PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — A Treasure Coast High School student who was hit by a car while riding his bike this week, is putting a spotlight on what neighbors in Port St. Lucie call a problem intersection at Tulip Boulevard and Hale Street.
Ana and Doroy Brown, the parents of the student, said it’s a problem that hit too close to home.
I was in complete shock,” said Doroy Brown. “I was scared. No parent would want to hear that.”
WATCH: Residents share concerns about intersection at Tulip Boulevard and Hale Street
The Browns told WPTV’s Tyler Hatfield their son should’ve stopped before crossing the intersection.
“We don’t want to make it seem like it’s the driver's fault or the school's fault,” said Ana Brown.
They said the "fault," is the intersection itself, with no crosswalk for kids to safely navigate the road during rush hour traffic.
“There are parents trying to drop off, there are parents trying to get to work, and then you have your everyday commuters,” said Ana Brown. “If there's nowhere for these kids to safely cross over, they're going to be in the middle of that danger, inevitably.”
Port St. Lucie police told WPTV there have been six crashes at this intersection since January 2024.
Neighbor David Higgins has lived in the neighborhood for 15 years, and said it’s been the same issue since his son attended Treasure Coast High School.
“It's almost like they're waiting for someone to get killed,” said Higgins.
Higgins said the whole intersection is out of whack.
“There's a crosswalk sign saying there's a crosswalk coming. But there's no sign here with an arrow saying exactly where it is," said Higgins. "There's no marking, so people don't know where it is.”
Ana Brown said she reached out to the city back in 2021, requesting a four-way stop. She said the city told her the intersection “didn’t meet the requirements.”
With her son getting hit this week, she’s pressing for solutions yet again.
“Give us a cross guard at least, or a crosswalk, so that the kids have somewhere that they can safely cross over into the school,” said Brown.
WPTV took their concerns to the city and the school district.
The St. Lucie Public Schools told WPTV they're with the city on traffic concerns, and said the following:
“[They’re] providing 50% of the funding needed for a traffic study in that area and will continue to work with the city to implement any recommendations from the study.”
