February 17 - 20 2005 Silver Spurs Rodeo Provided Shuttle Services Between the parking lot of the Heritage Park to the Arena.
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Update for January 31 – February 6, 2005
Celebration Trolley begins service
Residents and visitors have a new way to get around Celebration, the town formerly owned by Disney. A trolley service, using a bus fitted out in the style of San Francisco's cable cars, started running this past weekend. Since the service is new, there is no set schedule yet as they are still timing the routes. For $1 per adult (50 cents per child 3-10 and senior over 65), riders can get a lift around Water Tower Plaza and all neighborhoods. Annual passes using biometric identification are also available. For more information, check out the trolley's Web site (link).
By Elizabeth Kirk | Sentinel Staff Writer Posted January 14, 2005
CELEBRATION -- A wave of nostalgia is clanging its way through Celebration on the wheels of a new trolley service.
Alex and Johan Maldonado, owners of Celebration Computers, have launched Celebration Transit Co. to provide alternative transportation for the community, which they see as plagued by too many cars.
"There is never enough parking," Alex Maldonado said. "We are the solution."
The trolleys are replicas of 1930s-style San Francisco streetcars and have the same feel as the originals, down to the oak seating and tall metal fare boxes.
But they're modern, too. The Maldonado's have installed Global Positioning Systems and have electronic fingerprint and photo identification for residents who buy annual passes for unlimited rides.
About 200 passes have been sold at a special $99 rate. After Jan. 31, regular-price passes will be $189 for adults and $115 for children between ages 3 and 10 and seniors older than 55.
Single-ride fares are $1 for adults and 50 cents for children between 3 and 10 and seniors older than 55. Single rides can be purchased with cash at the entrance to the trolley. Children younger than 3 may ride for free.
The Maldonado's claim the trolleys will be unlike any other local mode of transportation, and they have taken great care to make sure their trolleys fit in well with the planned community.
"We know Celebration. We are part of it," Alex Maldonado said. He has lived in Celebration for two years. "We don't want to see tacky ads. We want to maintain the same level [of atmosphere] as Celebration."
There will be no advertising signs on the outside of the trolley, but 19 placards will house print ads inside and three plasma-screen TVs will run commercials on an hour-long loop.
The Maldonado's said the safety of the community is foremost in their minds, and they plan to monitor the speed of the trolleys with GPS as well as monitor the route with four cameras mounted on each vehicle.
One of the cameras will be a live link to their Web site, www.celebrationtrolley.com, so parents can check up on their kids riding the trolley.
Johan Maldonado said she knows tourists will use the service, but the couple's intention is that main beneficiaries will be residents.
"Housewives can go to the grocery without using their car," she said. "They can go out and do their shopping without looking for parking."
Providing service within Celebration is just the beginning for The Maldonado's. They plan to run as many as eight trolleys and buses originating in various locations on U.S. Highway 192 and in Celebration.
A trolley along U.S. 192 from U.S. Highway 27 to State Road 535 is scheduled for March, and private busing to and from Celebration High School should be operating by next school year.
The Maldonado's also want to operate services from Celebration to Downtown Disney and Orlando International Airport.
The goals are lofty, but The Maldonado's are determined that they will have full-service transportation for the community of Celebration in three to six months.
Right now, the trolleys are just waiting for approval from Walt Disney Imagineering for the placement and colors of the trolley's stops. Once that is nailed down, The Maldonado's will be able to set a start date.
The two trolleys will run from 6:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m., seven days a week. There will be about 30 stops on the 57-minute route, but The Maldonado's say they are open to changes.
"We want to stay involved with the community, so they can say where they want to have stops," Johan Maldonado said.
The most recent route plan includes stops at Water Tower Place, Celebration Place Business Center, Front Street and each neighborhood in Celebration.
They will also stop at Florida Hospital Celebration Health, providing a number of passes for its patients.
Vickie White, the director of the hospital's Cancer Institute, said the trolley would serve patients who cannot drive themselves.
"Some [patients] still want to be independent," White said. "This service would let them get around on their own and get the treatment they need."
While they wait for approval, The Maldonado's are focusing on the special-events part of their business. They want to cover "anything you would want a trolley for," including family reunions and even weddings.
The Web site shows events booked out to October, and The Maldonado's plan to add narrated tours of Celebration to their offerings.
"People have been really excited about our service," Alex Maldonado said.
LYNX Board Approves Limited Fare Increase
LYNX Board of Directors passed a proposed fare adjustment at its monthly meeting, but settled for 50 percent of the proposed increase for Para transit riders.
The Board approved an increase from $2.00 to $2.50 for ACCESS LYNX ADA fare riders inside the ¾ mile radius and from $2.00 to $3.50 for ACCESS LYNX ADA fare riders outside the ¾ mile radius. Those fares will remain in place for one year while other sources of funding are investigated.
The Board also approved an increase from $1.25 to $1.50 for fixed-route passengers. The increases will begin March 20, 2005.
The decision drew a round of applause from an estimated 100 people attending the meeting the second-floor boardroom at LYNX Central Station.
"It's an unusual event when a fare increase gets applause," LYNX Chairman of the Board Atlee Mercer said. "But it happened because the people that were using the service understood what our needs were and all they asked for was some reasonable consideration and they got it."
"That was a very good compromise reached today," LYNX Executive Director Linda Watson said. "LYNX was successful in getting the message out that we need the fares to recover more of the cost of the service, but the Board showed our riders some compassion in withholding a full increase for a year."
Empresarios hispanos mueven a Celebration
Por Cristina Elías | El Sentinel Posted January 15, 2005
CELEBRATION --Los habitantes de Celebration tendrán más opciones para movilizarse a partir de hoy gracias a la astucia de una pareja de empresarios puertorriqueños.
Alex Maldonado y su esposa Johan, residentes de esa zona desde hace dos años, han dado inicio a un nuevo servicio de tranvía motorizado -- el único método de transporte público en esta pequeña población del condado de Osceola, concebida por Disney, inaugurada en 1996 y que está experimentando un crecimiento drástico.
"No somos una ciudad pequeña ya y las distancias de un sitio a otro no se pueden caminar", dijo Maldonado mientras hacía un recorrido de prueba y saludaba a peatones y conocidos con la alegre campana de su tranvía tricolor. "Además ahora que han abierto la [escuela] secundaria han cambiado la velocidad y los carritos de golf ya no pueden competir, así que la gente debe comprar un carro de verdad".
Con unos 8,500 habitantes y más casas construyéndose cada día, Celebration está enfrentando más tráfico y tanto los carritos de golf como los segways -- los sistemas de transporte actuales -- no parecen ayudar, a medida que locales comerciales abren en su centro y residentes acuden a vivir a la lujosa comunidad con aire nostálgico.
En Celebration se pueden encontrar algunas de las casas más costosas de la Florida Central, con un valor promedio por casa de entre $300,000 y $399,000 que asciende hasta los $3 millones. Un 22.9 por ciento de sus habitantes reportan ingresos de entre $50,000 y $75,000 al año, según el Censo. En el 2003 solamente, 350 nuevas viviendas fueron construidas, según portavoces de la ciudad.
Además el servicio de transporte de Lynx llega sólo hasta el centro de negocios Celebration Place, dejando a muchos viajeros sin forma de llegar hasta el centro de Celebration.
"Las calles en algunos de los lugares más residenciales son demasiado angostas para los buses de Lynx y aun para nuestros tranvías", dijo Johan Maldonado, quien es socia con su esposo en un servicio de redes de computadoras llamado Celebration Computers. Ahora también ayudará a administrar la flotilla de ocho tranvías y autobuses. El servicio, que emplea a siete conductores, incluirá servicio directo hacia el Aeropuerto Internacional de Orlando en el futuro.
"Ya me he subido al tranvía y pienso que es fantástico", dijo David Berelsman, del Grupo de Corredores de Celebration. "Es cierto que tenemos un poco más de tráfico, y será una vía magnífica para que los estudiantes vayan a la escuela y las personas mayores puedan ir a las tiendas".
El recorrido en tranvía por todo Celebration tomará 57 minutos, según los cálculos de Maldonado y comprenderá aproximadamente 25 paradas a lo largo y ancho de sus seis sectores principales. El servicio, que funcionará desde las 6:30 a.m. hasta las 9:30 p.m., tendrá como punto de partida el centro comercial Watertower Plaza en la esquina de la carretera 192 y Celebration Avenue, y terminará en el complejo de negocios en Celebration Blvd. Además, tanto el departamento de ingeniería del condado de Osceola como el departamento de Transporte federal aprobaron el servicio, que ya está funcionando, para giras narradas en la comunidad. Los rótulos de las paradas están siendo colocados con el inicio del servicio regular.
"La parte más difícil fue decidir la ruta", dijo Maldonado. "Porque mucha gente quiere que la llevemos".
Puede comunicarse con Cristina Elías a través de celias@orlandosentinel.com o 407-931-5942
Due to unforeseen circumstances, our scheduled route has been delayed from our original planned date in November, however we now set February 2005 as the official start date for our scheduled trolley route.
We would like to thank everyone for their patience and understanding. We are eager to serve you in the near future.
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