By Tomas Gomez
Islander Reporter
Pedestrian safety rose as the prime concern at a recent Bradenton Beach commission meeting.
Bradenton Beach Mayor John Chappie said he is appealing for a priority to add crosswalks in the Florida Department of Transportation’s tentative work program for 2020-25.
The program has allotted $1.2 million for Bradenton Beach street improvements.
A lack of crosswalks on Gulf Drive at Bermuda Bay Club, 1467 Gulf Drive N., and Tortuga Inn, 1325 Gulf Drive N., as well as Ninth Street North were brought up as most pressing during an Oct. 21 city commission meeting.
Bermuda Bay Club and Tortuga Inn have only one access point to public roads, making the need for crosswalks urgent for pedestrians in that area.
Near Ninth Street North at the Gulf Drive Cafe, there is one crosswalk on Gulf Drive on the north side of the restaurant but the distance to the parking lots and a lack of signage prompts most pedestrians to cross to the south, either waiting for traffic to subside or hoping a motorist will allow them to cross.
There is a flashing sign to caution drivers to lower their speed, but Bradenton Beach Commissioner Jan Vosburgh, instrumental in having the light installed, said it is inadequate.
“Years ago, as a commissioner going door to door, one of the complaints I got from Longboat Key to Bradenton Beach was people driving too fast,” she said. “One man told me ‘I’m afraid to walk my grandkids across the street.’ That’s how bad it is there.
“We need to add something like a slowdown sign with the flashing light — within the Bradenton Beach area — because people walking there right now are taking a deep breath and hoping they don’t get run over.”
Mayor John Chappie expressed a desire for crosswalks to be designated as a priority for the Island Transportation Planning Organization and the Sarasota/Manatee Metropolitan Planning Organization, saying he is working with Holmes Beach Mayor Judy Titsworth — the island’s representative to the MPO — to raise the issue.
“Mayor Titsworth will bring it up at the MPO meeting so we can get even more support for the crosswalk there or meet the need for any other crosswalk in Bradenton Beach,” Chappie said.
The ITPO is a chartered board under the MPO, which is scheduled to meet Monday, Nov. 8, in Sarasota.
Titsworth is ITPO chair and the meetings are held in Holmes Beach. The location and chair of ITPO meetings rotates between cities every two years. ITPO members — the island’s three mayors — provide a single representative to the MPO board, which includes member of the other municipalities and the county commissions in both counties.