Longboat residents rally to save crosswalk

Former Longboat Key Town Commissioner Lynn Larson fought hard for a crosswalk near Country Club Shores as the state pitched plans for new traffic devices on the island last year.

“If I hadn’t been loud and persistent about it, it never would have happened,” said Larson in a previous interview with the Longboat Observer.

But when the Town Commission meets Monday, they could vote to eliminate all of the crosswalks on Gulf of Mexico Drive.

Commissioners found consensus for the move during an April 18 workshop, during which they cited safety issues with the crossings.

“I am very willing right now to say let’s take them out,” said Mayor Jack Duncan, who led the push for an informal agreement on the move after about an hour of discussion. “Lock, stock and barrel.”

Although the road is owned by the Florida Department of Transportation, which will have final say over what happens with the recently-installed features, Larsen has organized an email campaign to town commissioners in support of keeping the Country Club Shores crosswalk.

In one such email from 13-year resident Norm Cavedo, he said he frequently uses the marked crossing.

“Before the crosswalk improvement, it was always an interesting task of finding just the right opening in the fast and frequent traffic patterns on GMD, to safely get across GMD,” Cavedo wrote.

Larson said she expects a large showing at the meeting.

“I have never heard of a community putting up a stop sign or a traffic light in order to make a situation safer, and then removing it,” wrote resident Linde Ward in an April 26 email. “It boggles my mind.”