New stoplight coming to Lakewood Ranch Boulevard

With the approval Oct. 19 of a small donation of land from the Lakewood Ranch Community Development District 1 to Manatee County, intersection improvements at Lakewood Ranch Boulevard and Clubhouse Drive are now clear to begin.

The busy four-way stop along Lakewood Ranch Boulevard adjacent to the Braden River is set to become a signalized intersection.

The district donated 332 square feet of land on the southwest corner of the intersection and 828 square feet of land on the northeast corner. Plans call for the installation of a traffic signal with mast arm supports, construction of northbound and southbound right turn lanes on Lakewood Ranch Boulevard, eastbound and westbound turn lanes on Clubhouse Drive, and Advance Traffic Management System devices.

Lakewood Ranch Inter-District Authority Interim Executive Director Steve Zielinski said the traffic light will likely be operational at the intersection in late summer or early fall 2022. Documents show the cost of the project is estimated at $1.147 million.

“This is for a southbound right turn lane on Lakewood Ranch Boulevard and we’re also putting a right turn lane in on Clubhouse boulevard, so we needed to widen the road,” Manatee County Senior Project Engineer Albert Rosenstein said of the donated land. “The smaller section is to anchor the signal mast.”

Board member Laura Fox said she’s had several close calls in the intersection and has witnessed at least one major accident from someone running one of the stop signs. 

“When people come off the bridge (from the south) they just blow right through there,” Fox said. “This will at least slow people down to avoid accidents with neighborhoods that intersect with Lakewood Ranch Boulevard.”

“People just don’t see the stop signs,” said District 1 Chair Alan Roth. “They’re coming down Lakewood Ranch Boulevard from a dark area — especially during dawn or dusk — and they’re daydreaming.”

Board member Robert Dapper said the traffic light would have positive implications all the way down Lakewood Ranch Boulevard.

“Hopefully this will disperse the traffic a little bit so it won’t take us 10 minutes to get out onto Lakewood Ranch Boulevard,” he said.

Another signal light is planned for the corner of Balmoral Woods Boulevard and Lakewood Ranch Boulevard. Cost is estimated at $1.3 million. An estimated $800,000 will be used to install fiber optic cables from University Parkway to Summerfield Parkway, which will sync both sets of traffic lights with signals located on State Road 70 and University Parkway.

In other business, CDD 6, which consists largely of the Country Club area, elected to move forward with a proposal for upgrades to the entrance of Lakewood Ranch Country Club at Balmoral Woods Drive and Lakewood Ranch Boulevard. 

This includes an area for a vehicle turnaround, new gates, a license plate reader camera and signage. Construction costs for the project are estimated at $64,000.

CDD 6 Chair James Rogoze said the project could have some long-term savings in regards to gate security for the district.

“This project has to be done sooner than later,” he said. “If you have a turnaround lane, you probably don’t need four hours of gate management. That’s about $22,000.”