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Memorial Day weekend parking won’t be without peril

Memorial Day weekend parking won’t be without peril

Written by Jason Schaffer on . Posted in Anna Maria Island, Community News.

ANNA MARIA ISLAND – With Memorial Day weekend just days away, Anna Maria, Holmes Beach and Bradenton Beach are preparing for what could be record-breaking crowds.

While a number of visitors will fly to the area from around the U.S., Canada and Europe, the Island is also preparing for the thousands of Florida residents who will arrive by car.

Officials in all three cities encourage visitors to take advantage of public transportation options, but for many there is no option but to bring the car and hope for the best.

“We’ll be here through Memorial Day weekend. We drove from Atlanta so we have a car but we’re not crazy, the car won’t be leaving the condo all weekend,” said Terry Dosier, who arrived May 14 with his family. “Traffic hasn’t been bad since we got here, but we’ve talked to enough people to know it will be an entirely different animal for the holiday weekend.”

The Dosiers are staying in Holmes Beach, which is making every effort to accommodate the influx for the weekend, but there is only so much the city can do beyond offering the normal beach parking. According to Holmes Beach Police Chief Bill Tokajer, there was an average of 39,000 cars per day coming into the city during the busy spring break season, and that number could be topped over Memorial Day weekend.

“We will be allowing parking at Anna Maria Elementary School for Memorial Day weekend, but no cars can be left on the lot overnight, and only legal parking spaces may be used,” said Tokajer, who stressed that all signs posted in the city must be observed and rules must be followed.

Bradenton Beach has been the scene of serious parking violations that number in the hundreds over the past few weeks. More than 100 tickets were written for double parking along Coquina Beach and Cortez Beach on Mother’s Day and close to 100 more were written the following weekend. Police could have written more, but some violators got lucky when police ran out of tickets.

“Double parking will not be tolerated; neither will parking in the right of way. We have signs out there and we’re not wanting to ticket people, but people get confused. They see the barricades that say no parking and don’t realize that those apply the entire length of Gulf Drive starting at the bridge,” said Bradenton Beach Police Lt. Lenard Diaz, whose advice to visitors is to come early.

“Use common sense, if you’re questioning where you’re parking then it’s probably not the right place to park,” he said.

All three cities plan to have extra officers on duty due to the large anticipated crowds, and all three cities will tow any vehicle that is blocking access for emergency vehicles. Depending on the tow company, vehicles could be taken more than 10 miles from where they were illegally parked, so in addition to the expensive tow cost, there is the cost of a ride to retrieve the vehicle. If not towed, tickets could range from $50 to more than $250 depending on the violation.

Plans for driving to the Island over Memorial Day weekend should also include allowing time to get across the three bridges that link Anna Maria Island to Bradenton, Cortez and Longboat Key. During busy holiday weekends, traffic can back up for miles, resulting in wait times that can be more than two hours at peak arrival times. With pedestrian crossings, trolley stops and other things unique to AMI, officials say it’s best to relax and accept the things that can’t be changed.

Magistrate rules in city’s favor on noise citation

Magistrate rules in city’s favor on noise citation

Written by Joe Hendricks on . Posted in Anna Maria, Community News.

ANNA MARIA – In addition to her unregistered Airbnb ruling, Special Magistrate Karla Owens ruled in favor of the city Anna Maria on three additional cases addressed during the April 30 code enforcement and appeals hearings. One of the hearings held at city hall pertained to a noise ordinance violation citation and two pertained to parking violations.

Noise violation

Owens ordered college student Conor Lynch to pay a $500 fine for the noise ordinance violation citation he received on March 15 while staying at his parents’ second home at 60 North Shore Drive. The citation lists a Tampa address as Lynch’s primary residence. Owens also ordered Lynch to pay an additional $150 administrative fee to help cover the appeals hearing costs.

Manatee County Sheriff’s Office Deputies Matthew Kenyan and Robert Desch responded to the initial noise complaint at approximately 2 a.m. According to Kenyan, they witnessed people on the balcony screaming and talking loudly. Lynch was asked to quiet things down and warned that a repeat visit would result in a $500 citation.

Approximately 45 minutes later, the deputies returned in response to a second complaint. When standing at various distances from the house the deputies could still hear loud talking and low-end bass sounds coming from inside the house. At this point, the citation was issued.

Kenyan told Owens deputies responded to prior noise complaints and issued verbal warnings at that address in 2015 and 2017.

Lynch’s father, Fred Lynch, attended the hearing. He said his son couldn’t attend because he was taking exams. Fred Lynch said he was not there to represent his son or challenge the citation, but he did want to express his concerns as a concerned citizen.

An email Fred Lynch sent the city was included in the hearing packet. It expressed concerns about harassment by a neighbor and the way the deputies handled this situation. During the hearing, Lynch claimed the deputies used words that were “inappropriate.”

Using a tablet and a portable speaker, Lynch showed Owens a video he shot later that he felt disproved the deputies’ claims regarding the loud bass noises being audible at the stated distances.

Owens said she would allow Lynch the courtesy of showing the video he recorded from various distances with the TV audio system turned all the way up, but it was not relevant to the case being discussed.

Parking violations

Owens ordered Bradenton resident Kathy Brooks-Rock to pay a $50 fine for parking her Volvo alongside Rose Street in the opposite direction of the traffic flow while visiting vacationing friends.

The apologetic citation recipient told Owens this was her first traffic ticket, and she didn’t know Anna Maria and other Florida cities prohibit parking in the wrong direction.

Owens ordered Bradenton resident Stephen Ierardi to pay a $50 fine and an additional $150 administrative fee for parking his BMW within 20 feet of the crosswalk at the intersection of Gulf Drive and Palm Avenue.

Ierardi told Owens he not aware of this law and there was no warning sign.

In both parking cases, Owens said ignorance of the law is no excuse. It was also noted that a warning sign has now been placed where Ierardi received his ticket.

Addy said Tuesday’s code enforcement hearings were the first scheduled during her time as city clerk and future hearings would be scheduled once a month as needed.

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