Manatee commission considers Natalie Way expansion

A southbound turn down Natalie Way from State Road 70 takes drivers past The Harborage community and two mobile home parks.

Then, after a half mile, a chain-linked fence signals the end of the road at the northern end of the city of Bradenton’s Evers Reservoir.

Manatee County Planning Commissioner Al Horrigan, who lives in River Place, has an idea: What about extending Natalie Way south to Honore Avenue?

Doing so would create a new north-south connector for motorists, particularly those living between Interstate 75 and Lockwood Ridge Road, he said.

“If you look at it from a standpoint of connectivity, you’ve got U.S. 301, then Tuttle (Avenue), then Lockwood Ridge,” Horrigan said. “Then there’s nothing until you get to Lakewood Ranch Boulevard (if you don’t want to take the interstate).”

The idea has come up because the city of Bradenton is selling a 200-acre property immediately east of the Evers Reservoir. It had originally acquired the property for an expansion of the reservoir, but construction costs proved too high and the city abandoned the idea.

There currently is no site plan for the request, although a traffic analysis for the project includes about 600 single family and multi-family homes taking access from Honore Avenue. The potential developer — undisclosed at this time — is requesting to change the comprehensive plan and future land use from public/semi-public to residential with up to six units per acre. Zoning currently is a mix of planned development residential and agriculture. If the land use change is approved, the applicant would later come back for site plan approvals.

Manatee County Commissioner Vanessa Baugh said the roadway connection may be worth considering.

“I think it’s a good idea and it’s necessary,” she said. “Any time we can connect, that's good. A lot of people are saying that would be a better benefit than the Tara Bridge. I agree. But, it is something we’re going to have to look into as this moves forward.”

She noted the road is not designed and the county does not own the property either.

“I don’t know whether we could do it or not,” she said. “I would love to be able to put a road in there, but I don’t know if that’s feasible. That in itself is a whole different battle. There’s a lot of questions there that would have to be answered very quickly.”

Manatee County commissioners will consider the development request, on its own merit, at their Oct. 5 land-use meeting. Any thoughts of a future roadway would have to be handled separately. 

Manatee County Commissioner Robin DiSabatino said having local road options is always good, but the county would have to complete its due diligence. Without having completed a formal study, transportation staff members have indicated the roadway would be too close to Lockwood Ridge Road to be of value. DiSabatino said feedback also needs to be compiled from the residents.

“I wouldn’t rule it out as a possibility,” DiiSabatino said. “It’s something to explore.”

For a Natalie Way extension to be viable, the county would have to amend the county’s comprehensive and thoroughfare plans to include the roadway. If directed by the commission, transportation staff members would study the option to see if it’s justified, said Nicole Knapp.

More than 1 mile of roadway would need to be built, but it would not have to cross any bodies of water.

The developer applicant is only responsible for traffic impacts related to its development proposal and could not be required to set aside land for a future road.

Natalie Way and Tara Boulevard are about 1.5 miles apart, while Natalie Way is less than a half-mile from Lockwood Ridge Road, on State Road 70.

Manatee County owns the land for the Tara Bridge extension, but has tabled the project indefinitely.

Clarke Davis, Manatee County’s transportation division manager, said Tara Boulevard remains the better option because it would provide a more direct north-south connection and be closer to Interstate 75.

“While Natalie Way would provide additional connectivity and circulation options in the vicinity of State Road 70 and Lockwood Ridge Road, it would not be expected to provide an equivalent network function to a continuous Tara/Honore corridor,” Davis said in an email response.

Horrigan thinks both connectors are needed and believes that as the county builds out its east-west connections, particularly with the expansion of 44th Avenue East from west Bradenton to Lakewood Ranch, it should be proactive in terms of traffic.

“Any incremental increase in the ability to move north south, is good,” he said.