Circle median project sees delays

Merchants are frustrated with the continued delay of a $450,000 St. Armands Circle median-enhancement project. The project will now be performed during tourist season.

Sarasota-based contractor John F. Swift Inc. General Contractors said the Florida Department of Transportation has yet to issue a permit for the project, which was originally expected to begin two months ago and be completed by Thanksgiving.

“There is a lot of anger and miscommunication about this project,” said St. Armands Circle Business Improvement District Chairman Marty Rappaport at Tuesday’s St. Armands BID Board of Directors meeting at City Hall. “We don’t set the rules about why this continues to get delayed, but we receive all the complaints.”

Jason Swift, president of Jon F. Swift. Inc., said he’s just as frustrated with the delays and has received permission to begin performing some of the median landscaping work until the permit is issued.

Swift said his company has received permission to remove the current landscaping in the Circle’s four medians, which it began doing last week, and rope off certain portions of the medians while it performs the work.

The company is also making plans this week to pour a new sidewalk that connects to the Lido Key median.

“Our goal is to work counter-clockwise to get as much as we can get done before the permit arrives,” Swift said.

Swift also promised that any construction areas, which take away some of the Circle’s parking spaces when work is being performed, will be broken down when work is not being completed to preserve the area’s coveted parking spaces.

The project, which isn’t expected to create any traffic jams for motorists, is expected to be complete after the holidays.

Once the permit is received, median construction will begin first on the Longboat Key thoroughfare to avoid any potential traffic conflicts as residents come back to the island for season.

The project will install sidewalks along the Circle’s four medians, allowing motorists to exit there and walk down the center of the median to the pedestrian crosswalks near the center of the Circle. This feature is expected to address concerns expressed at traffic workshops about pedestrians exiting their vehicles and jaywalking, creating potential hazards.

All of the medians will be completely overhauled, with new benches and new landscaping that includes shade trees.

The medians of each quadrant will also have a different theme.

Overall, the goal of the project is to enhance the appearance of the district while improving safety.
The $450,000 project is being performed through a partnership between the city of Sarasota and the (BID).

Once it’s complete, Rappaport said the Circle would have one last stage left for its capital-improvement project, which includes removing the exposed power lines and building a multi-story parking garage.

That last step could take years to complete, Rappaport said, and depends upon when city funds are earmarked toward a garage.

The merchants are also considering holding a contest in the coming months for a new St. Armands Circle sign, or signs, that can be drawn up by local college artists.

Also at its BID meeting, the BID Board of Directors agreed to allow city staff to investigate a company that submitted the lowest bid ($5,150.70 a year ) for an enhanced maintenance contract that would call for increased trash pickup during season.