The city of Lakeland has designed its own program that uses advances in artificial intelligence to make traffic signals smarter by reacting to dumb decisions made by drivers who rocket into intersections trying to beat red lights. And now that program is about to expand from four intersections to 25.
Author Archives: John Haughey
Posted inNews
Negotiated Agreement Would Replace Oak Street Parking Lot With 200+ Apartments, 424-Space Garage
It’s taken six years and on-and-off negotiations with developers, but the city is close to securing a deal that could see a seven-story apartment complex with more than 200 units on a 1.5-acre city-owned parcel on Oak Street in downtown Lakeland. The project plans also include 2,000 square feet of street-level retail and a six-story, […]
Posted inCity Hall, Neighborhoods
National Hunting Groups Ready to Push Back Against Any Lake Parker Duck Restrictions
Duck hunters’ predawn shotgun blasts echoed across a cove in southwest Lake Parker three times in January, startling lakeside homeowners and prompting calls to police and state fish and game officers.
Posted inBusiness, City Hall
Lakeland Employee Pension Reports $30.28 Million Surplus, Yielding Bonuses to 1,331 Retirees
The stock market has been good for investors the last two years and among beneficiaries nationwide are public employee retirement plans, including the pension system for city of Lakeland employees and retirees.
Posted inCity Hall, Neighborhoods
Lakeland Asks Developers to Change Lake Miriam Apartment Proposal
Three hours and 15 speakers into a public hearing with many more signed up and ready to rip, the Lakeland City Commission had heard enough: Overwhelming public opposition may not qualify as “substantial and competent evidence” needed to deny a development proposal in a quasi-judicial proceeding under Florida statutes, but it can sure compel elected […]
Posted inHousing, Social Services
Mayor: Lakeland Is ‘5,000 Residences Short’ for a City Its Size
Skyrocketing home values and rental rates are issues across Central Florida but rising housing costs in Lakeland are particularly acute because it is “5,000 residences short” for a city its size, Mayor Bill Mutz said at a forum on housing and homelessness.
Posted inBusiness, Transportation
Aviation Business Incubator Will Launch at Sun ‘n Fun Campus
As it prepares for next week’s Sun ‘n Fun Aerospace Expo, the Aerospace Center for Excellence announces it is launching ELEVATE, a business incubator on its Lakeland Linder Airport campus aimed at jump-starting aerospace and logistics enterprises.
Posted inActivism, Social Services
Thursday Forum Will Discuss Solutions to Homelessness in Lakeland
Solutions for the 3,700-plus Polk County public school students classified as homeless — living in shelters, budget motels, dangerously compromised dwellings or sofa-surfing with friends and family — will be among the topics discussed Thursday at a Lakeland forum on homelessness and affordable housing.
Posted inHousing, Neighborhoods
City OKs 252 Apartments, the First of Several Complexes Proposed for Southwest Lakeland
The Lakeland City Commission Monday green-lighted a land-use change and development plan to allow Mosaic Development to build a 252-unit apartment complex at the southwest corner of West Pipkin and Yates roads. The 4-2 approval came after a public hearing that included little opposition, but despite concerns raised by dissenting Commissioners Sara Roberts McCarley and Bill Read […]
Posted inCity Hall, Neighborhoods
Three Projects Propose 1,000 Apartments in Southwest Lakeland
The Lakeland City Commission Monday will review Mosaic Development’s proposal for a 252-unit apartment complex at West Pipkin and Yates roads, the first of several coalescing large multifamily projects in southeast Lakeland set to go before it in the coming months. Coming down the pike: Two evolving projects that could allow for nearly 700 more apartment units […]