A joint meeting between Manatee County and Bradenton Beach officials June 18 outlined a shared vision for easing traffic congestion with multimodal transit amenities, a ferry service expansion and infrastructure improvements.
At the meeting, officials shared conceptual plans to better connect the mainland to Anna Maria Island with expanded pedestrian and low-speed vehicle access, upgraded intersections and added public ferry sites.
Bradenton Beach city attorney Ricinda Perry presented a proposed multimodal trail network aimed at linking mainland parking and marinas to Bradenton Beach destinations, including Leffis Key and Coquina Beach.
“You have some amazing resources and I feel underutilized natural resources that your county residents and visitors should be able to enjoy,” Perry said.
One trail segment would run from Cortez, across the new bridge, through the privately-owned Bradenton Beach Marina and down to the Historic Bridge Street Pier, which already hosts a Gulf Islands Ferry stop.
“If you’re putting your marina in (at Cortez) and potentially having people parking and enjoying your amenities over on the mainland side, it would be great to somehow connect a walkway from where the bridge stops … and eliminate cars,” Perry said, referring to the county plan to use the former Seafood Shack property in Cortez for a boat ramp and marina.
County Commissioner Tal Siddique, R-District 3, attending remotely, acknowledged a need for long-term planning in Cortez.
“We still need time to formalize plans but I think we all know what is going on in Cortez, with the intensity of development along that corridor,” he said. “Not to mention the attention by FDOT with the Cortez corridor vision and action plan plus the bridge and the infrastructure improvements coming there.”
Another component of the city’s concept includes a multimodal trail connecting the Bridge Street pier to Coquina Beach and Leffis Key, which Perry called “incredibly underutilized.”
On the county side, Clark Davis, deputy director of traffic management, proposed infrastructure enhancements to address bottlenecks, such as extending a right-turn lane at Cortez Road and Gulf Drive.
“There should be a way to lengthen that turn lane by at least a couple hundred feet, which might provide some relief for traffic at that intersection,” Davis said.
The project would require securing access from properties along Gulf Drive. Davis said the DOT does not have funding but could allow a city- or county-led improvement if the land is acquired.
However, Bradenton Beach officials were cautious about supporting property acquisition.
“The city commission has always been in opposition of eminent domain of anybody’s property,” Mayor John Chappie said.
Davis also mentioned potential impacts to Coquina Beach access with a Longboat Pass Bridge replacement. Of the four alternatives under DOT review, one — a 78-foot-high fixed-span bridge — would eliminate a main access at Coquina, potentially limiting parking and boat ramp entry.