P&Z gears up to address transportation concerns

Traffic engineer Bill Oliver told the Longboat Key Planning & Zoning Board that the town’s current Comprehensive Plan and growth-management concessions could pose a roadblock to future development because of transportation issues.

“It’s not really predictable,” he said about the current plan at a Tuesday, July 19 meeting. “It doesn’t really create an environment where a developer really knows what he’s up against.”

Oliver asked Planning Board members if they were in agreement on four points: that viable road-congestion solutions aren’t available in the near to midterm future; that a local circulator/shuttle transit (outside of the Sarasota and Manatee county trolley systems that run through Longboat Key) is worth investigating; that bicycle-and-pedestrian facility enhancements are reasonable; and whether the town should press for or financially support improvements to out-of-town congestion locations.

P&Z board member Leonard Garner said that he believed all points “should be challenged significantly.”
“I think considering the seasonality of this community … I would say we’re fine the way we are,” he said.

Board members debated whether residents would use a shuttle system. P&Z board member Al Hixon said that he believes buses and trolleys sometimes contribute to traffic problems, because traffic behind them often becomes jammed as passengers enter and exit, although he said that possibly having a side space in which buses could pull over could alleviate the issue.

P&Z Board Chairwoman B.J. Webb suggested that improvements to the island’s business climate could improve traffic problems.

“In terms of residents of Longboat, traffic congestion will diminish if we have businesses on the island,” she said, noting that more businesses on the island translates to fewer residents having to get in their vehicles and drive off the island for essential services.

Oliver asked board members multiple questions, including whether there was any limit that could cause the town to deny land-use plan amendments or rezonings that increase traffic intensity and whether the town would be willing to stop development of land that had a proper site plan in place because of roadway considerations.

Board members were generally in agreement that they didn’t want the town to give up the possibility of denying a project that didn’t sufficiently address traffic concerns.

“I think we need to have a tool in the toolbox that says, ‘Yes, you can do this,’” P&Z board member John Wild said.

But board members agreed that they didn’t want to stop the development if the developer had submitted a sufficient site plan for a project.

The board agreed to direct staff to investigate potential modifications to the Comprehensive Plan and the Land Development Code to present at a September meeting.

Contact Robin Hartill at [email protected].