Despite scream-inducing roller coasters and forecast attendance of 2 million people a year, a thrill-ride park proposed for the north end of International Drive wouldn't snarl local traffic or exceed a specified noise level in nearby residential areas, according to experts hired by the developers.

But the noise study prepared by experts for the developers concludes that the Orlando Thrill Park would exceed that noise level on adjacent commercial property, including part of Festival Bay Mall's parking lot next door.

"Mitigating the noise into the commercial and industrial areas may be feasible but would require extreme measures with uncertain results at overwhelming costs," according to the noise report, prepared by Siebein Associates Inc. of Gainesville.
That could pose a problem for the proposed park's developers, because the city of Orlando says the project must meet any noise-level requirements — even on the commercial side of the property.

"The fact that there's a parking lot there might reduce the likelihood of a complaint, but it doesn't mean that they get to exceed the noise level," said Kyle Shephard, an assistant city attorney. "If they think they may exceed [the city ordinance], they have to take that into consideration before they make that investment."

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The developers say they are still talking with the city about noise-level requirements and have consulted the mall's owners about the issue. In addition to doing more to mitigate any loud noises, the company said, it may seek special zoning for sound levels similar to what was granted to Universal Orlando, which has several large roller coasters in its two theme parks.

"I think it would be premature to draw any conclusions," said Neil Frazee, a consultant for the property's owner, I-Drive Investors LLC. "We don't have anything definitive yet, and it's hard for me to be quoted in saying what those answers are."

The park's "environmental acoustic assessment" measured the sounds generated by rides similar to those proposed for the I-Drive site and used computer models to simulate how those sounds would travel throughout the area around the project site, building a "worst-case" scenario for noise volumes.

The study assumed the park must meet a standard in which noise levels don't exceed 70 decibels — about the level produced by heavy traffic or a nearby vacuum cleaner — for a total of more than five minutes every hour.

But Shephard said the city has not yet determined what decibel level the park would have to meet and is still analyzing the various land uses of properties surrounding the Orlando Thrill Park site. "That's something that the city is still working on right now," Shephard said. "We haven't concluded that we know which one applies yet."

The city plans to have a consultant review the noise study. City-staff members will submit a recommendation concerning the project to the Municipal Planning Board shortly before the mid-March meeting.

According to the noise study, some rides might have to be turned off at night to meet the stricter noise standards that take effect late in the evening. But measures such as the thoughtful location of a parking garage, use of partial ride enclosures and construction of a sound barrier could shield Tangelo Park homes from excessive noise.

On the Festival Bay Mall side of the site, the report concluded that, with the current site plan, noise levels could exceed 80 decibels in some areas.

As for the proposed park's effect on area roads, traffic engineers have concluded that, although the development has the potential to snarl traffic along I-Drive on peak days, some of the troublesome effects can be alleviated by resetting traffic lights.

With timing of traffic signals adjusted, cars would wait an average of 59 seconds at the intersection of International Drive and Kirkman Road during the busiest morning hours, compared with 46 seconds now, according to the traffic study by GMB Engineers & Planners Inc.

Provided the traffic lights are adjusted, the project "won't degrade travel" on nearby roads, said Dave Mulholland, GMB senior vice president.

Traffic engineers assumed that many of the park's visitors would arrive between 9 and 10 a.m. and depart at closing, between 11 p.m. and midnight. The study looked at traffic patterns coming and going from Walt Disney World to help predict guests' timing and behavior at the thrill-ride park.

"It's a theme park, so you're presuming that you're going to have very similar peaking characteristics," Mulholland said.