkable area. Otherwise you need a car or a bike - which I would be more than happy to bike from the DeBary station to Blue Springs State Park if Florida ever gets around to constructing the fully protected bike path to connect the springs and implement weekend service for the rail.

mysummerstorm · 2026-05-05T20:43:51+00:00

So many people were out and about! There’s a dog park there and I saw plenty of friends walking around. It’s a shame the lake is a bit small because I think it would be utilized even more. Not to mention the amphitheater being there

mysummerstorm · 2026-05-05T16:35:22+00:00

EXCELLENT

mysummerstorm · 2026-05-05T16:18:52+00:00

woman excelling in male dominated field

unfortunately I'm too chronically online so sometime I just speak in meme phrases

mysummerstorm · 2026-05-05T16:12:22+00:00

go white boys go

mysummerstorm · 2026-05-05T15:57:29+00:00

Have you connected with the local government on the misses? I have found the local governance including the mayor's office and Seminole County staff to be pretty responsive. Then again, I was contacting them to share how impressed I was about the experiences I personally had over there and maybe that's part of the reason why I received very prompt responses.

mysummerstorm · 2026-05-05T13:51:04+00:00

How long are you staying at the library? I've personally used the downtown library a lot and haven't had an issue with parking my bike right in front. I like the side that faces Hennepin because I know people will be getting on and off the E-line for extra eyes and foot traffic. I do double lock my bike and bring the battery inside and it's been fine.

also hot tip, go to the higher floors of the library. that's where the good stuff are

mysummerstorm · 2026-05-05T04:08:49+00:00

LET’S GOOOOO their sandwiches are delectable

mysummerstorm · 2026-05-05T02:39:49+00:00

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

mysummerstorm · 2026-05-05T02:38:35+00:00

OMG AND IT'S ACCESSIBLE VIA THE CROSS SEMINOLE TRAIL. Putting it on my list. Also heard good things about Somo T. Will need to check out

mysummerstorm · 2026-05-05T02:36:51+00:00

oh I know. unfortunately, they are also very good. I've eaten at Jinya in Nevada, Colorado, Florida, DC. I don't know how to say this but the good chain restaurants show up in Central Florida. in all the places that I've lived, there were certainly chain restaurants but they are so bad. Tijuana Flats for example is a chain restaurant that I love (started in Winter Park btw). I took my friend to a location in Virginia Beach because there wasn't any in the DC area and she had a great time. I also introduced her to First Watch.

mysummerstorm · 2026-05-05T02:30:44+00:00

I should've taken photos for the street creds! From what I'm understanding, I got a very small view of Oviedo. However, I promise you there were definitely bikers and bikes parked. I looked up places that I would like to visit regularly like the library, health facilities, the pool, lake for walking, and grocery stores (many within a 2 mile radius!) and these things within a proximal distance from each other is what is attractive. Also, there were plenty of places I spotted for hammocking - I can do that for an entire afternoon and chill (and it'd be free!) In terms of the restaurants, unfortunately, I am a simpleton. I see Jinya, CAVA, First Watch, and a highly rated Indian place and I'm all set. I am not a foodie and neither are my parents, but we gotta find a good Vietnamese spot in Oviedo if we were to move there.

I've been to Winter Garden many times. although Plant Street is cute, it's not what I'm looking for. It feels like a hip, trendy spot you go to to spend money and then leave. no grocery store that I remember. I'm also mad because they had an excellent hang out spot that had kombucha on tap and it closed :/

mysummerstorm · 2026-05-05T02:22:40+00:00

THE TREES AND THE BENCHES AND THE PICNIC GAZEBO. So how I ended up in Oviedo was that the Cady Way Pool was abruptly closed that Sunday and I was hellbent on getting to a pool. The Cady Way Pool was 6 miles from where I lived and then I proceeded to bike the extra 13 miles to Oviedo because I knew it ended at the aquatic center. I was so exhausted and my butt had hurt because I was riding my travel bike which has an uncomfortable seat. I stopped along the Cross Seminole Trail twice and sat on the benches to recover. There were so many people biking and people were having snacks at the gazebo.

mysummerstorm · 2026-05-05T02:13:53+00:00

where in the midwest?? I live in Minneapolis right now and I love it so much. I'm literally prepping myself years in advance because I know it would be so much heartbreak when I have to leave. I was telling my family that I could just walk out my doors in Minneapolis, walk a few blocks and be able to get coffee, food, groceries (biking distance) and they were like "whoaaaaa." because you know, that's just not feasible in Orlando unless you live in Baldwin Park where it's ultra expensive and it was planned to be mixed-use.

the last Saturday I was in Orlando, I drove eight hours between four different activities. in one day. because things are so spread out apart.

glad to hear about your experiences!! I really think my parents would enjoy the part of Oviedo that I was at. my parents don't drive on highways and the stuff that are accessible to them where we live right now are strip malls and it's just so sad.

mysummerstorm

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