Sanity please: Roundabout is not needed

I am writing because I have been in continuous contact with the Longboat DPW, FDOT, Manatee County and LBK Commissioners, among others, regarding the proposed Broadway roundabout. I am concerned about pedestrian safety and the unnecessary loss of the westerly center turn lane at Broadway, which the FDOT design of the roundabout will unnecessarily eliminate. They can just as easily, and at lower cost, leave the turn lane intact with proper signage. We have some roundabouts like that in Michigan. I have provided pictures in the past.

To further explain, when the north end afternoon traffic on GMD backs up during season, it often creates a standing still lane of vehicles all the way to the Bradenton Beach roundabout, sometimes even to the Cortez light/bridge. I have it on video and you can count the vehicles, which are well into the hundreds. There is no way that the traffic on GMD going north from the Whitney shopping center can move until the traffic on Anna Maria Island moves forward. There is absolutely no benefit to the roundabout because there is nowhere to go.

I have been using this intersection frequently since 1976 and while I do not design streets for a living, I feel qualified to comment on GMD’s future if traffic is to be corralled even further.

During this time, the numerous roundabout articles in the Observer and other publications have never once referenced the unnecessary elimination of the Westerly center turn lane option at Broadway, so many residents may not be aware of this eventuality. Why is this important you might ask?

For those of us who live, work and or play on the northwest side of GMD toward the beach, we either have the Broadway center turn lane to pass the standing traffic and get home when approaching from the south, or, after the roundabout is installed and the center turn lane is eliminated, we will sit in and make worse, the traffic snarl that dominates GMD going north practically every afternoon in the fall, and, after January first, every afternoon during “season”. Arguably, for most of the four months' worth of afternoons, we will add to the worsening conditions.

At that point, there is nowhere to go for the vehicles headed to AMI, essentially guaranteeing no progress into the roundabout until the line eases after the Bradenton Beach roundabout/Cortez bridge. I have all this on video on my phone. The current center turn lane allows driveway and other access 14 times along its length, including those at Cedar and Broadway intersections, making it beholden to numerous patient residents grateful for its perfectly designed existence.

Mind you, this is in an area where roundabout justification claims are made to slow down the “speeding” vehicles, who are frequently actually standing still. Claims are further made which then accurately note sight lines (road banking) and increasing pedestrian traffic due to the addition of a corner restaurant and over 80 new parking spaces next to the former bank building on Cedar street. These spaces are presumably to include access by seekers of the nearby two public beaches.

Like I’ve said, no previous article on the roundabout specifically advised the nearby residents about the unnecessary loss of the Broadway intersections westerly center turn lane. I would suggest that if most of the North owners/residents had been so advised, there would have been far more concern voiced to Manatee County, FDOT and the LBK City commissioners and planners. Ironically, at this same time it has been publicized that the south end of the Key on GMD will receive new and agreeably needed easterly center turn lanes to help alleviate the time residents spend there in traffic waiting to get to their homes across from the LKC links golf course. Where is the logic/justice in giving the south end a center turn lane to alleviate their traffic issues while unnecessarily taking away the north end center turn lane and thereby aggravating our traffic experience?

A longer center turn lane can allow for vehicles entering traffic to safely stage themselves before moving into the traffic flow. In a situation like GMD on Longboat Key, where the street is long and narrow, the safest option is complimentary long center turn lanes without medians that will possibly send vehicles over curbs and into traffic prematurely.

The expense of this roundabout will translate into unsafe and impatient traffic snarl, significant wasted time and perhaps aggravated response time for any emergency activities like ambulance or urgent care for North end residents not to mention increasing the difficulty of getting service and repair contractors to respond to resident appeals for assistance. Has anyone else had problems getting service and contractors to handle their needs due to traffic on the key?

As far as pedestrian safety is concerned, in my previous emails to the DPW and City commissioners, I suggest that this is no time to go cheap on the changes that appear to be begging for increased use of the North end public beaches and restaurants, whether there is a roundabout at Broadway or a simple traffic light (at far less cost and no increase in unsafe conditions).

Due to the high amount of pedestrian traffic, and the new congestion caused by the roundabout at arguably the busiest four way intersection on the entire key, there is a need for an underground pedestrian passageway just like the one that currently exists on GMD south of Bay Isles road, unfortunately in an area where it doesn’t seem to get much use. I have many pictures of it from both sides of GMD including from inside its welcoming walls. It is a magnificent FDOT design, very roomy and would be a most appropriate addition, very near but not at the current Broadway intersection. It would be a sign that Manatee County, FDOT and the Longboat Key planners are paying attention and doing justice to the safety of the future pedestrians and vehicles there every day and when emergencies like hurricanes and flooding intercede.

In summary, I propose to avoid the costs, complications, safety issues and future consequences of putting anything other than a traffic light and, if seriously considered but then not as necessary, an underground pedestrian walk/bike way at GMD and Broadway. If you agree, please speak up to FDOT, Manatee County and the Commissioners of Longboat key.

 Sanity please !!

 —David Baughman, Longboat Key