Trouble brewing amid North Trail Starbucks discussions

Jennifer Ahearn-Koch, president of the Tahiti Park Neighborhood Association, wants to be clear that she’s not opposed to new projects in the area as a rule. 

As a developer works on plans to bring a Starbucks to 1603 N. Tamiami Trail, she’s effusive with praise for the company’s employees. She recounts a story of how she sent an email to Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz, concerned the project might displace some of the neighborhood’s canopy trees. Within two hours, she was on the phone with a vice president who soothed her concerns.

“He said to me, ‘We want no part of tearing down and destroying a community and destroying those canopy trees,’” Ahearn-Koch said.

Still, cordiality can only do so much to smooth over genuine disagreement. Four months after Ahearn-Koch first shared her optimism regarding the opportunity for collaboration on the project with the Sarasota Observer, some issues Tahiti Park residents wanted addressed still linger.

On July 31, residents and regional Starbucks representatives met near the proposed site in an attempt to hash out some of the remaining points of contention. In addition to the tree canopy, people in Tahiti Park are most concerned by the impact of additional traffic on Hampton Road, the sole point of ingress and egress for the neighborhood.

Although Starbucks representatives have embraced other proposals from Tahiti Park — removing an exit on Tahiti Parkway, investigating the possibility of realigning Lowe Drive — they haven’t touched the proposed entrance on Hampton.

Under current conditions, their options are limited. Although Ahearn-Koch would like to see all three of the cafe’s curb cuts on U.S. 41, the Florida Department of Transportation doesn’t want more than two ingress/egress points on the state highway.

Already traffic backs up, and cars have trouble getting onto U.S. 41 from Tahiti Park during peak hours. During afternoon peak hours, a traffic study estimates Starbucks will add 96 trips to the street, more than doubling the average of 64 it gets currently.

The volume will only increase during the morning peak hours for the coffee chain, Ahearn-Koch said. With that in mind, she’s trying to get whomever she can — developers, city staff, FDOT officials — to agree with her opposition to the Hampton Road entrance.

“I just need a human to stand there and look at it and say, ‘Yeah, this is really dangerous,’” Ahearn-Koch said. “I can’t see doubling or tripling the traffic and adding to it.”