ORLANDO, Fla. — Today, the Orange County Board of County Commissioners voted unanimously to move forward with a feasibility study for the Sunshine Transit Advancement Resolution (STAR) Plan, a proposal to bring rapid transit to eight of the county’s busiest corridors, including Colonial Drive, Semoran Boulevard, Orange Blossom Trail, and International Drive. State Representative Anna V. Eskamani, who endorsed the STAR Plan and testified in support at today’s meeting, released the following statement:
“Today is a win for every Central Floridian who has sat in traffic on Colonial, waited over an hour for a LYNX bus, or done the math and realized their car is eating up a paycheck they can’t spare. Transportation is an affordability issue, and today Orange County took a real step toward treating it like one.
This moment only happened because young people refused to accept ‘Car-lando’ as our destiny. Sunrise Movement Orlando did the homework, built the coalition, and brought a serious plan to the table. I’m grateful to Commissioner Dr. Kelly Martinez Semrad for championing it, and to Mayor Demings and to every commissioner who voted yes.
A feasibility study isn’t a finish line. It’s how we get answers on demand, routes, and cost, and how we put Orange County in position to compete for the state and federal dollars that other regions, like Miami-Dade, are already using to build rapid transit. After voters said no to the 2022 sales tax, some people treated transit as a closed question. Today shows it isn’t. Our community still wants options, and we deserve a plan built on data and public input.
I’ll keep showing up for this work. The next step is making sure the study happens quickly and transparently, and that residents along these corridors have a real voice in what gets built. Let’s get it done!”