ORLANDO, Fla. — The city of Orlando implemented new safety measures Friday in the Downtown Entertainment District to help increase safety and keep people off the streets.
What You Need To Know
- Orlando is working on reopening roads to traffic in the downtown area
- Barriers were set up on Orange Avenue from Washington Street to Pine Street to keep people out of the roadway
- The road remains closed to traffic as the city implements the new safety measure
- All these changes are coming after a downtown Orlando mass shooting on Nov. 1, that killed two people and injured numerous others
Orange Avenue in downtown Orlando was normally closed to traffic and open for pedestrians to walk along as they go from one establishment to another.
Now, city leaders hope to reverse that and reopen roads to traffic, keeping people on the sidewalks.
Starting Friday, the city secured barriers along Orange Avenue to keep pedestrians on the sidewalk.
At 8 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays, the road is closed to traffic and will remain that way as the city implements this new safety measure. But officials say the goal is to get vehicle traffic moving on the road instead of foot traffic.
This change comes after a mass shooting took place in downtown Orlando during the early morning hours of Nov. 1, that left two people dead and eight others injured.
The alleged 17-year-old suspect, Jaylen Dwayne Edgar, is being held without bond at the Orange County Jail on two counts of second-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder and grand theft of a motor vehicle.
Hussein Alzaro, who owns The Glizzy Spot in downtown Orlando, said while he relies on the busy late-night scene for his business, he's not viewing the city's changes as a setback.
"Most of the people, they will not be in the street, they will be on the sidewalk," Alzaro said. "That would make a big difference for us, because our business relies on foot traffic."
Alzaro said he stays busy all night long selling hot dogs from his food stand, and hopes his business will make it through the transition.
"I hope for it to be good," he said. "We've seen the worst things since COVID. Everything has changed. There's been a lot of new regulations — some of them are good, actually. It can make downtown more organized."
City officials say the play is to eventually Orange Avenue and some of the surrounding side streets will no longer be open to pedestrian traffic on the weekends. They did not have a specific timeline, though, of when the plan would be fully implemented.