Bradenton traffic plan encourages Longboat leaders

The Florida Department of Transportation has settled on an option to alter the intersection of Cortez Road and 119th Street West in Bradenton, which Longboat Key officials and residents have identified as a source of traffic backups for motorists exiting the barrier islands.

While FDOT’s proposed solution is not one that Key representatives had pushed for, Town Manager Dave Bullock is pleased to see FDOT making progress in addressing issues caused by the intersection.

“It will be an improvement and we hope it helps with seasonal congestion,” Bullock said.

Currently, the north and south entrances to 119th Street West from Cortez Road are offset. FDOT is moving forward with a plan to align the two portions of 119th Street West, which will require approval to use county property.

“We’ve worked with the local government to come up with what looks like a good solution,” said FDOT spokesman Robin Stublen.

Stublen said FDOT hopes to obtain a permit to use the county property within six months, and subsequent construction of the intersection will take about two years.

This proposal was one of four options for the intersection presented at a FDOT meeting in May at Cortez Road Baptist Church, which was attended by more than 100 people, including representatives of Cortez and the barrier islands.

“The need to address congestion is clear,” Bullock said at the meeting. “Any time there is a three-mile backup on a daily basis for months at a time, there’s a problem that needs to be corrected.”

While some Key officials, including Bullock, favored a solution that would allow for a continuous eastbound lane, allowing motorists leaving the barrier islands to pass through the intersection unaffected by the traffic signal, Cortez residents criticized the idea because it would eliminate the possibility for motorists on the southern portion of 119th Street West to turn left onto Cortez Road.

Mayor Terry Gans said FDOT’s decision to align the intersection does not necessarily eliminate the possibility of a continuous eastbound lane during peak season.

“I don’t know that one precludes the other,” Gans said. “I see it as progress, and I look forward to further progress.”

Tom Freiwald and Lenny Landau of the Revitalization Task Force agreed that aligning the intersection will be an improvement.

“At least we’ll have a normal intersection that we can all work with,” Freiwald said. “It’s a great compromise.”

Alignment of 119th Street West will allow FDOT to implement other solutions to improve in-season traffic flow from the barrier islands, Freiwald said, including signal timing and temporary alterations using cones and medians.

FDOT is currently conducting the Sarasota-Manatee Barrier Islands Traffic Study to find ways to improve traffic flow to, from and on Lido Key, Longboat Key and Anna Maria Island. One consideration within the study is the implementation of “Park-N-Ride” locations, allowing motorists to park on the mainland and use a shuttle or carpool to get to the islands.

Landau said such a location near the intersection of 119th Street West and Cortez Road would be ideal.

“Along Cortez (Road), there are places where they could do it,” Landau said “That’s something they could try.”

Freiwald praised FDOT for making efforts to improve the flow of traffic at the intersection, and he hopes residents of Cortez, Longboat and Anna Maria Island will continue to cooperate in finding a solution that works for everyone.

“We’re all in this together,” Freiwald said.