Residents voice traffic concerns with potential Islamic Society school

The potential establishment of a private school at the Islamic Society of Sarasota has some residents worried about traffic back-up.

Sarasota County staff held a public meeting at the mosque's community center to inform local residents about the society's educational shift. The society is applying to the county for a special exception to open a private elementary school and, in the future, a middle school. The current community facilities at the society's campus is sufficient to house kindergarten through sixth-grade classes. Once the student population begins growing, the school would construct a new building to house middle school students.

Approximately 40 residents attended the meeting Tuesday night, Feb. 9. Many raised questions to Sarasota County planner Jack Wilhelm and the applicant's agent about how the project would impact traffic.

Joel Freedman with Freedman Consulting Group, the agent for the Islamic Society, explained a traffic study would have to be completed and turned in with the formal application to the county. Part of the study would be examining traffic patterns in the morning during peak hours, when students would be getting dropped off at school. 

For people leaving in the Beekman Place subdivision, just north of the house of worship on Lockwood Ridge Road, turning left out of their neighborhood onto the main north-south corridor in that area is already difficult. The subdivision has approximately 500 homes. 

Ferd Thompson, who lives in the Beekman neighborhood, was more worried about parents leaving the potential school trying to make a similar left turn. Residents in his neighborhood often have to take a right and then make a U-turn. Thompson is concerned parent drop-off will get backed up onto Lockwood Ridge Road, and he said he was most worried about someone getting hurt trying to make that left turn.

"I've got no problem with the school," he said. "I'm concerned about the safety. I don't want to see any accidents."

The society's original application stated the school would house about 260 students, however at that time it had considered including a high school. Freedman said the society decided to strike out any ideas at a high school at this time because the students are still young and there isn't enough demand yet for a high school. It now anticipates a maximum of 135 students in both elementary and middle school.

According to the society's current zoning, it has the ability in the code to build two additional structures on the property. Originally, the society had planned to build such areas to accommodate traveling religious scholars and other visiting religious members. However, its Sunday school program has grown from 20 students to 90 students in recent years, said Hytham Bakr, a school board member, at the meeting. The nearest Islamic school is in Tampa, and parents have expressed interest in having a school close by. The Sarasota mosque is home to about 300 families. 

The society plans to keep one of the two approved buildings in the plan; the second, planned for the south side of its property, will be struct from the code. 

Sharon Wilson, a Park East resident, attended the meeting to learn more about the Islamic Society's plans, and said she hopes the society "gets a fair shake," at opening its school. Wilson thought some residents who live nearer the house of worship had some valid concerns, but worrying about traffic was moot for her. 

"If you live in Sarasota, you have to prepare to deal with traffic," she said.