City begins traffic calming plan update process

What to do about speeding on the city’s roadways was on the agenda as Sarasota’s transportation planning staff hosted a public workshop on Feb. 19 to seek input for developing a new traffic calming plan.

Sarasota already has a traffic calming plan, which was established in the 1990s, Senior Traffic Planner Corinne Arriaga told the audience in the City Hall Commission Chamber. Out of that came new measures such as speed tables, which are wider than traditional speed bumps. The new measures evolved into a transportation master plan that included a newly created neighborhood prioritization process; this shifted from an engineering-based approach to transportation in the 2010s. 

Prior to the development of the master plan, all proposed improvements were brought before the City Commission, when hearings were held to gather public feedback prior to approval and implementation.

“As we moved through that process, we were getting a lot of complaints from residents that they weren't being notified that a speed table was getting installed or whatever traffic calming improvement was being implemented,” Arriaga said. 

The city updated the process to provide eligibility to neighborhoods that don't score highly for certain treatments that aren't permanent alterations to roadways. Now the city is gathering data through both public engagement and an online survey to craft the next generation of traffic calming throughout the city.

“Traffic calming is a set of roadway treatments that can alter a driver's behavior so it can reduce negative impacts that motorists can have on pedestrians and cyclists,” Arriaga said. “What it can really do is help reduce speeds and vehicle crashes and create a space where people want to walk and bike on their neighborhood street.”

Such devices include speed bumps, humps and tables, traffic circles; chicanes, bends or deviations; narrowed lanes; raised intersections and more.

“The goal of the traffic calming plan is it's a citywide initiative dedicated to unifying the existing program and to expand to include our collector streets and arterial streets, and to evaluate areas of concern for potential traffic calming solutions,” Arriaga said. 

The process will be rolled out in phases. They are:

• Phase 1: A citywide speed study and identification of the high-pedestrian areas. 
• Phase 2: Developing evaluation matrices for the collector and arterial road data.
• Phase 3: Determine eligibility for certain treatment solutions in neihborhoods.

Currently, in the data gathering state of Phase 1, a digital survey is available and will continue until April 20. In fall 2025, staff will begin to develop traffic calming plans for the neighborhoods and for the areas that aren't affiliated with neighborhoods. By winter, staff will begin developing the report with a target of spring 2026 to present to the City Commission.

“We’re going to be doing neighborhood outreach throughout the entire length of the project and we want to hear from you,” Arriaga said.