Traffic — is it getting worse?
Many who live or work on Anna Maria Island through the pinnacle of tourist season say it is. But data to measure the vehicle count is scarce.
Since the fall of 2014, the Holmes Beach Police Department has been rotating throughout the city two speed-limit devices that also count vehicles.
One device counted 202,283 vehicles coming to the island on Manatee Avenue Nov. 3-Dec. 2, 2014. During the same period, the second device showed 163,157 vehicles passed south of Manatee Avenue through the 2700 block of Gulf Drive in Holmes Beach.
Interpreting the data, HBPD Chief Bill Tokajer said, “It means there are a lot of people coming to the island.”
Asked whether the difference between the two calculations means about 39,000 vehicles went to the Manatee Public Beach, he said not necessarily. Vehicles could travel north or to other destinations.
Traffic is “continually getting worse,” said Jayne Christensen, eight-year Holmes Beach resident and chair of the Island Traffic Congestion Committee established by the city of Holmes Beach.
An expensive study, fancy equipment or knowing the exact numbers aren’t necessary to “see there’s a problem,” she said.
“The season used to be just January to March. The summer was dead,” Christensen added. “Now we really have a big spring and then again in the summer, when the kids are out of school — it’s huge.”
Tokajer agreed with Christensen’s assessment and chalked up the traffic backups to the increase in rental properties.
On Longboat Key, infrared cameras scanning traffic have been stationed at the south and north ends for the past two years.
Keyed into law enforcement databases and used to assist police with tracking vehicle tags, the cameras also count the number of vehicles coming to and from the key.
In January 2015, the cameras recorded 147,386 more vehicles than January 2014.
In February, 380,360 more vehicles came on and off Longboat Key as compared to February 2014.
And in March 2015, there were 319,816 more vehicle trips than in March 2014, though missing five days due to operation malfunctions last year.
To estimate the vehicles that came onto Anna Maria Island, those numbers could be halved, according to Longboat Key Police Chief Pete Cumming.
“This year was a big year for traffic,” he said.
The Manatee County Sheriff’s Office, which provides Anna Maria with law enforcement, doesn’t track how many vehicles enter the city, according to MCSO public information officer Dave Bristow.
Neither does Bradenton Beach.
However, BBPD Detective Sgt. Lenard Diaz consulted others on the force during his Easter shift on the city streets.
“Talking to the guys, throughout the week and this weekend, and on Saturdays and Sundays all season, yeah, it’s gotten worse,” he said.
Like Holmes Beach, the city of Anna Maria maintains speed-limit devices that also count vehicles. Traffic data from Anna Maria’ devices, placed south of Archer Way on Gulf Drive for the past three months, has not yet been downloaded, according to Anna Maria’s public works director, George McKay.
Manatee County and other law enforcement departments use Florida Department of Transportation data. However, the DOT provides only estimates — average daily traffic — and only as current as 2013 due to a certification process.
DOT statistics indicate about 211,144 vehicles crossed the bridge on Manatee Avenue to Anna Maria Island during the first 13 weeks of 2012. In the same period in 2013, DOT estimated 206,305 vehicles trips over the same bridge.
For the Cortez Bridge, during the same 13-week period in 2012, the DOT averages indicate 200,953 trips. In 2013, there were about 106,347 vehicle trips on the Cortez Bridge, according to the DOT.