Phase 3 of the Barrier Island Traffic Study is about to get a green light.
Phase 2 of BITS is completed, according to Florida Department of Transportation spokesman Zachary Burch.
“We are in negotiations to begin Phase 3, which is the final phase,” Burch said. The third segment will include the go-ahead for several projects, including Coquina Beach traffic management and two new roundabouts for the island.
The study is being conducted to identify traffic problems and solutions involving vehicles, parking, bicycles and pedestrians on the barrier islands from Anna Maria to Lido Key.
Phase 2 of the $675,000 study identified potential improvements, none of which have been adopted or approved.
Phase 3 will further refine the recommendations based on input from a steering committee and a technical working group, as well as further analysis by the DOT.
“FDOT will be making some of the improvements that have been identified by the steering committee and staff,” Burch said. “We will look to begin further studies on the larger scale improvements once the technical working group submits its report.”
Burch pointed out that other improvements are the responsibility of municipal and county governments to implement.
The study is due to be completed next year, but the time frame has yet to be determined.
According to Michael Wallwork, a consultant who designed the Bridge Street roundabout in 1994, the congestion at the roundabout is due to traffic backing up from the intersection at 127th Street West and Cortez Road in Cortez. He said he has recommended improvements — including a turn lane — for the intersection for several years.
Wallwork has more than 32 years of experience in traffic engineering and design and has designed more than 500 roundabouts in five countries. He told The Islander he feels once the capacity of the intersection is increased, the queuing on Gulf Drive will decrease.
There are no proposed changes to the existing roundabout on Gulf Drive in Bradenton Beach, according MPO executive director David Hutchinson.