By Christine Moore, Orange County District 2 Commissioner

We recently finished up the 2025 Corridor of the Year judging. The winners will be announced at 6:30 p.m. on Nov. 20 at Wekiva High School.  

I’m also enrolled in a Strong Towns leadership cohort. Strong Towns is a national organization committed to reducing suburban sprawl, improving the fiscal health of cities, and bettering routine maintenance. This column will merge the Strong Towns principles with my Corridor of the Year program.  

As a reminder, the purpose of Corridor of the Year is to reduce crime, protect property values, beautify and clean up the community, and recruit like-minded neighbors to action. 

Strong Towns president Charles Marohn in his book “Strong Towns: A Bottom-Up Revolution to Rebuild American Prosperity” recommends local governments and citizens prioritize basic routine maintenance. Marohn believes cities should stabilize what he calls, “centers of wealth.”  

He described routine maintenance as the Walt Disney World way – superior mowing, edging, sweeping, trash pickup, pressure washing, and pothole filling. This takes both a municipality and property owners. 

Recently, a sister company to Strong Towns, Urban 3, performed a productivity audit of all Orange County properties. President Joe Minicozzi then shared a 100-page PowerPoint with the Board of County Commissioners.  He recommended reducing suburban sprawl and eliciting more “Winter Garden” styles of development.  

The brand-new Northern Apopka People Group, led by Merry and Jason Lovern, worked on Old Dixie Highway from the entrance to Errol Estate to Plymouth Sorrento Road. I also used Orange County government funding for streetlights, reduction of sidewalk gaps, better mowing routes, and improved safety around the Old Dixie curves. Some of this is in planning and will be completed in 2026.  

Addressing infrastructure concerns is a big part of the Corridor of the Year program. The team picked up trash, painted buildings at Dayspring Church, erected community-spirit installations, and trimmed many trees. One member is even contending with a large property owner who is not maintaining their right-of-way or addressing a large homeless camp.  

This hands-on approach, as I attend every clean-up with this new team, allowed me to discern a long-term plan to straighten out the terrible shared responsibilities between the county and city along Old Dixie Highway. Stay tuned. 

Marohn says new suburban subdivisions are in their best condition when they first open. The challenge is to keep homes and infrastructure in pristine condition. He describes our Neighborhood Leader, or Corridor of the Year, effort as attention to detail and “showering a neighborhood with love.” 

Recently, I had someone describe this extensive effort on Old Dixie Highway as simply “putting up pretty butterflies.” Butterflies might get the show started, but the extensive improvements and community engagement should never end. 

Strong Towns, Urban 3 and People of Northern Apopka seek to defend, protect and improve communities. I hope you consider attending monthly meetings beginning in January. Please call my office at 407.836.5850 for more information.