Orlando is moving ahead with its 2026 Bicycle Plan Update, opening a new phase of public input as the city looks to build a safer, more connected and more usable biking network across its neighborhoods.
The update is being framed as a long range transportation guide, not just a list of isolated projects, with city planners asking residents to weigh in on what works, what feels unsafe and where better connections are still missing.
The timing matters. Orlando’s first bike plan dates back 32 years, and city materials make clear how much has changed since then.
What once centered on bicycles mixing with heavy traffic is now a broader conversation about low stress routes, neighborhood access, trail connections and everyday trips to schools, jobs, parks and activity centers.
The city says the plan update kicked off in October 2025, followed by an existing conditions and safety analysis that ran through February 2026.
Community outreach is now underway, the priority bicycle network work is scheduled through May 2026, a final public meeting is planned for June and July, and the final plan is expected in September 2026.
What gives this story a stronger civic angle is the way Orlando is defining the plan’s goals.
The city is not only talking about adding routes. It has laid out five broad targets around comfort, connectivity, access, safety and culture.
Those goals include adding more bike parking, increasing the share of separated bikeways by 20 percent, improving access across neighborhoods, raising the citywide bike score, encouraging more people to bike to work and working toward the elimination of fatal bicycle crashes.
That moves the conversation beyond recreation and into how residents actually move through the city.
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Orlando has already begun taking that conversation directly to residents. A meeting for districts 5 and 6 was held on March 23 at Grand Avenue Neighborhood Center, followed by a session for districts 3 and 4 on April 9 at College Park Neighborhood Center.
The next district meeting is scheduled for April 23 from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at Dover Shores Neighborhood Center for districts 1 and 2. A broader citywide public meeting is also listed for July 27 at Beardall Senior Center.
City planners are also directing residents to submit feedback online as part of the update.
That public input push comes as Orlando tries to build on a network it says has grown substantially over the years.
In March, the city said Orlando is home to more than 400 miles of urban trails, signed routes and lanes created specifically for biking, including more than 90 miles off street.
Orlando has also been recognized as a Silver Bicycle Friendly Community, a designation tied to investments in biking infrastructure, bike parking, safety training and other amenities.
Orlando’s Transportation Department lists the bike plan alongside Vision Zero, downtown trail work and other mobility projects, showing that the city is tying bicycling more closely to traffic safety and long term street design.
A related Bike and Micromobility Parking Study is also looking at better parking, corrals and support facilities in downtown Orlando, Ivanhoe Village, Parramore, Creative Village and major event destinations, reinforcing that the city now views biking and micromobility as part of everyday urban movement rather than a side issue.
For Orlando, that is the real test of this update. A city can publish a plan and still leave riders with broken connections, stressful crossings and lanes that stop where they are needed most.
But if this process turns public feedback into a network people can actually use across districts and income levels, the 2026 update could become one of the more practical transportation moves the city makes this year.
Right now, the message from Orlando is clear. The plan is open, the public process is active and the next version of the city’s bike network is being shaped now.
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