Image via SunRail Riders Riding the Rails blog.
Between all the bike-sharing and car-sharing and everybody-moving and foot-traffic situations populating the Central Florida urban planning landscape right now, it's nice to see that the ever-popular Winter Park Sidewalk Art Festival will be alleviating infrastructural congestion this year – with the help of sponsors – for those who attend the EVERYBODY-ATTENDS event. SunRail has turned into something of a boon, it turns out, and when it's useful, it is indeed useful (like for things like this). Below is all the info to prepare you for your late-March mass transit. Happy ride-arting.
FREE SUNRAIL® SERVICE TO BE OFFERED DURING WINTER PARK SIDEWALK ART FESTIVAL WEEKEND
WINTER PARK, Fla., an internationally recognized ICMA Excellence Award winner with accredited fire, police and parks & recreation agencies (February 25, 2015) – On February 23, the City of Winter Park Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) approved the expenditure of funds to provide SunRail® train service during the Winter Park Sidewalk Art Festival Saturday, March 21, and Sunday, March 22, 2015, operating from approximately 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
SunRail will operate its normal ticketed schedule on Friday, March 20. However, FREE train service will be offered on Saturday and Sunday as a result of the CRA approval and generous support from the following funding partners:
Florida Hospital
Winter Park Community Redevelopment Agency
Winter Park Chamber of Commerce
The Winter Park Sidewalk Art Festival
PLEASE NOTE – Saturday, March 21, and Sunday, March 22, departing times:
Last train leaving Winter Park heads northbound @ 4:41 p.m.
Last train leaving Winter Park heads southbound @ 3:36 p.m.
Click here for the complete Saturday and Sunday train schedule.
“Winter Park is thrilled to be the leader in offering the first weekend of free SunRail service during The 56th Winter Park Sidewalk Art Festival. It is an amazing opportunity for the community to take a ride on SunRail and visit Winter Park to experience one of the best art festivals in the country,” said Winter Park Mayor Kenneth W. Bradley.
“This is a win-win scenario for all of our funding partners, SunRail, art festival attendees, and the region. By encouraging use of this alternative mode of transportation, we can conveniently bring more people to the festival, help alleviate parking challenges, and allow a larger audience to experience Winter Park,” continued Bradley.
Free SunRail parking will be available at the following stations along the corridor: Sand Lake Road, Maitland, Altamonte Springs, Longwood, Lake Mary, Sanford and DeBary.
The Winter Park Sidewalk Art Festival is one of the nation’s oldest, largest and most prestigious juried outdoor art festivals. It has been voted #1 in ArtFairCalendar.com’s Top 10 list of “America’s Best Juried Fine Art Fair” and ranked #1 in the southeast and #5 in the nation in Sunshine Artist Magazine’s 2014 list of “Best 200 Fine Art and Design Shows.”
