ST. AUGUSTINE, FL — Drivers and pedestrians in downtown St. Augustine have once again entered their annual debate over which group is ruining the city harder.

The latest round began after a post in the St. Augustine News Facebook group showed people walking in the road downtown, followed by another image of a vehicle allegedly driving the wrong way on a one-way street. The original poster argued that downtown is still a working road and said people going the wrong direction, or standing in front of her vehicle, were not helping the morning commute vibes.

From there, the comment section did what it was born to do.

Some commenters sided with drivers, saying tourists and pedestrians routinely ignore sidewalks, traffic laws, and the basic idea that roads contain vehicles. Others pushed back, arguing that St. Augustine is nearly 500 years old and was not exactly designed with SUVs, windshield wipers, and downtown shortcut strategies in mind.

One commenter said downtown streets like Charlotte, Hypolita, Cuna, Treasury, and Spanish may not be far from being closed to vehicles altogether, which would either solve the problem or simply relocate the yelling to another street with worse parking.

And that is the real St. Augustine puzzle: downtown is part neighborhood, part tourist attraction, part working street grid, part historical artifact, and part open-air obstacle course where everyone believes they personally have the right of way.

The tourists think it’s a walking village. The locals think it’s a road. The delivery trucks think it’s a loading zone. The one-way signs are apparently offering suggestions. And everyone involved is deeply convinced the problem is someone else.

At publishing time, downtown St. Augustine remained open to cars, pedestrians, confusion, and at least three people preparing to type “go back to New York.”

Check out the Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/StAugustineNews/permalink/26539085185773251