ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – Neighbors in a St. Petersburg neighborhood say drivers are speeding down their residential street to get to and from a gas station and that includes sometimes ignoring speed bumps. 

Hartford Street runs north-south parallel to 34th St N, just south of 38th Ave N.

At the north end of the street is a Wawa.

What You Need To Know

Neighbors on Hartford Street in St. Petersburg are concerned about traffic from Wawa

They say drivers often ignore speed bumps

City says they are working with residents on a solution

“This street essentially has become Wawa’s driveway,” said one neighbor, who goes by Scotty.

Even with speed bumps and speed limit signs added – he says drivers often ignore them getting to and from Wawa.

“I’ll see people not stopping at all for this speed bump,” Scotty said. “Once you get to know this speed bump, you know it doesn’t stop you. And they can’t make it higher because of regulations.”

He and his neighbor, Ivylyn Harrell, worked with the city of St. Petersburg to install the speed bumps in 2017, three years after the Wawa opened.

Harrell, who has lived on Hartford Street for decades, says the street used to be a dead end with no traffic. Now – more than 600 cars are on the street every day, according to a city study.  She’s worried about the safety impact.

“And these cars are driving so fast. I look through my kitchen window. My heart goes in my stomach because I’m afraid one of these kids are going to get hit,” Harrell said.

The residents are also concerned with growing e-bike use on the road as well.

They feel the solution is simple: New signs by the Wawa to direct drivers another way to exit instead of speeding down their street.  

The city also added that traffic can’t be routed a different way now because Wawa was granted the current setup during the formal site plan approval process. Officials say they will continue to work with the residents on Hartford Street.

“Nobody is complaining about Wawa,” Scitty said. “We all love it. We just wish there is more to be done to divert the traffic away coming out.”