Crosswalks: Should they stay or should they go?

For many residents, the answer is ‘stay.’ Now, the commission is hitting the brakes on a plan to ask FDOT to remove the safety features.

By Jack Short
| 6:00 a.m. May 4, 2016

Country Club Shores residents, both human and canine, rally in support of their crosswalk.

Longboat Key
News

The Longboat Key Town Commission granted the Gulf of Mexico Drive crosswalks a reprieve Monday, following an outpouring of support for the crossing near Country Club Shores.

Commissioners decided at their regular meeting to work with the Florida Department of Transportation to collect data on crosswalk usage before asking the state to move or remove them.

The decision came two weeks after commissioners reached consensus to ask FDOT to remove all four pedestrian crosswalks on Gulf of Mexico Drive, a state highway that the agency controls and operates.

Town Manager David Bullock and the Town Commission hope data will show which crosswalks are effective and necessary, although they agreed that the Country Club Shores crossing meets both of those descriptions.

“There’s a need and a use for Country Club Shores crosswalk,” Bullock said. “To a lesser extent, the (crosswalk near the) Diplomat. The two at the north end go nowhere.”

North GMD: Prepare to slow down

The Florida Department of Transportation will reduce the speed limit on Gulf of Mexico Drive from the Longboat Pass Bridge to Broadway to 35 mph from the current 45 mph, Town Manager Dave Bullock told the Longboat Key Town Commission Monday night. The change comes as FDOT prepares to install a new crosswalk in the area.

But commissioners want the entire Key to slow down — and passed a motion on first reading to request an islandwide speed limit of 35 mph.

Mayor Jack Duncan said the reduction would cut down on pass-through traffic. But Commissioner Phill Younger opposed the idea, saying that “slower is safer” is an emotional appeal, not a logical one. Both Younger and Vice Mayor Terry Gans voted against the motion.

FDOT District 1 Secretary Billy Hattaway wrote in a letter to the town that FDOT is not recommending speed reductions elsewhere on the Key. FDOT District Traffic Operations Engineer L.K. Nandam said that, based on previous research, a 45 mph speed limit is appropriate for the Key. FDOT determined the reduced speed was necessary for the north end based on crash and speed data.

Four Country Club Shores residents spoke in favor of the devices, as well.

“As people are gaining experience … people in cars are stopping faster, pedestrians are getting a little less aggressive,” William Cook said.

Linde Ward also asked the commission to seek improvements, rather than removal.

“In order to improve them, enforce them,” Ward said.

Former Commissioner Lynn Larson, who fought for the crosswalks’ installation during her time on the dais, rallied neighbors to save the crosswalk. Larson was critical of fellow Country Club Shores resident Commissioner Armando Linde’s comment at a previous workshop that he doesn’t know any residents who use the crosswalks.

“I didn’t mean to put Armando on the spot,” Larson said. “But I worked too damn hard to get that crosswalk.”

According to Vice Mayor Terry Gans, the consensus to request removal was the result of concerns that the crosswalks lure pedestrians into crossing unsafely by creating a false sense of security.

Longboat Key Police Chief Pete Cumming told the Longboat Observer time and education are key and agreed further evaluation is needed. He added that pedestrians should use common sense before stepping into the roadway.

Mayor Jack Duncan agreed to wait for data but said at least one of the northern crosswalks would better serve pedestrians if it were moved in front of the future Zota Beach Resort.

One of the northern crosswalks was originally designated for placement in front of Spanish Main Yacht Club and the nearby beach access, however, it was relocated in the planning stages at the request of residents.

After discussions, the commission made no motion related to the issue, and commissioners agreed to wait for the town and FDOT to evaluate the crosswalks.

FDOT District Traffic Operations Engineer L.K. Nandam told the Longboat Observer the agency plans to collect data to evaluate the effectiveness of the devices during “the next peak season” but is talking with the town to determine when the best time would be.

Nandam said discussions of crosswalks should emphasize educating pedestrians and drivers, along with enforcement.

Two recent incidents at crosswalks — a pedestrian was struck in February when a car failed to stop and a close call that Commissioner Irwin Pastor witnessed approximately three weeks ago when a motorist attempted to pass another motorist stopped for a pedestrian — were caused by driver error, Nandam said.

“We should be focusing on how to educate motorists and pedestrians whether there’s a crosswalk or not,” he said, noting that motorists are obligated to stop for pedestrians in the roadway regardless of whether they’re in a crosswalk.

Discussions about crosswalks began in the wake of a pedestrian death in 2012. Another death had occurred in 2005 when a bicyclist attempted to cross GMD and was struck and killed.