FDOT data collection won’t affect traffic study timeline

The black wires stretching across of Gulf of Mexico Drive and poles attached to signs in St. Armands Circle mean the Florida Department of Transportation is collecting traffic data this season.

But that doesn’t mean the coming  $675,000 barrier island traffic study — which is focused on Sarasota and Manatee counties — will be completed before 2018.

The state will likely give the consultant for the project a notice to proceed on the analysis by the middle of this month, but is currently collecting the traffic data on its own to give the firm a more accurate final product, said FDOT spokesman Robin Stublen. 

“We had the ability to that this year,” he said. “We’re collecting (information on) speeds, traffic units, turn information, types of vehicles and any delays.”