Residents go around about traffic

Despite hearing multiple reassurances that the Florida Department of Transportation has not made any official decisions about the Beach Road and Midnight Pass intersection, attendees of the Nov. 6 Siesta Key Association meeting were skeptical.

It was standing-room only by the start of the meeting at St. Boniface Episcopal Church. About 50 Siesta Key residents waited anxiously to hear the report from FDOT.

The roundabout proposal was first suggested in January to help with traffic flow and pedestrian safety. At the meeting, though, FDOT representatives told the audience there was no decision.

“There are a lot of ideas for this area,” said Robin Stublen, a spokesman for FDOT.

FDOT representative William Hartmann outlined the three options that are under consideration: putting in a roundabout, removing the continuous right-turn lanes and adding a signaled right turn to the traffic light currently there, or doing nothing.

The project development and environmental study must be completed before any action is taken, Hartmann said. Another neighborhood meeting will be scheduled in January; FDOT hopes to start designing the project by March.

“We have to look at noise, drainage, street traffic and endangered species,” Hartmann said, emphasizing that the project wouldn’t start soon.

FDOT also wants to consider putting in assisted pedestrian crosswalks in islands between lanes to help increase safety for bicyclists and pedestrians.

“Sarasota and Lee counties are first and second in bicycle and pedestrian accidents,” Stublen said.

Residents’ main concern was the possible roundabout’s effect on traffic, and that the traffic study for the project was completed in October, an off-season month.

Sarasota County Commissioner Nora Patterson, who attended the meeting, reminded residents of the many concerns that were expressed about the work done to the Siesta Key north bridge in summer 2012, and how well FDOT had handled the situation.

“These guys really do listen,” she said.

For Kathryn Cunningham, a director of the Siesta Key Condominium Council, a roundabout would mean more than just a minor inconvenience.

Cunningham lives in Our House at the Beach, a condo complex located next to the intersection. There’s only one entrance to the complex, located on Beach Road. Turning left out of the condos is already a hassle during busy hours of the day, Cunningham said, but at least with the traffic light, there would be a few moments of reprieve.

“In season, it’s bumper to bumper — there is no traffic flow,” she said. “The light gives us a chance to turn left, and even right sometimes.”

A roundabout would mean that the flow of traffic would be continuous, which could have a negative impact on her condo complex, she said, because there wouldn’t be traffic-free periods to allow residents to turn.

She agrees the current intersection is dangerous for pedestrians, though. She walks on the sidewalk frequently and said a car has almost hit her. Now she waits to make sure drivers are aware of her.

“I watch their eyes,” Cunningham said.