City begins dialogue on transportation

Tired of circling around the issue, the city wants to tackle its ongoing traffic problems head-on.

Monday marked the first of several planned transportation workshops and summits. By this summer, the city hopes to host a meeting with representatives from the Florida Department of Transportation, the Sarasota/Manatee Metropolitan Planning Organization, Sarasota County and the town of Longboat Key.

Monday’s meeting was labeled “Transportation 101” — an presentation from city staff outlining factors that have created the current traffic crunch. The group also began to consider possible solutions beyond just widening the roadway to increase the capacity for cars, discussing what reasonable expectations for improved walking, biking and public transit options might look like.

Here’s a snapshot of the picture staff outlined Monday — elements that have contributed to congestion in the area, signs that the problem is likely to worsen and examples of commuter behaviors that shape the city’s multimodal transportation plans.