Longboat seeks input on traffic congestion

By Dana Kampa
| 8:30 a.m. July 30, 2025

Traffic often backs up from the Cortez Bridge intersection onto Longboat Key during peak season.

Longboat Key
News

Take the opportunity to have your insight heard on proposed traffic congestion remedies.

The Sarasota/Manatee Metropolitan Planning Organization is circulating a public survey detailing eight improvement strategies. Officials are seeking residents' input on which approaches to prioritize under the Barrier Island Implementation Plan.

Options include modifying certain lane configurations, creating secondary routes to main corridors like Gulf of Mexico Drive and adjusting traffic lights, among others.

Specifically on St. Armands Circle, one suggestion is to create raised pedestrian crossings and allow traffic to more easily bypass the circle.

To check out the survey, visit SurveyMonkey.com/r/BarrierIslandImplementationPlan.

author

Dana Kampa

Dana Kampa is the Longboat Key neighbors reporter for the Observer. She first ventured into journalism in her home state of Wisconsin, going on to report community stories everywhere from the snowy mountains of Washington State to the sunny shores of the Caribbean. She has been a writer and photographer for more than a decade, covering what matters most to readers.