Orchard Pond Parkway

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The Orchard Pond Parkway is a privately constructed 5.2-mile toll road north of Tallahassee, Florida. The roadway provides two 12-foot travel lanes and 5-foot bike lanes. A future, parallel nature/bike trail is also planned. The route creates an east-west connection among northeast Tallahassee neighborhoods between North Meridian Road and Old Bainbridge Road, paralleling the existing (dirt) Orchard Pond Road, reducing travel times to such locations as Tallahassee Regional Airport in southwest Tallahassee shorter for local residents. The toll road is initially anticipated to serve 500 to 1,000 vehicles per day, increasing to 4,000 per day in 10 years. It is expected to turn a profit after three to five years. A construction loan from the state will be paid off in 30 years. The land through which the road runs is owned by the project's developer, Jeff Phipps. According to the private developer, a new road eventually would have been publically constructed along the existing Orchard Pond Road right-of-way, and he felt that by building the road himself, it could be done in way that preserved the natural environment around it. The road is owned by Leon County, who is leasing it back to Jeff Phipps for 99 years.

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