Issues to Watch 2014: Traffic at the mall at UTC

Sarasota County’s Interim Transportation Director Jonathan Paul sees something new for the place where Sarasota and Manatee counties merge — a place soon to become a regional hub for retail, entertainment and sports: the interchange of University Parkway and Interstate 75.

There, Paul stands with traffic whizzing by, signals turning from green to yellow to red, and horns honking to encourage the movement of traffic.

As Benderson Development and Taubman Centers complete an 880,000-square-foot, high-end shopping destination, the Mall at University Town Center, at the intersection’s southeast corner, Paul and local government officials, county and state planners and consultants are pooling their time and talent to ensure the mall’s opening — and future residential development — not only has minimal impacts on traffic, but also fosters a new way of thinking for Manatee and Sarasota county residents.

In short, they see the mall, and the University Parkway corridor surrounding it, as a destination that can make public transit a preferred mode of transportation in the area.

“We are planning for getting community residents around and increasing access to businesses within that northeast portion of the county,” Paul said.

Todd Mathes, director of development for Benderson Development, which also owns a string of shopping centers along University Parkway, said Benderson, in coordination with both counties, has a long-term plan for increasing transit options for customers and employees coming to the area.

Benderson already has committed to providing stops for both Sarasota and Manatee Area Transits at the southeast corner of the roundabout at DeSoto and Cattlemen roads, and has an existing, unused bus stop next to Pier One Imports, in the Shoppes at University Town Center, farther north.

Trolley service throughout Benderson’s shopping plazas and the mall will connect with the bus routes, as well, so patrons can either bus to the area and use the trolley to travel from plaza to plaza, or park once and do the same.

“You can come, and rather than drive up Cooper Creek or to Kohl’s, you can circulate on those trolley systems,” Mathes said. “(We will) scale up (that service) as ridership increases.

“There’s a lot of stuff in the pipeline that will emerge within the next six, eight and 10 months that we think will manage traffic,” he said.

Jim Daisa, senior project manager for Kimley-Horn and a consultant for the University Town Center project, is tasked with persuading the public to use public transit.

In New York and more urban areas, residents are accustomed to taking subways and buses to and from work. Daisa is confident a similar transportation philosophy can be developed here.

Daisa said Benderson proposes the creation of a transportation management association — a group with a board of directors made up of major tenants and stakeholders, such as Macy’s and Benderson — that will foster the concept. For example, businesses may offer employees cash incentives for riding the bus to work or carpooling.

“We’re trying to think of things more innovatively; if you commit to carpooling or transit (or another alternative), maybe you get a membership to the gym, onsite day care for a big discount or meal tickets for the mall,” Daisa said. “Hopefully, that incentive, at the end of their contract (will be worth it).”

Daisa also said the association will monitor the traffic every year, conduct surveys of programs offered and make modifications accordingly.

“There’s a real commitment on Benderson’s part to do this and make it work,” Daisa said. “They don’t want opening day (for the mall to occur) and have (traffic problems.)”

Manatee and Sarasota counties are committed to finding solutions, as well.

Members of the Sarasota/Manatee Metropolitan Planning Organization, a regional transportation-planning agency, passed a motion in late December to ask the FDOT to study the entire I-75/University Parkway corridor holistically, to better meet future transportation needs. Boundaries for the study would run from Linger Lodge Road to the north, to 17th Street in the south, Lakewood Ranch Boulevard to the east and Honore Avenue to the west, said David Hutchinson, planning manager for the MPO.

“Alternatives analysis means looking at all the options — bus, bicycle/pedestrian trails, road network improvements,” Hutchinson said. “What are the best options? You revisit what’s on the books (in terms of development mitigation requirements) and what’s in place and what’s promised and analyze options for flow of traffic.”

Hutchinson also said making sure traffic signals are correctly timed — particularly at University’s intersection’s with Cattlemen Road and Market Street — will be critical to smooth traffic flow.

Paul says another key to mitigating traffic will be better utilizing existing roadways. The Cattlemen Road extension, which essentially connects Fruitville Road in the south to University Parkway to the north, is under utilized, carrying only about 10% of the traffic of which it’s capable.

Additionally, the malls’ hours and peak traffic times will translate into having little impact on rush-hour traffic. The mall opens at 10 a.m., compared with peak traffic times between 8 and 9 a.m., and its busiest daytime hours are late in the afternoon, late in the evening and on weekends.

“The takeaway is we are coordinating with the DOT, developments in the area and Manatee County and trying to come up with some holistic plans,” Paul said. Additionally, FDOT is working on longer-range plans for improvements to the intersection to I-75 and University Parkway to accommodate growth in the area. FDOT and county engineers and planners are still hammering out details of the proposal, which include a diverging-diamond-style interchange.

FDOT spokeswoman Robin Stublen said the diverging-diamond interchange will fail if the counties do not make improvements to the intersections of University Parkway and Cattlemen Road to the west and University Parkway and Market Street to the east.

“The interchange, on its own, cannot manage traffic generated from unlimited development,” Stublen said. “Without improvements to these intersections on local roads, the new interchange will fail.”

The FDOT does not have any money earmarked for the diverging-diamond interchange until after 2021.

Although officials from multiple agencies are working to see the project advance, work on the project will not start until after Sarasota County hosts the 2017 World Rowing Championships, at Nathan Benderson Park, just south of University Parkway off Cattlemen Road, Stublen said.

BREAKDOWN
Overview: Local officials are working with the FDOT to improve the intersection of University Parkway and Interstate 75. Officials also hope to expand transit in the University Parkway corridor to alleviate traffic congestion associated with the mall.

Players: Sarasota and Manatee County officials, Florida Department of Transportation and the Manatee-Sarasota Metropolitan Planning Organization

Timeline: Ongoing; mall opens Oct. 16, 2014.

Contact Pam Eubanks at [email protected]