AM eyes Pine Ave, infrastructure work
By Ryan Paice
Islander Reporter
Some changes could be coming to Anna Maria in 2023.
A handful of city officials told The Islander the week beginning Dec. 26 they were most excited to move forward with proposed Pine Avenue improvements and to continue improving paving and drainage throughout the municipality.
Commissioner Robert Kingan wrote in a Dec. 27 text to The Islander that, if he could change anything about 2022, it’d be the “lack of significant progress” made on the reimagining Pine Avenue project.
The project will involve the implementation of several improvements along the commercial corridor over two phases.
The first phase will involve installing pervious paver meandering sidewalks, as well as adding and enhancing crosswalks and street lighting.
Plans for the second phase of improvements, which may involve the addition of bicycle lanes on both sides of the roadway, remain conceptual.
The second phase also initially included plans for a roundabout at the east end of Pine, but commissioners voted in September not to move forward on the project.
The improvements will be funded with a $1,288,440 state appropriation, $229,400 in American Rescue Plan Act funding and $388,660 in city property tax revenues.
However, restrictions on the state funding have brought challenges. Since the Florida Department of Transportation got involved in overseeing the city’s use of state funds in the fall 2022, progress on the project has slowed.
However, heading into 2023, the four city commissioners — minus one owing to the resignation of Carol Carter — interviewed by The Islander for this story expressed hope the projects will proceed.
“I hope to see the improvements to Pine Avenue come to fruition,” Commissioner Jonathan Crane wrote in a Dec. 27 email to The Islander.
“Infrastructure improvements, especially ongoing drainage work and future improvements to the Pine Avenue corridor are vital to the quality of life in our community,” Kingan wrote.
Mayor Dan Murphy wrote in a Dec. 29 email to The Islander that improving Pine would be a primary focus and work was on track to begin in 2023.
The four commissioners also expressed satisfaction with the municipality’s work improving drainage and paving in 2022 and said they hoped the city would meet its goals for 2023.
The city has made strides improving stormwater drainage in recent years, especially on arterial roads, addressing issues on 70% of the municipality’s roadways heading into the 2022-23 fiscal year, according to Murphy.
The city budgeted $1,755,716.06 for stormwater improvements and maintenance in 2022-23.
Improvements will involve the installation of stormwater infiltration trenches in city rights of way along the south side of South Bay Boulevard, the 800 block of North Bay Boulevard, Tarpon and Gladiolus streets, Los Cedros Drive, Newton Lane and more.
The city also budgeted $798,752.98 for road paving in 2022-23, which would cover 400-500 blocks of Spring Avenue, the 100-300 blocks of Tarpon Street, Oak Avenue, Loquat, Kumquat, South and Los Cedros drives, Bayview Place, Newton Lane, as well as possibly Hardin, Mangrove and Maple avenues.
“A lot of our streets were not in great shape,” Commission Chair Mark Short told The Islander Dec. 28. “I can definitely say there is a very noticeable difference … with respect to dealing with standing water.”
“There is still significant progress to be made,” Murphy wrote, adding that drainage and paving work also will be the city’s focus in the new year.
Bradenton Beach sets sights on improvements
By Robert Anderson
Islander Reporter
As the city of Bradenton Beach transitions into 2023, officials have their eyes on improvements.
Utility undergrounding started in Bradenton Beach in 2018 and it will be a priority going forward, as Mayor John Chappie said the city will continue to seek appropriations for the infrastructure work.
“Undergrounding has been a top priority as far as infrastructure projects in our community,” Chappie said in a Dec. 21 interview. “We’ve been very successful with the completion of Phase 2.”
That phase saw the removal of utility poles from the Longboat Pass Bridge to about Sixth Street South. The utilities were placed in underground conduits, which protect them and allow for faster recovery in the event of storm outages.
Another project on the city’s radar for 2023 is the stormwater drainage work for Avenue B on the city’s north side. The goal is to minimize flooding and pollutant discharge into Sarasota Bay by remodeling the drainage system.
“We are moving forward and we are getting close to getting bids on that,” Chappie said.
Chappie and Police Chief John Cosby agree challenges facing the city are a lineup of improvement projects initiated not by Bradenton Beach but by Manatee County and the Florida Department of Transportation. Projects beginning in 2023 are only the start of work that will take place over the next several years.
“Construction is going to be the biggest concern,” Cosby said. “We have the county sewer project that is going in that is going to be an 18-month to two-year project.”
The work, set to begin this month, involves replacing gravity sewer lines from Sixth Street South to 13th Street South. The work will require the rerouting of both lanes of Gulf Drive traffic through the Cortez Beach parking lot.
“We know it’s going to be tough but the plan is well thought out and the county is doing an excellent job in working to prepare and get everybody on the same page for the actual construction project,” Chappie said. “The traffic is going to be an issue. It’s going to be tough because the cycle will be during tourist season.”
After the gravity sewer project is completed, the DOT’s Complete Streets campaign could begin.
The DOT plans a redesign of the Gulf Drive scenic highway to enable safe access and travel via sidewalks, bicycle lanes, paved shoulders, multiuse paths, designated bus lanes, safe and accessible transit stops and safe crossings for pedestrians, including median islands, pedestrian signals and curb extensions.
The planning, development and environmental phase should begin after July 2023, when the state’s new fiscal year starts.
Cosby also said the possibility of a new resort development at the southwest end of Bridge Street, if approved, could pose a challenge in the new year.
Conceptual drawings submitted to the city building and permitting office by developer Shawn Kaleta and Najmy Thompson PL show a 103-room, 206,987-square-foot resort referred to in the design document as “Bridge St. Hotel.”
The plan involves the demolition of eight buildings in the Bridge Street area to make way for the hotel.
The project, if approved, could exacerbate traffic congestion created by the other projects in store for 2023 and beyond.
HB seeks environmental, safety improvements
By Ryan Paice
Islander Reporter
Holmes Beach officials have their sights set high for 2023.
City officials told The Islander the week beginning Dec. 26 they were excited to move forward with proposed improvements to Gulf Drive and repair the municipality’s relationship with county officials, as well as pursue action to preserve the environment.
Some officials found pride in the progress of the long-awaited city center improvement project in 2022 and the reopening for traffic before Christmas.
However, with work projected to be completed in 2023, excitement has begun to shift to the city’s plans for Gulf Drive, which includes a multiuse path and landscaped buffers alongside to improve pedestrian safety, walkability and multimodal use.
The work will be divided into two phases, first covering Gulf Drive from Palm Drive to Holmes Boulevard, and the second stretching from Manatee Avenue to East Bay Drive — about two miles in total.
City commissioners voted Dec. 13, 2022, to approve spending $424,600 with Tampa-based Cardinal Engineering Collective to design and engineer the project. The cost will be covered by $1 million in remaining funds from the U.S. American Rescue Plan Act, which provided the city $2,156,176.
Commission Chair Carol Soustek told The Islander Dec. 28 that she will be excited to see improvements on Gulf Drive because it is currently “extremely inadequate” and unsafe for pedestrians and bicyclists.
Mayor Judy Titsworth said the roadway “lacks any kind of safe biking” in its current state.
Titsworth said roadway safety was a big concern for her in general due to the high amount of multimodal activity and traffic throughout the city, but especially along Gulf Drive.
“We need to do whatever we can do here to provide a safe vacation and a safe place for our citizens. So they can be able to walk, get on a bike and not fear for their lives,” Titsworth said.
Titsworth said her second hope for 2023 — to improve the city’s relationship with Manatee County commissioners — might be needed to acquire funding for additional Gulf Drive improvements.
The two sides have been at odds since County Commissioner Kevin Van Ostenbridge was elected in November 2020 and immediately threatened to withhold beach renourishment funding if the city did not reverse its park-by-permit system implemented earlier that year.
The system involves selling $15 decals to residents and property owners to allow them to park a vehicle in one of 645 spots along residential roadways where the city prohibited public parking 9 a.m.-5 p.m.
City officials stand by the system, which they established in an attempt to protect the residential quality of life by reducing roadside parking on certain residential streets.
Van Ostenbridge and other county commissioners argue the parking limits are unfair to off-island residents visiting the beaches, and voted in June 2021 to deny a $282,910 TDC funding request to the city.
County commissioners also proposed building a multilevel parking garage at Manatee Public Beach, 4000 Gulf Drive, to make up for lost parking.
City officials shut that possibility down in August by adopting an ordinance prohibiting multilevel parking facilities.
Nevertheless, Titsworth said the new year brings new opportunities to repair relationships.
Commissioner Terry Schaefer said he hoped the city would take more action on preserving the environment in 2023, such as furthering restrictions on single-use plastics and exploring clean water solutions.
The city adopted an ordinance in 2022 prohibiting local businesses from distributing single-use non-biodegradable plastic straws — the only plastic that can be prohibited under state law.
The city also passed a resolution that will be distributed to local businesses asking them to reduce the use of other single-use plastic products.
Schaefer said he’d like to further pursue the reduction of plastics on the local and state level.
He added that he’d like the city to explore the potential purchase of a marine skimmer vessel to remove algae buildup, fish kills and other marine debris due to the city’s dependence on clean water.