Downtown left turns OK once again

Attention, left-turn lovers.

No need to consult GPS or find an around-the-block solution to your downtown drives on Main Street, Ringling Boulevard and U.S. 301 any more. The road work that prompted more than a month of alternative routes, horn-honking and dozens of moving violations is finished.

Road crews wrapped up their project on U.S. 301 between those two east-west arteries earlier this week. Now freshly painted turn lanes replace the temporary lanes made necessary by roadside excavation along the eastern shoulder of U.S. 301.

Sarasota Police posted on social media about the changes coming in late June and local news media delivered plenty of words, photos and videos. Still, flashing blue lights and frustrated faces were a common neighborhood sight in July.

Since June 24 (a few days after no left-turn signs were put up), Sarasota Police wrote: 207 tickets and 122 warnings for Failure to Obey a Traffic Control Sign, along with 14 tickets and 65 warnings for Improper Left Turn.

Also, in case you missed it, the city finished rolling out its paid-parking devices on the western end of Main Street this week, too. Read about that here.