Longboat neighborhood pushes for resident-only parking

Town leaders urge more data collection, monitoring of what's been done in previous year.

By Eric Garwood
| 4:20 p.m. January 29, 2020

Work is underway near the intersection of Broadway Street and Gulf of Mexico Drive on the Chiles Group's parking lot/small office complex.

Longboat Key
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What's next for parking and traffic in Longbeach Village? For sure, it's more data collection throughout the high season to gauge the effects of slower speed limits, more limitations on street parking and some new parking arrangements set up by popular restaurants at the east end of the neighborhood.

Beyond that? Residents recently appeared before the Town Commission to deliver private survey results which favored a system of resident-only permits for Broadway Street and the intersecting side streets.

Since November . . .

Here are some of the parking and traffic developments on the North End since mid-October:

The owners of Whitney's, now open at the corner of Broadway Street and Gulf of Mexico Drive, gained approval for 22 additional seats from its original plan and the rented use of 18 parking places at the adjacent former bank building. The restaurant opened in mid-January.
The owners of The Shore at the east end of Broadway Street, have agreed with the owner of Whitney Plaza to use up to 30 parking spots for staff.
The owners of MarVista Dockside, just west of The Shore on Broadway Street, gained approval from the town's Planning & Zoning Board to build a 98-space parking lot and 300 square foot office for staff and valet use.
15-foot exclusion zones were set into the town code, prohibiting parking near driveways on Broadway Street. Previously, police only had authorization to write tickets for vehicles that actually blocked access to driveways. A portable speed-detecting device is set up in Longbeach Village periodically, designed to make drivers aware of both the 20 mph speed limit and their speed as well.

"Parking with permits solves all the key issues that are going on,'' said Carla Rowan of a recent Village survey, conceding that accommodations would have to be made for visitors, house guests and service providers.

Vice Mayor Ed Zunz, who represents the north end of Longboat Key, concurred.

"I really think the best thing to do is the entire village be limited to residential parking,'' he said. "I think most people don't park on the street, but the result of that would be as much as possible to put the Village back to the residential neighborhood it's been for so many years.''

Zunz pointed to the town's approval late last year for the owners of MarVista Dockside to build a 98-spot lot near the intersection of Gulf of Mexico Drive and Broadway Street and agreements by other restaurant operators with property owners to use existing parking on a rental basis. He also pointed out that once the MarVista lot is done, it will result in numerous shuttle trips for valet and staff.

"If we're gong to have so many cars going in and out and back and forth and golf carts going back and forth, I dont think we need to compound it with cars parked the length of the street,'' he said.

Town Commissioners, though, are not ready to push ahead with resident-only parking. Commissioner Mike Haycock and others said a wise interim step would be to continue monitoring the effects of slower speed limits and other traffic changes enacted since last spring before making a big change.

"I wouldn't be ready to vote on residential or non-residential immediately,'' he said. "I don't mind learning more about what it would look like, but I sure would like to see the results of the changes we've made. What results we're going to get from them, and are those enough to make us feel better about parking on Broadway.''

Work recently began clearing land for the MarVista parking lot/small office project. When completed, restaurant ownership has said, it will serve as a site for staff and valet parking.

Commissioner Jack Daly also was supportive of more monitoring before decisions are made. "Doesn't it make sense to see the results of that to determine if the additional spaces come to grips with the good part of the problem. "

In seeking a consensus from the commission, Town Manager Tom Harmer said he would seek more data from town staff but would wait and see what the information shows before deeply investigating how a residents-only parking arrangement would look. A meeting is planned with Village residents next month to further discuss traffic and parking.