Seminole changes names of 2 major roads

With the goal of eliminating confusion among motorists traveling from neighboring Orange County, Seminole officials recently changed the names of two major roadways.

State Road 434 between Burnsed Place and McCulloch Road near the University of Central Florida is now known as Alafaya Trail, as it is known in Orange County.

Roughly 41,500 vehicles use that nearly 2-mile stretch of Alafaya every day, according to the state Department of Transportation.

Also, U.S. Highway 441 in west Seminole County is now called South Orange Blossom Trail between roughly a quarter-mile portion that includes the intersections of Center Street and Overland Road.

The roadway has long been called South Orange Blossom Trail within Orange County but it was known as U.S. Highway 441 in Seminole.

About 26,500 vehicles that stretch of road per day.

Seminole County staffers have changed all the street signs within those areas to reflect the new names.

Alan Harris, Seminole County emergency management director, use said that the name changes are to maintain consistency between both counties and may help someone new to Central Florida who may become confused because the names on street signs were different in both counties.

Most map websites — such as Google Maps, Bing and MapQuest — list the names as Alafaya Trail and South Orange Blossom Trail in Orange and Seminole counties.

The U.S. Postal Service and most businesses along the roadways also use the names Alafaya Trail and South Orange Blossom Trail.

Emergency vehicles have never had a problem with the old S.R. 434 or U.S 441 names, Harris said.

He pointed out that the UCF campus sits just southeast of the McCulloch Road intersection, and Alafaya Trail is often traveled by visitors from outside of Central Florida, such as students attending the university.

The name changes “are really for the citizens and [to] avoid confusion,” Harris said. “Someone may be trying to find an apartment complex along Alafaya Trail — a new UCF student, for example — and may be asking: ‘Where’s this Alafaya Trail?’ because the street signs in Seminole say State Road 434.”

S.R. 434 and U.S. 441 are statedesignated names. It’s not unusual for local governments to adopt names for roadways that are different than the state’s monikers.

U.S. Highway 17-92 near downtown Orlando is known as Mills Avenue.

U.S. 441 in Tavares is known as Burleigh Boulevard. And U.S. Highway 17-92 near downtown Sanford is known as French Avenue.

Seminole commissioners approved the name change Jan. 9 without comment.