DOT’s Cortez Road-119th St. plans 
rile Cortez, spark widespread concern

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Island and Longboat Key leaders met their counterparts from Cortez May 9.

At a presentation and public hearing put on by the Florida Department of Transportation for a $3.7 million project on Cortez Road West between 86th and 123rd streets, more than 150 people came to be heard.

Swordfish Grill general manager Bob Slicker called out the elephant in the room — saying the island and key leaders had imposed their wishes on Cortez.

Swordfish is at 4628 119th St. W. on the bay end of the street.

He said the mayors “all got together” to ask the DOT for the continuous eastbound traffic flow, without input from Cortez.

Slicker said the solution for Bradenton Beach and Longboat Key will hurt Cortez businesses and inconvenience residents, “so you all can get off your island quicker.”

He and others suggested Longboat Key build a bridge to the mainland to bypass Cortez.

While views from Cortezians and mainland residents and Longboat Key clashed, many predicted the corridor problems would worsen as future developments in Cortez and nearby build out.

About 15 people spoke and 40 attendees submitted written comments.

The intersection of 119th Street West and Cortez Road at the east end of the village has a traffic signal with lanes for left hand turns, and serves commercial, business and residential traffic at a busy corner that includes a strip shopping center and the Florida Maritime Museum.

The DOT presented four options May 9 to improve the lighted intersection, where the crossroad, 119th Street West, is separated by about 200 feet:
• Leave as is.
• Remove the signal.
• Allow a free-flow of eastbound traffic from the islands, by eliminating left-hand turns from 119th Street.
• Realign 119th Street through the Florida Maritime Museum property.

Longboat Key officials favor the continuous eastbound lane to alleviate traffic backup on the barrier islands.

Cortezians spoke for the realignment and against the LBK-favored alternative, saying it would cut off westbound traffic from the village.

District 1 DOT director of transportation operations David Gwynn moderated the meeting.

Gwynn said the realignment is the best solution — but likely would take at least two years to build if approval is gained to use the corner of the county property at the Florida Maritime Museum.

After the meeting, he said he’d be looking to try to “fast-track” the alignment if it becomes viable.

He’s also announced the continuous flow option as a temporary solution that could become permanent — or changed if doesn’t work as planned.

The project had included an option to eliminate left turns from Cortez Road West onto 119th Street but the DOT scrapped it after Cortez residents and business owners protested to county and state officials in April.

Longboat Key town manager Dave Bullock said the eastbound continuous-flow option is the “most promising solution” to a 3-mile seasonal backup. He viewed it as “providing reasonable access around Cortez.”

Longboat Key Mayor Terry Gans favored the eastbound flow as well, saying it wasn’t proposed to harm Cortez, “but to find an improvement for a dangerous situation.”

Lenny Landau of the Longboat Key Revitalization Task Force, a town committee that formed in 2011, said the 119th Street bottleneck “becomes controlling” in peak season and at peak hours. He said it’s a “big problem” for employees who can’t get to work or home. He favors the “always green” alternative at 119th Street.

Jane von Hahmann, vice president of Cortez-based Florida Institute for Saltwater Heritage and a former Manatee County commissioner, urged the DOT and the county to protect the $8.7 million Cortez commercial fishing industry.

She pleaded with at-large County Commissioners Betsy Benac and Carol Whitmore to do “what’s best for everyone” to make the realignment option work.

Cortez has 1,000 permanent residents and more in peak season, who’d be challenged with crossing “not one, but two lanes” of oncoming traffic to turn west because a second eastbound lane is in the plans between 121st and 123rd streets, she said.

She warned about a newly proposed development, east of the Cortez Bridge, with a marina and some 200 units.

“We’ll be much like Sunny Shores,” trying to turn into traffic, von Hahmann said.

From Sunny Shores, several residents appealed to the DOT for relief at their access at 115th Street, which requires them to negotiate access across four lanes of angry drivers and speeding vehicles on Cortez Road West.

Ernest Marshall, a San Remo Shores resident and member of the Federation of Manatee County Community Associations, said the problem has increased with growth in the county. Formed in 1964, his group strives to improve quality of life and government efficiency.

“It’s like pouring 2 gallons of water into a 1-gallon bucket,” he said, adding a need to consider the businesses and the area residents who need safe access to the road.

He suggested all Cortez Road West subdivisions be included in the possible solution, including routing traffic to an existing signal at 103rd Street near the West Manatee Fire Rescue station.

Gwynn expects the DOT to decide a direction for the project in early June.

After the meeting, he said he plans to look at “fast tracking” the realignment solution if headway can be made on avoiding a deed restriction.

“None of these alternatives are great — they just may be better than what we have now,” Gywnn said.

“In order to make it better for some, unfortunately, we had to make it not as good for some, but we’re trying to make it better.”

The DOT will accept written comments until May 19.

Comments can be submitted to David Wheeler, 801 N. Broadway, Bartow FL 33830, or email david.wheeler@dot.state.fl.us.