Food trucks are becoming more and more popular in our area, but not for some drivers in downtown St. Petersburg.
- Food trucks causing traffic concerns in downtown St. Petersburg
- Trucks blocking traffic lane cause for potential accidents
- St. Pete PD plans to address issue, says spokeswoman Yolanda Fernandez
Food trucks have been fighting for the prime spot downtown as construction crews look to grab a quick bite to eat.
However, according to Erin Hamilton-Mullin, many times that prime spot is in her lane of traffic.
“The other day there was a pickup truck in front of me. He swerved all of a sudden in the middle lane. And that car is honking at him. I’m going, what’s going on?” Hamilton-Mullin explained.
Hamilton-Mullin said the spot where food trucks tend to park is along 4th Street South between 2nd and 3rd Avenue South.
“There are workers standing behind it. There are three of them there, someone serving. And I’m slamming on my brakes. The car behind me is slamming on their brakes. And now we’ve got to move over,” she said.
Hamilton-Mullin said she understands the needs of the workers downtown, and isn’t looking to remove the trucks entirely, just to make it safer for everyone.
“I would just like to see cones or some signs or something. I mean, the last thing we need is a pedestrian or another worker getting hit,” she said.
Bay News 9’s traffic expert, Chuck Henson, reached out to the St. Petersburg Police Department for help and said they have been made aware of the issue and plan to address it with the food truck drivers to make sure they don’t block the traffic’s right of way.