ANNA MARIA – Speed bumps will soon be installed at the humpback bridges on Crescent Drive and North Bay Boulevard.
The speed bumps will be placed at both ends of each bridge and be accompanied by signs that alert motorists of the new traffic-slowing devices.
Anna Maria Mayor Dan Murphy proposed the speed bumps during the city commission’s April 14 meeting. The total project cost is expected to be $1,939. Murphy said the temporary speed bumps are expected to last for at least five years and may eventually be replaced by permanent speed bumps. He said it will take a couple of weeks for the speed bump materials to arrive and be installed by the city’s Public Works Department.
“We’ve had numerous complaints from residents who live by these bridges that people are speeding over the bridges,” Murphy told the commission.
Regarding the North Bay Boulevard Bridge, the mayor said, “They blow the stop sign down by the pier and somebody’s going to get hit on a golf cart at some point coming out of the pier parking lot. This will slow people down.”
Commissioner Jon Crane thinks speed bumps on Crescent Drive are “counter-intuitive” because he doesn’t see many vehicles speeding over that bridge. Crane said he’s more concerned about bicyclists using the vehicular travel lanes on the North Bay Boulevard bridge rather than using the nearby bike paths.
Murphy said signs referencing the bike path will be placed near the North Bay Boulevard bridge.
Crane also said that landscaping trucks and trailers parked near the bridge along Crescent Drive present a greater threat than speeding motorists.
“They park right up to where the slope starts. They’re not in the right of way, they’re in the street. If you want to get by them you’ve got to go in the wrong lane uphill. That’s more dangerous,” Crane said of the parked landscaping vehicles.
Murphy agreed, saying that the city needs to address those concerns with temporary fencing that eliminates the parking there or by revising the city’s parking ordinance in a manner that prohibits parking near the Crescent Drive bridge, or both.
Commissioner Robert Kingan feels the blind nature of the Crescent Drive bridge presents serious safety concerns.
“It’s very dangerous. It’s probably the most dangerous place in the city,” Kingan said.
Commission Chair Carol Carter agreed that speed bumps are needed in both locations and the commission, despite Crane’s initial objections, unanimously supported the mayor’s request.
