Residents speak out against extension of Osceola County Parkway

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — Residents spoke out Thursday night against a proposed extension of Osceola County Parkway that could run through their neighborhood.

The extension could go through some subdivisions in Orange County and some homes would have to be torn down.

Angry residents packed a meeting at Valencia College to express their concerns.

“If they put this highway in, I might as well just walk away from my property,” said resident Larry Hoffman.

Close to 2,000 people who live on the Osceola-Orange County line could be affected.

The manager of the multimillion-dollar project said it is all a work in progress and final plans are a long way down the road.

“It’s important to understand that no decision has been made and what we’re really working on now is to come up with what we call a ‘build alternative,’” Paul Cherry said.

Cherry said officials expect to reach that alternative by the beginning of next year.

It will then go up against a “no build” alternative in a public hearing.

After that, a decision will be made whether to build the extension.

WFTV