AVALON PARK, Fla. – Beginning on Tuesday, Orange County traffic engineers will begin installing 150 "no parking" signs on one side of the streets in Avalon Park, citing safety concerns with people parking on both sides of the street.
The move comes after Avalon Park resident Russ Mozier told News 6 his story in November 2016. Back then, he said he called 911 after having chest pains and the paramedics had trouble getting to him.
"It wasn't life-threatening, but I thought it was at the time," Mozier said. "He (the paramedic) said, 'It took four or five minutes longer to get to you than it normally would,' To me, five extra minutes or four extra minutes could be a matter of life or death."
By the end of the day, when News 6 aired the story, an Orange County spokesperson said officials were going to conduct a study in the area.
Mozier himself worked to get petitions for the "no parking" signs and brought in his County Commissioner Jennifer Thompson.
Orange County Fire Rescue said they also sent out fire trucks the next day. A spokesperson for OCFR also wanted to make clear that the response time for Mozier's call was appropriate, even with the obstacles.
"We did send another unit out the following day, around the same time. The crew reported that there were cars parked on both sides of the road, creating a narrow passage. However, the unit was able to navigate through the community. Regardless, we did share the resident’s concerns," said Orange County Fire Rescue spokesperson, Carrie Proudfit.
Proudfit said that's when the Office of the Fire Marshal recommended the implementation of the signs.
"In later review, OCFRD did confirm on-street parking within this community could impede emergency apparatus from accessing certain portions of the community, creating a potential public safety hazard," Proudfit added.
With that, the county voted in May, and beginning on Tuesday, they will start to install the 150 signs. The project will be completed in two phases, beginning with installation in Avalon Village 6. It's expected to take several weeks to complete.
Mozier said he's happy with the results.
"I'm glad to see they are going to go up and I'm really happy it didn't take as long as other government projects take," Mozier said. "The results came fast and I think a lot of it was due to Channel 6."