“If you’re in a hurry, you’re on the wrong island,” Bradenton Beach Mayor Bill Shearon said Feb. 17, during a Coalition of Barrier Island Elected Officials.
And that statement summarized the agenda for the March 16 BIEO meeting at Bradenton Beach City Hall.
Anna Maria Island mayors — Shearon, Holmes Beach Mayor Bob Johnson and Anna Maria Mayor Dan Murphy — and Longboat Key Mayor Jack Duncan were scheduled to continue a traffic discussion that began in January.
The mayors plan to begin working out a viable short-term plan of action on how to reduce traffic congestion.
The BIEO planned to invite representatives from the Sarasota/Manatee Metropolitan Planning Organization and the Florida Department of Transportation to a future meeting.
Manatee County commissioners and island city commissioners could be in attendance, too.
The BIEO community traffic meeting is schedule for 2 p.m. Wednesday, March 16, in the Katie Pierola Commission Chambers at Bradenton Beach City Hall, 107 Gulf Drive N.
— Tal Reeve
Traffic ideas from the Feb. 17 BIEO meeting:
• Build traffic circles in Holmes Beach.
• Take local control for traffic lights when the traffic backs up.
• Reduce drawbridge openings on Manatee Avenue and Cortez Road.
• Undertake a study on the viability of a water taxi.
• Run an extra trolley on known busy days.
• Lease a parking lot at 75th Street West and Manatee Avenue for an island shuttle parking lot.
Currently traffic coming onto the islands is via 3 bridges, each with 2 lanes, each feeding into 2 lane roads. Building a higher bridge? So what, that doesn’t change the fact. Put in traffic circles? So what. Limit draw bridge openings? So what. The amount of vehicles coming on to the islands over the same period of time is the same. The only solution that makes any sense is to add additional lanes coming on to the islands. A bridge from 53rd Ave to Long Boat Key is about the only solution. 4 Lanes? 2 southbound, 2 northbound?….even just 2 would be a big improvement. Draw bridge or high bridge it doesn’t matter. A draw bridge only momentarily slows traffic.
I am directionally challenged. You know what I meant. East bound-West bound.
LOL… that’s too funny. Add lanes to the Palma Sola Causeway and the AMI bridge and Cortez Road and the Cortez Bridge so they can form one huge bottleneck where they dump onto the island. That’s not even a solution the DOT would consider….!
I’m sorry if my comment was unclear. “A bridge from 53rd Ave to Long Boat Key is about the only solution.”