They lie abandoned in ditches, parking lots, front yards and waterways, a nuisance to some, a non-issue to others. But when residents of Pinellas Point talk about the problem of abandoned shopping carts in their neighborhood, they tend to bring up numbers.
Martha O’Brien, a member of the Greater Pinellas Point Civic Association, said she recently counted 18 carts along 31st Street South between Pinellas Point Drive and the Albertson’s on 54th Avenue South. Resident John Keys said there are about three carts down the street from his house. City council member James Bennett, who represents Pinellas Point, claims that the issue of abandoned shopping carts was once among the top five complaints coming into his office.
But that all changed when one grocery store installed a system to keep its carts in place.
“When Kash n’ Karry redid their store about a year ago (and installed the system), the calls for the immediate area where I live went down to zero,” the councilman said.
Now Bennett wants the city to consider adopting an ordinance requiring all grocery stores to install some sort of containment device on carts. If passed, the ordinance would become one of a growing number of such ordinances in cities across the nation struggling with the problem of abandoned shopping carts.
Craig Holland, who introduced one such ordinance for Kissimmee, Fla., said the trend started in California, after inventors in the area developed new high-tech ways of making shopping carts stay on stores’ property. At least three companies now offer devices that stop carts by infrared or low frequency radio signals. When a cart gets out of its range, a specially designed wheel keeps it from going farther.
The system in place at the Kash n’ Karry on 62nd Avenue South relies on radio signals. A wire embedded in the asphalt parking lot emits the signal, and when a cart crosses a boundary marked by a yellow line, a brake clamps onto the front left wheel of the cart.
But Keys, who lives on 53rd Avenue South, said the system has its disadvantages.
“It’s disappointing when you’re headed for your car and the cart just stops,” he said. But, he added, he's gotten used to it.
Because the boundaries for the containment system, which is made by Gatekeeper Systems, LLC, cover only the area directly in front of the store, customers can no longer park at the nearby Walgreens to shop at both stores.
The carts also occasionally have technical problems. Electronic devices in the store may inadvertently trigger some carts’ brakes, said Don Chartrand, director of marketing and customer services for one of Gatekeeper’s competitors, Carttronics, LLC.
Keys adds that it isn’t difficult to keep the cart moving when only one wheel stops.
“If you go across the line, all you have to do is tilt the cart,” he said.
Costs for the installing the systems range from $8,000 to $25,000, depending on the number of carts. For larger chains, the cost is relatively little, but for smaller stores, the cost could be devastating. Regardless of size, some stores simply don’t want local governments imposing cart requirements that cost thousands to meet. In Kissimmee, the debate has led to a lawsuit, filed by Publix, Winn-Dixie and other stores that say the city’s shopping cart ordinance is unfair.
But stores such as Kash n’ Karry argue that the cost of installing the system is much less than the cost of replacing stolen carts.
In a letter to Points South, Camille Branch-Turley, manager of corporate communications for Kash n’ Karry, stated that it is not uncommon for a large store to lose 100 shopping carts per year. The shopping carts themselves cost about $100, so, she argues, a $25,000 system pays for itself in less than three years.
More importantly, said Tracy Leigh, a resident of Coquina Key, the system makes it more difficult for the carts to be removed, even if it doesn’t stop theft completely.
“I think it’s great,” she said of the wheel-lock system.
Bennett said the St. Petersburg Policy and Planning Commission will gather community feedback for about six months before deciding whether to draft a proposed ordinance for shopping cart containment. The St. Petersburg Chamber of Commerce will hold a meeting at 3 p.m. July 17 for store owners and managers to discuss the issue. The meeting will be at the Chamber of Commerce office, 100 Second Ave. N.
