Lil Indie’s, 1036 N. Mills Ave., Orlando
Credit: Photo via Lil Indies/Facebook

On foot, crossing the five-lane Mills Avenue is like a real-life game of Frogger (and the Weekly isn’t the first to make this comparison).

If you’re on one side of the road, hundreds of feet from a designated safe crossing, you look for a lull in traffic. And if you must, you dash across two lanes and pause at the half-point in the middle turn lane. If it’s a busy night along the stretch of trendy restaurants and bars, you’ll be there for a minute, surrounded by cars going both ways. 

Wait for another lull. Then, dash across the remaining two lanes of vehicular traffic to reach the other side, ideally without becoming roadkill (or distracting the extra-duty Orlando police officers commonly stationed outside of Alfie’s HiFi).

Jaywalking from one late-night bar to the next is a common sight along Mills Avenue, much to the chagrin of drivers and fellow pedestrians observing the most brazen attempts to cross with no small amount of horror. But that pattern of mad-dashing across Mills, threatening the safety of pedestrians and drivers alike, could potentially change by the end of the year.

According to Laura Hardwicke, the city of Orlando’s safety mobility manager, city officials are hoping to build a new crosswalk at the intersection of Mills Ave and Canton Street by the end of 2026, near Plantee’s. The city is hosting a public town hall about the Mills 50 crosswalk proposal on Tuesday, April 28, at the Colonialtown Neighborhood Center from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. 

About 60 percent of the design concept is already finalized, featuring a Rectangular Rapid Flashing Beacon (RRFB design) and a “pedestrian island” mid-way across, so pedestrians don’t have to worry about crossing all five lanes of traffic at once. (One of these was recently installed on Virginia Drive near Ten10 Brewing.)

The location of the city’s proposed Mills 50 crosswalk along Mills Avenue. Credit: City of Orlando

Hardwicke told Orlando Weekly that the project, about two years in the making, is one “embedded in the community,” explored in response to a 2024 request from a local resident. Increased foot traffic, brought on by the arrival of popular new bars like Alfie’s (plus several restaurants planned to open in the next year) and the slow death of downtown nightlife, have also accelerated the pace of the project.

“This project is intended to create a safer crossing opportunity along a busy corridor with frequent pedestrian activity and limited protected crossing options nearby,” the city states in a description of the project published online.

Generally, Hardwicke said that the city “triages” projects like this based on need. She said the populous stretch of bars along Mills Avenue — including several late-night hubs frequently by industry professionals in the early hours of the morning — hasn’t seen any pedestrian deaths or major injuries in at least five years. 

But, she admitted, they’ve received more “demand” for added safe crossings along Mills, even so. As of 2025, Mills Avenue sees an average daily traffic count of 26,500 vehicles daily, according to data from the Florida Department of Transportation. 

The city is aiming to have 100 percent of the design completed by July and to begin construction of the crosswalk sometime this fall. The total estimated cost of the project is $500,000, to be paid for by the city. According to Hardwicke, part of the delay in construction in the first place was due to a lack of funds cited by the state Department of Transportation, which had to approve the project, since Mills Avenue is a state road.

Hardwicke said the city has a good relationship with the state Department of Transportation, but admitted the state told them they didn’t have the funds to pay for the project as it was moving forward. City officials decided to take on the cost, due to demand, conducted a feasibility study, and analyzed traffic data to identify the best location for a potential Mills Avenue crosswalk.

The April 28 town hall will present the culmination of that work and welcome community feedback. So, if you have thoughts, mark your calendar.

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General news reporter for Orlando Weekly, with a focus on state and local government and workers' rights. You can find her bylines in Creative Loafing Tampa Bay, In These Times, and Facing South.