Bay Isles entrances receive $300,000 facelift

When the majority of Longboaters and Bay Isles residents return to Longboat Key in the fall, they’ll notice sweeping changes to the entrances of Bay Isles.

At both the private south gate on Gulf of Mexico Drive and at the northern entrance at Bay Isles Parkway and Gulf of Mexico Drive, an approximately $300,000 landscaping and water feature project is under way.

At the southern entrance, the most notable change will be a new water feature to replace an aging water fountain near the guardhouse that was becoming too expensive to maintain and repair.

And for Bay Isles residents and patrons of the Longboat Key Publix, the Bay Isles entrance at Bay Isles Parkway and Gulf of Mexico Drive’s most notable difference is the removal of tall, shady banyan trees and landscaping in the median of the road.

The banyan trees are being replaced with 53 different kinds of mature palms and new landscaping.

The main reason for the project?

“We’ve received several phone calls from residents and town employees about safety concerns, especially on Bay Isles Parkway and motorists having a line-of-sight issue when pulling out onto Gulf of Mexico Drive,” said Neil Fleet, of Longboat Key-based Advanced Management Inc., who serves as property manager for the Bay Isles Master Association.

Bay Isles Master Association President Bill Levine and Vice President Bob Simmons said the safety of pedestrians and bicyclists were a major factor for removal of the trees and vegetation.

“There were more near-misses at that intersection than we could count,” Simmons said.

The banyan trees, which were planted by Arvida Corp in the 1980s, were also becoming too large for the road and median.

“The road and medians were beginning to crumble from the root structures,” Fleet said. “It was a hazard that needed to be remedied, and if there was a storm, those trees were a dangerous wind hazard.”

The north entrance of Bay Isles near the guardhouse will also include a new water feature.

The town has already approved landscape permits for the project and a median planting bed at Bay Isles Parkway and Gulf of Mexico Drive is being installed now. Once Bay Isles board members sign off on the landscaped median and the types of plants that fill in around the Palms, the rest of the project will be completed at both entrances. Plans for new water fountain features are under review.

The entire project will be complete by Oct. 1, and Levine said there was overall support for the project from Bay Isles residents.

A budget contingency for the project was in the budget for years and was based on a reserve study, Levine said.

“There was broad support for this project, and input from the entire community was had before we came up with the scope of the project” Levine said.

Plans for renovated Bay Isles guardhouses will be part of a future project.