RUSKIN, Fla — In our ongoing Driving Tampa Bay Forward series, we are pushing for answers on an issue you brought directly to us.
People living and working in Ruskin are concerned about dangerous roads near 7th Avenue NE and US 41.
"When I drive down this street, and I almost hit the same little kid and the mother twice, it's kind of scary," said resident Robert Gipson.
There are no sidewalks on either side of the road near the area.
"You just have to be looking out for pedestrians and people like that on the bicycle who's going across the road right now because there's a lot of people that are disabled around here. They have wheelchairs out here. They have bicycles. The elderly walk through here, children have to walk through here to come down to Dollar General to get food," Gipson added.
Gipson told ABC Action News he moved to this area about three years ago, and he's seen the population and congestion skyrocket.
"Just the other day, I almost hit somebody on this road and I know the dangers of this road. Even if I'm looking out for those dangers, I don't see them until they're on top of me," Gipson explained.
This area is now filled with businesses. People like Mateo Diaz Perez walk to and from work every day, and say 7th Avenue is always a gamble.
"I feel like I'm playing road crossing... There has been a couple of times where I had to step out into the grass just to get away from a car that was a little too close to the edge," Perez said.
Both Perez and Gipson said they've emailed and called the county about their concerns, and we wanted answers too, which is why we reached out to see what's next for this developing area.
A statement from Josh Bellotti, Director of Engineering and Operations, read:
"The corridor on 7th Ave. NE between US 41 and 12th street NE could be submitted for a corridor safety review study by the HOA if one of the new neighborhoods that feeds onto 7th Ave NE... That study could then be reviewed by the residents on the community and they could have input on what if any actions should be taken to improve safety in the corridor."
People in Ruskin said they hope changes come soon.
"Pretty much the sidewalks. So, there'd be at least be a safer place to walk," Perez said.
"Somebody is gonna get seriously hurt. And I just want the community these leaders in this community to do something about it before somebody gets killed," Gipson added.
