Crowds packed Anna Maria Island beaches and roadways over Memorial Day weekend, creating traffic congestion and filling parking lots before 10 a.m. while public safety personnel responded to medical emergencies, water rescues and a near drowning.
An emergency occurred May 24 on the beach near the Sandbar Restaurant in Anna Maria, where a 24-year-old man was pulled unconscious from the Gulf of Mexico. Bystanders performed CPR and restored a pulse before emergency responders arrived, and the man was transported to HCA Florida Blake Hospital in Bradenton for treatment.
Another emergency, apparently undocumented by the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office, occured May 24 at Anna Maria Bayfront Park, where a young boy suffered seizures. He was taken by West Manatee Fire Rescue to Holmes Beach city field, where he was flown by a medical helicopter to a trauma center.
Anna Maria Mayor Mark Short said the county deployed additional sheriff’s deputies and code enforcement officers in the city throughout the holiday weekend to help manage what he described as one of the busiest Memorial Days he could remember, with crowded beaches that were “tent to tent to tent.”
Sgt. Brett Getman, supervisor of the MCSO’s Anna Maria station, said deputies conducted more than 100 traffic enforcement contacts and also responded to a medical emergency that required Bayflite helicopter transport.
Despite the crowds, Getman said most visitors were cooperative and no arrests were made during the weekend.
He said deputies observed issues with litter and abandoned personal property on the beaches, including tents, food containers, flotation devices and towels.
The county’s beach patrol also reported a busy weekend. Public Safety communications coordinator Francesca Constantini said the patrol personnel responded to 63 medical incidents, conducted 10 water rescues and reunited 11 missing children with families May 23-25.
Lifeguard towers were staffed 9:45 a.m.-4:45 p.m. daily, with two lifeguards also assigned to a patrol unit until 9 p.m.
Parking disputes and congestion were among the most common complaints handled by law enforcement officers throughout the weekend.
In Bradenton Beach, police Lt. Lenard Diaz said many calls involved people attempting to save parking spaces or arguing over beach parking.
“You can’t stand in front of a space and save it for somebody that’s down the road,” Diaz said.
Parking lots at Coquina Beach, where the AVP South Florida Open and Juniors Florida Regionals volleyball tournament took place May 23-24, filled early and remained crowded throughout the weekend.
ChrisAnn Allen, public information officer for the Bradenton Beach Police Department, said more than 80 parking citations were issued at Coquina Beach, Cortez Beach and the Coquina boat ramps. Of the citations tracked by the department, 59 were issued to motorists from other Florida counties, 22 to out-of-state drivers and about 30 to Manatee County residents.
In Holmes Beach, officers also dealt primarily with parking complaints and a few parking lot fights.
“We had a lot of visitors,” police Chief William Tokajer said.
According to traffic data provided by Tokajer, nearly 36,000 vehicles were recorded entering Holmes Beach May 23, nearly 35,000 May 24 and more than 32,000 May 25.
Tokajer said traffic congestion often results not from the total number of vehicles but from large numbers of visitors arriving and leaving at the same time.
Congestion on May 25 was worsened by a morning crash near the Kingfish Boat Ramp. According to a police report, a driver towing a boat was making a left turn from the boat ramp onto eastbound Manatee Avenue when a westbound vehicle struck the trailer. Two people were injured and the boat and trailer temporarily obstructed part of Manatee Avenue during one of the busiest travel periods of the weekend.
Meanwhile, Manatee County’s Gulf Islands Ferry carried 1,515 passengers between the Bradenton riverfront and Bradenton Beach during the four-day holiday period, according to Bradenton Area Convention and Visitors Bureau Executive Director Elliott Falcione. Ridership totaled 285 passengers May 22, 423 May 23, 461 May 24 and 346 May 25.
Falcione said a ferry stop at Coquina Beach could be added this month, making the service more convenient for beachgoers.
