St. Armands median project finished

Members of the St. Armands Circle Business Improvement District say they are pleased with a $450,000 Circle median project that wrapped up last month.

During a Tuesday BID meeting at Sarasota City Hall, directors praised the project.

“It’s just fabulous,” said BID Chairman Marty Rappaport. “We have visitors telling us how much nicer the Circle looks this year compared to last year.”

Rappaport also said it was evident from an afternoon walk last week on the Circle that every bench in the new medians has been consistently occupied by pedestrians.

The project installed sidewalks along the Circle’s four medians, allowing motorists to exit their vehicles and walk down the medians to the pedestrian crosswalks near the center of the Circle. This feature is expected to address concerns expressed at traffic workshops about pedestrians exiting their vehicles and jaywalking, which create potential hazards.

All of the medians were completely overhauled with new benches and new landscaping that includes shade trees.

The project, which was scheduled to be complete before Thanksgiving, wrapped up in December as a result of permitting delays involving the Florida Department of Transportation.

“It was worth the suffering, the delays and all the complaints,” Rappaport said. “The complainers are now saying, ‘Isn’t it beautiful?’”

The city is responsible for the upkeep and maintenance of the medians and new landscaping for the current fiscal year.

Median Makeover
A St. Armands Circle median project features the following components:
• Refurbished medians
• Installation of sidewalks for safer pedestrian crossings
• New benches
• New landscaping with shade trees
• A different theme for each median