- April 25, 2024
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Longboat Key leaders and residents made their voices heard at a meeting about proposed changes to a Cortez Road intersection that has been identified as a “contributing factor” to traffic backups for motorists exiting the barrier islands.
To the more than 100 people in attendance at Cortez Road Baptist Church on Tuesday evening, Town Manager Dave Bullock said the in-season backups caused by the intersection of Cortez Road and 119th Street West are “a clear indication of a failing segment of network.”
“The need to address congestion is clear,” Bullock said. “Any time there is a three-mile backup on a daily basis for months at a time, there’s a problem that needs to be corrected.”
Potential changes to the intersection are part of the Florida Department of Transportation’s Cortez Road Safety Improvements Project. At the meeting, FDOT representatives presented four options for the intersection, then heard public comment regarding the proposals.
One of the stated FDOT goals for the project is improving eastbound traffic off Anna Maria Island, but other goals include reducing accidents at the intersection, cutting inappropriate uses of the center turn lane and installing bike lanes. Initial work could begin this fall, but actual modifications to the intersection likely wouldn't begin until 2019.
FDOT’s four options for the intersection:
Bullock said he supports the idea of a continuous eastbound lane on Cortez Road (a possibility in options B and C) that would allow traffic leaving the barrier islands to move unaffected by a traffic signal.
Bullock also said that he is not asking FDOT to ignore the “legitimate mobility concerns” of residents of Cortez, and Mayor Terry Gans echoed that sentiment.
“Our desire to see an improvement in this — I want to assure everyone — is not a desire to do damage or to harm the residents in this area, in Cortez,” Gans said. “But to work together to try to find an improvement on what is a continual and dangerous situation.”
Along with Gans and Bullock, Key representatives including Vice Mayor Ed Zunz, Lenny Landau of the Revitalization Task Force and Maureen Merrigan of resident group LBK North spoke of the need to address problems caused by the intersection.
Cortez resident Bob Slicker, General Manager of Swordfish Grill on 119th Street West, expressed a familiar concern of residents of the community surrounding the intersection: eliminating the ability for motorists to turn left from the southern portion of 119th Street West to westbound Cortez Road (an aspect of options B and C) will negatively affect both businesses and residents of “the oldest active fishing village in the state of Florida.”
Slicker called Option D a “permanent fix to a bad problem,” and made a suggestion to Key representatives.
“Maybe you should build a bridge,” Slicker said. His statement was met with applause from many members of the audience.
Manatee County Commissioner Carol Whitmore, an Anna Maria Island resident, also spoke in favor of Option D, referring to it as a solution that will not come at the expense of Cortez residents.
“I’m speaking as a citizen,” Whitmore said. “Cortez is very near and dear to my heart.”
FDOT Director of Transportation Operations David Gwynn said his department could make temporary, reversible adjustments to the intersection this fall to test the feasibility of a continuous eastbound lane on Cortez Road. FDOT is also exploring the logistics of realigning the intersection, such as ensuring the necessary land can be used to build a new road, Gwynn said.
FDOT will receive public comment regarding the proposed changes until May 19, and Gwynn summed up FDOT’s challenge in constructing a plan for the intersection.
“Believe me. If there was an easy solution, we would have done it by now,” Gwynn said.
