Osceola County is the fastest growing county in Central Florida.

But that growth comes with some growing pains, especially on the county’s clogged roads.

“Lots of building is happening, which is completely understandable,” Osceola resident Mike Taylor said. “But with that growth, you need to be responsible for it and how you’re managing the growth and how you’re managing infrastructure.”

For the past 12 years, Taylor has lived off Old Lake Wilson Road in a neighborhood in Osceola County.

“When we first moved here, Old Lake Wilson Road was one lane in either direction,” he said.

But now, congestion causes major backups.

Taylor says, often, it can take an hour to go 3 miles.

“We don’t even come down here anymore to go grocery shopping,” he says.

Growth, from warehouses to apartment complexes, is bringing more traffic to Old Lake Wilson Road, Taylor says.

That’s why he started an online petition, asking Osceola County to hold off on issuing permits until the roads can handle the traffic.

“I hope they widen it," he says. "We can’t keep living like this every day.”

The county is considering widening Old Lake Wilson Road, from Osceola Polk Line Road to Sinclair Road, from two lanes to four lanes. But the study, which began in December 2020, won’t be finished until March 2023. And construction wouldn’t begin until 2025.

That’s not soon enough for Taylor.

“If the road can’t handle all of the people, pause on all of the construction until you fix the road so people can get from Point A to Point B,” Taylor says.

Osceola County would not comment on the petition, but it has been a balancing act handling development and traffic in one of the nation’s fastest-growing counties.

Osceola County notes it has refinanced bonds to use $200 million to improve five major roadways in the coming years.

The county is looking at state and federal dollars to widen Old Lake Wilson Road.

A public hearing on Old Lake Wilson Road was held in February, and another one is planned for fall.