Proposed Creekwood roundabout brings mixed feelings

After learning more about the proposed plans for a roundabout on Creekwood Boulevard, Elizabeth Martin was cautiously optimistic following a county-sponsored public meeting Aug. 16 at Manatee Technical College. 

Manatee County’s plans for a roundabout on Creekwood Boulevard and 73rd Street East are 90% complete and construction could begin by the end of the year, although a contractor has yet to be hired for the project,.

Although Martin, who has lived on 72nd Street East in Creekwood for 18 years, isn’t sure the roundabout will ease traffic congestion, she hopes it will at least stop drivers from speeding.

The traffic congestion often forms at Creekwood Boulevard and 52nd Place East, which is an entrance to the Creekwood Crossing shopping center. Those coming out of the shopping center often have a rough time turning left on Creekwood Boulevard, and traffic backs up into the shopping center.

Motorists leaving the shopping center on 52nd Place East, often turn right on Creekwood Boulevard then make a U-turn at 73rd Street East to return toward State Road 70. The county has received many complaints about that section of road being unsafe for those trying to exit the shopping center.

The proposed plans would force residents to turn right off 52nd Place East and use the roundabout if they wanted to access S.R. 70. The construction project includes a right turn lane into Creekwood Crossings off Creekwood Boulevard.

Ogden Clark, the strategic affairs manager for Manatee County’s Public Works department, said the roundabout was the best solution for the area as a four-way stop sign or a traffic light at the Creekwood Boulevard and 52nd Place East intersection would cause more traffic and the intersection is too close to the State Road 70 stop light. 

As Martin, who has lived on 72nd Street East in Creekwood for 18 years, looked at the renderings for the proposed roundabout, she expressed one concern. She would like to see the sidewalk on 73rd Street East expanded all the way to 52nd Drive East. 

Photo by Liz Ramos

Martin spent 11 years walking a loop around 72nd Street East, Creekwood Boulevard, 73rd Street East and 52nd Drive East. She said several residents walk with their dogs and children in the area, and pedestrian safety should be a priority. 

While Martin remains hopeful about the roundabout, other Creekwood residents continue to oppose the project. 

Clark said the change that was made after hearing residents’ concerns was making the sidewalk 5 feet wide rather than the previously planned 8 feet in order to limit the impacts to private property. 

Clark said about 90% of the project is in a common area, but the county will need to acquire some private property to construct the roundabout. 

“The functionality of the sidewalk wasn’t reduced by making it small, and that’s just one way we’re trying to accommodate residents,” Clark said. “Our team was willing to work to figure out what we could do to still provide the safety we wanted but also accommodate the homeowner.”

The home of Creekwood’s Tom Carter and his wife, Diane, on 52nd Terrace East is the most susceptible to change as a result of the roundabout. Due to the roundabout, Tom Carter said the couple has considered moving from the home, which has been in the family for 19 years. 

“Most likely the home becomes unlivable because you’re going to have this traffic right outside your window,” Tom Carter said. “Maybe it’s going to be 20 feet away where it was going to be 10 feet away, but it’s still outside your window.”

Jan Wencel, who lives on 51st Place East, said the roundabout will cause her to reroute her drives to and from her home because it will make it more difficult for her to leave her neighborhood from the main entrance on 72nd Street East. There will be a median constructed on Creekwood Boulevard that would require motorists to only turn right from 72nd Street East.

Courtesy image 

If she wants to go north on Creekwood Boulevard, she will have to either make a U-turn at the traffic light on S.R. 70 or travel through Creekwood, adding traffic to other parts of her neighborhood.

Sally Schule, who lives on 49th Avenue East, said having more traffic going through the community poses a safety concern. 

Schule said the roundabout will cause more traffic problems at the intersection of Creekwood Boulevard, State Road 70 and Tara Boulevard because there are only two entrances/exits to the Creekwood Crossing shopping center — the entrance off S.R. 70 and the entrance on 52nd Place East. 

“I feel like the real solution is the mall should have another exit,” Schule said. “That mall is the one that should be spending money to solve this.”

The county’s next steps are to appraise the property needed for the roundabout before the Manatee County Commissioners give approval and the property is acquired. Once the property is acquired, construction can begin.