Benefits of Expressway Authority
Study
Shows Expressway Authority Is A Major Economic Force In Central
Florida
An "Economic and Mobility Impacts" study conducted by the
Center for Urban Transportation Research at the University of South
Florida, shows the Orlando-Orange County Expressway Authority is one of Central Florida's
most valuable assets. Based on 1993 data, researchers found the
Expressway Authority had an annual cost benefit to users of more
than $227 million. By the year 2020, that annual benefit is expected
to soar to $900 million per year. The savings come from several
areas including reduced travel time, lower fuel costs, and fewer
automobile crashes. If the expressway system had not been built,
researchers estimate Orlando area drivers would be spending an extra
28,477 hours a day in traffic and wasting 18,478 gallons of fuel.
There would be six additional auto accidents every day leading to
292 additional injuries and 4 more fatalities each year. Add up
the costs of all that over the next 25 years and the total value
of the Expressway system is more than $4 billion.
The study found the Expressway system is valuable in many other
ways too. Because the Expressway system reduces travel time and
makes property more accessible, the researchers found property values
near the Expressway system are higher and development is more dense.
According to 1993 data, 70 percent of Orange County's jobs were
located within one mile of the Expressway system and 87 percent
of the county's residential property value was located within 3
miles of the Expressway system.
By the year 2020, researchers estimate 77 percent of all single
family homes and 72 percent of all multi-family homes will be located
within one mile of the Expressway Authority system. Likewise, 61
percent of hotel rooms will be within the buffer area and nearly
80 percent of industrial employment will occur along the Expressway
system. Researchers also say single-family dwellings will go up
along the Expressway system at twice the rate experienced in the
rest of Orange County.
While the one mile buffer-zone included in the study represents
only 18 percent of Orange County's total land area, researchers
say property values in the buffer represent about $7.2 billion or
57 percent of the county's property tax base. According to researchers,
the study proves that the Expressway system is the mobility backbone
for Orange County's economy.
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