Sign petition to show where the Wekiva River flows through urban Orlando

Please click here to add your name to a petition to save the Wekiva River – one of the most environmentally sensitive waterways in Central Florida.

The goal of the petition drive is to add signs where the river crosses under urban roads in Orlando. Throughout Florida, there are signs marking waterways, such as in the accompanying photo on a bridge over the Suwannee River.

The petition drive is the brainchild of Dr. Lisa Jones who said, “We can’t save the Wekiva if people don’t understand where it is.”

One of the Wekiva’s major urban crossings is between the College Park and the Pine Hills areas where Princeton Drive and Silver Star Road merge. Signs are also needed on John Young Parkway and on Princeton near the Orange Blossom Trail.

“Many people think the waterway they see at the side of the road is just a drainage ditch, but that’s water flowing in the (Wekiva) river headed to the (Wekiva) springs,” said Dr. Jones who holds a Ph.D. in environmental sciences.

For the past couple of years, Dr. Jones has appealed to Orlando City Hall to stop developers from destroying thousands of trees and paving over environmentally sensitive woods near Mercy Drive and John Young Parkway because that’s a recharge area – where the Wekiva River begins.

The forested area is vital to the health of the Wekiva and the people who live in the Mercy Drive area. Trees help absorb vehicle exhaust fumes that cause cancer and respiratory problems in people.

The signed petitions will be sent to Florida Secretary of Environmental Protection Noah Valenstein and Florida Secretary of Transportation Kevin Thibault.

You can sign that petition by clicking here. Be sure to SHARE the link on your social media.

For more on Dr. Jones and her efforts to protect the Wekiva, please click here.