Central Florida Struggles With Transportation

"Bill Frederick has been here before. Back in 1998, the former three-term Orlando mayor was called out of retirement to head a panel looking at whether a $600 million light-rail system would ease Orange County's transportation woes. Frederick's group endorsed construction of the system -- and then watched the proposal die the next year amid a withering attack by anti-mass transit and anti-tax critics. Today, Frederick once again heads a commission -- along with 20 others appointed by Orange County Chairman Rich Crotty -- assigned to hammer out a consensus fix to a transportation system bordering on gridlock. During the next three months, Frederick and his fellow panelists must decide not just what they want -- something that may take a considerable amount of negotiation -- but also what the public will buy. This may not be a simple process."