PLANT CITY, Fla. — The Florida Strawberry Festival always brings extra traffic to Plant City.
But for residents, it can make a busy intersection even harder to get through: Baker Street (U.S. 92) and Whitehurst Road.
“Going left there is almost impossible at times,” said Michael Hall, who lives in a neighborhood near the intersection. “And when the Strawberry Festival is in town, especially on the weekends, a lot of us don’t even plan to get out. We just hunker down.”
Even without festival traffic, Hall says Plant City is busier than ever due to recent growth in population.
That’s especially the case when I-4 is slow, which sends many drivers onto Baker Street, also known as U.S. 92, as an alternate route.
“Around five in the afternoon they’re coming from Tampa," Hall said. "You just don’t get out. So, you plan your day around when you think there’s not going to be much traffic."
That why’s he’d like to see a traffic light at Whitehurst Road and U.S. 92.
Right now, it’s just a flashing light which he said doesn’t do enough.
Hall said that many times, drivers trying to make a left onto U.S. 92 will have to find another way just to avoid the turn.
“Sometimes you have to drive few miles out of your way to get there because you just can’t get across,” he said.
Florida Department of Transportation officials say they last did a signal analysis at the intersection in 2020, which showed a traffic light wasn’t needed.
However, the department will now do a new study there, which is expected to be done by May.
Hall said that a light wouldn’t be just for convenience, but for safety as well.
“You have to pull out really far to see both ways," he said. "It’s just not safe."
