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Tag: Anna Maria Island traffic

Letter to the Editor: When is it enough?

Written by SUN contributor on . Posted in Letter to the Editor, Opinion.

When do the builders and developers have enough money so that they will stop destroying what used to be a great place to live, Anna Maria Island?

When will there be enough monster homes built by overzealous investors right next to smaller homes where people raised their families and came to vacation for generations? When will there be enough residents forced to move because of the noise of traffic or the unending disturbance of two, three or four families suddenly living next door, but moving in and out every week? The once-family homes that were razed and replaced with buildings that accommodate three, four and five families are mini-hotels, not homes.

When will there be enough gold lining the pockets of builders, investors and developers who are turning an unpolished gem into Clearwater, St. Pete or Fort Lauderdale? We need to wake up and see the destruction of the lifestyle we all thought we had on Anna Maria Island.

Sean Murphy is right – the issue is not parking; the issue is traffic! Why not have an engineering company perform a traffic impact analysis?

Who is going to pay for the proposed parking garages on the island? Will visitors then have to pay to park when visiting our free beaches?

Beachgoers could park in the two virtually empty parking deck garages in downtown Bradenton. The county can lease, on a seasonal basis, interstate/Greyhound-type buses that have plenty of storage for beachgoers’ chairs, etc. They can run every 20 minutes, significantly reducing congestion. This would eliminate idling cars either stuck in traffic or moving so slowly due to traffic that air pollution is increased, valuable fuel resources are wasted, and frustration and anger and angst are created – let us not forget people who LIVE on the island.

Residents cannot go out to shop, go out to eat, or leave the Island to go to church unless they spend hours in traffic for what used to be a 10-minute drive. Have you ever walked on the Island’s sidewalks in season while cars spew carbon monoxide in your face?

The fellow Holmes Beach resident who wrote, “We only have so much space; apply the math…” was so right.

It is painfully clear that parking isn’t the real issue – the true motive behind this is development and profit.

Stop the madness!

Last, but not least, the county commissioners and the FDOT should build a bridge to Longboat Key which would alleviate the Gulf Drive/Cortez traffic nightmare.

 

Paul Reed Steberger

Holmes Beach

Holmes Beach road work causes traffic delays

Holmes Beach road work causes traffic delays

Written by SUN contributor on . Posted in Community News, Featured, Holmes Beach.

HOLMES BEACH – Anyone driving through the largest Anna Maria Island city knows that drivers need more patience than usual to make it through the traffic congestion snaking through the center of the community.

With increased traffic due to the start of the winter tourism season and two roadway projects, travel time delays aren’t expected to decrease until at least the end of December.

The issues stem from the start of a long-planned city center roadway renovation project at the intersection of Marina and Gulf drives along with work from a Manatee County utilities project.

The city center renovations include the addition of sidewalks, crosswalks, green space and lighting through the intersection as well as improvements to bicycle and vehicular travel lanes. To accommodate the work currently being done down Marina Drive from the Gulf Drive intersection to just past the Island Branch Library, that section of the road is closed with traffic diverted down Holmes Boulevard and the coastal section of Gulf Drive. Ongoing work includes the installation of concrete curbing and sidewalks, infiltration trenches and new drainage structures as well as regrading and repaving the street.

City Engineer Sage Kamiya said that the work on Marina Drive is scheduled to be mostly completed by the end of December with traffic lanes reopened as work allows. Once work is completed on Marina Drive, additional work will need to be done on Gulf Drive.

Addressing the somewhat controversial four-way stop temporarily installed at the intersection of Gulf Drive and Holmes Boulevard, Kamiya and Holmes Beach Police Chief Bill Tokajer released a joint statement on Nov. 4 on Facebook stating that they believe the four-way stop is still the best traffic control method for the area.

The statement said they looked into the installation of a temporary traffic light and putting a police officer at the intersection to direct traffic as alternatives. Using a police officer to direct traffic was dismissed because the intersection is too narrow to allow for an officer to safely direct two-way traffic and reducing traffic to one lane would cause more traffic delays. Cost also was a factor as that solution would require a full-time police officer to be onsite at the intersection.

A temporary traffic light was also dismissed due to not being considered as effective in moving traffic as the four-way stop.

Adding to drivers’ woes is an ongoing potable water project by Manatee County which was supposed to be completed prior to the start of the city center project. Instead, both projects are continuing simultaneously with the county project first disrupting traffic along Holmes Boulevard and then blocking off a section of 52nd Street the week of Nov. 7, which kept traffic along that street limited for most of the week.