Public Transit Expansion, Walkability & Traffic Relief
Audit Verdict · External Coordination
Dig-once street upgrades and a city-funded pass pilot are feasible, but systemwide transit expansion depends on FDOT, LYNX, Orange County, and Tallahassee.
Delivery depends on another board, county agency, state office, or public authority.
The Promise
Expand LYNX and SunRail service, pilot discounted transit passes, build a one-stop transit app, advance the Sunshine Corridor, and use resurfacing projects to add safer walking and biking infrastructure.
Analysis
City Hall can improve streets it controls and can buy down fares for a local pass pilot. It cannot unilaterally rewrite regional schedules or repurpose county tourism-tax revenues.
Legislative Record
She filed TDT reform bills in every session since 2021, but none passed.
Implementation Barriers
A portion of the inventory depends on agencies where the mayor has limited board representation, informal influence, or no direct management authority.
- SunRail is owned and operated by FDOT; weekend service requires state funding
- LYNX is a regional board where the mayor holds one of five seats
- Orange County Public Schools and UCF are independent entities outside mayoral control
Legislative sponsorship does not automatically convert into municipal implementation capacity, especially when similar bills repeatedly failed to advance.
- TDT reform bill failed five sessions in a row
- Keep Floridians Housed Act died twice
- Workplace harassment and unemployment reform bills never received hearings
Many pledges across the audited inventory arrive without cost estimates or recurring funding sources — even as the existing city budget is already heavily committed.
- No cost estimate for universal childcare, transit pass subsidies, or a new disability office
- No funding source for expanded CVI, legal aid, or business disruption insurance
- Ignores personnel-heavy budget: 62% of general fund is payroll and 55% goes to public safety