Roundabout moves forward on University Parkway at Legacy Boulevard

With a 4-3 vote in their meeting on Tuesday, Manatee County commissioners opted to cancel negotiations with Schroeder-Manatee Ranch over the intersection at University Parkway and Legacy Boulevard. 

Construction of a roundabout at the intersection will move forward. 

Commissioners Bob McCann, Carol Felts and Jason Bearden were the dissenting votes. 

While residents argued that there has been a lack of traffic studies to support the need for a roundabout, Commissioners George Kruse, Mike Rahn, Amanda Ballard and Tal Siddique voted to honor the signed contract with SMR. 

“SMR is a Development of Regional Impact; and it has rights under the DRI for transit,” Rahn said. “We’ve negotiated. They’ve come back and said, ‘No.’ I don’t think continuing negotiations is going to get us anywhere else.”