Siesta Key roundabout could become a reality

The Florida Department of Transportation recently concluded that a roundabout at the Midnight Pass Road-Beach Road intersection could help improve pedestrian safety and traffic flow. The agency is moving forward with conceptual designs and further studies of the proposal; the Sarasota County Commission requested more information in preparation for public discussions.

FDOT has scheduled preliminary engineering for the 2014-2015 Fiscal Year, with construction slated for the 2016-2017 Fiscal Year, according to FDOT spokesman Robin Stublen.

"Generally, you're looking at a two-year time frame for engineering," Stublen said. "That could mean (construction) could start in late 2016 or 2017."

The roundabout proposal caught Sarasota County Commissioners off guard when they learned about it in December.

“When I brought this up to our commission, no one knew about it,” County Commissioner Nora Patterson said.

The current Beach Road-Midnight Pass Road intersection includes continuous right-turn lanes, which allow the free flow of traffic and prevent backups. County commissioners were concerned that eliminating the continuous turn lanes in favor of a roundabout might impede traffic flow at peak transit hours.

Pedestrian-safety concerns have led the FDOT to look at several changes to Midnight Pass Road, which is a state road overseen by FDOT, during the past several years. The death of a jogger who was struck in January 2012 by a drunk driver on Midnight Pass Road spurred the FDOT to add six crosswalks on Midnight Pass Road between State Road 72 and Beach Road.

Siesta residents have long complained about the dangers of the pedestrian crosswalks at the Beach Road-Midnight Pass Road intersection. A public forum last year highlighted residents’ ongoing concerns, prompting the FDOT’s move to study whether replacing the intersection with a roundabout could help.

But Patterson said the County Commission was unaware that FDOT was considering a roundabout for the location.

I’m not exactly sure where this came from,” Patterson said, speaking about the roundabout proposal. “I suspect it would be OK, but it would be a big change. It needs some more public exposure.”

Contact Nolan Peterson at [email protected]