FDOT removes Gulf of Mexico Drive signs, town to talk renaming

Now that the Florida Department of Transportation has removed street signs marking Gulf of Mexico Drive on Longboat Key, the town is planning a public meeting to discuss a potential renaming of the town’s main thoroughfare.

Recently-passed state laws specify that the body of water to the west of Sarasota shall be referred to as the Gulf of America, a move prompted by an executive order signed by President Donald Trump to change the name of the body of water. The state law reads in part that “each state agency shall update its geographic materials to reflect the new federal designation of the “Gulf of Mexico” as the “Gulf of America.” 

Documents obtained by the Longboat Observer show discussions regarding removing road signs bearing the name Gulf of Mexico began in late July with a phone call to assistant town manager Isaac Brownman. On Monday, Aug. 25, an FDOT representative informed the town that the signs would be removed later that week. 

“One evening this week, our Traffic Management Contractor (TransCore) will come to the island and remove the “Gulf of Mexico Drive” street name signs that are on the signal mast arms. Based on our discussion, the street name signs that are pedestal mounted, blue with white letters, are property of the town and appear to be out of the right of way. We would like to know what the town’s plan is for those signs,” said FDOT District One Director of Transportation Development Nicole Mills in an email to the town.

FDOT did not respond to a request for more information from the Longboat Observer. On Tuesday, Aug. 26, the green road signs affixed to stoplights were removed, leaving empty brackets. Town manager Howard Tipton said the blue street name signs, which are governed by the town, will remain for the time being. 

Tipton stressed residents don’t need to take any action following FDOT’s actions and the road is still known as Gulf of Mexico Drive by the U.S. Post Office and locally.

“How the state looks at any reference is the only thing that’s changed,” Tipton said.

The town set up an FAQ page on its website detailing what the FDOT removal of the signs and any potential renaming of the road would mean for residents.

Whether there will be a change to the name of the road will be discussed at a public meeting on Oct. 20. Tipton said FDOT signaled they would not print any replacement signs for the intersections until the town makes a determination on the local name of the road.

“If we want to name it anything other than Gulf of Mexico Drive they will put a new sign up,” Tipton said. “But if we keep it as Gulf of Mexico Drive, they will put up a sign that says State Road 789.”

Photo by S.T. Cardinal

George Reenstra, a 12-year Longboat Key resident, shared with the town in July that he thought the road should change names to Gulf of America Drive. The suggestion then led to discussion of the potential cost to the town and businesses, but the suggestion didn’t seem to carry weight with commissioners. Reenstra said he was pleased when he heard about FDOT removing the signs, saying he thought it was time for the road name to change.

“Without trying to be political, the president, who was duly elected by our people, has changed it to Gulf of America. That’ s what it’ s called, whether you like it or not. Google Maps changed it. Aviation maps changed it. In my opinion, it's called Gulf of America Drive now,” said Reenstra. “I think it gets us on board with how Florida and America is feeling right now. This is our country, and I guess the real question is why not change it.”

The town writes that a detailed cost analysis will be done to determine any potential costs of changing the name of the road before any vote is taken.

Some residents are speaking out against the idea of potentially renaming Gulf of Mexico Drive, with many reaching out to the town voicing their opposition to the idea. The costs to the town, residents and business owners, and the possibility of the body of water being renamed back to Gulf of Mexico three years from now are some of the cited reasons. Greg Parris lives on the south end on Gulf of Mexico Drive and is against the idea of changing the name of the road. He said he thinks doing nothing would be the best course of action for the town.

“I think that resources would be better spent doing things that are more value-added to the residents than having to go through changing driver’s licenses and all that,” Parris said. “We’ve been Gulf of Mexico Drive since before I was born, and I see no reason to change it now. From the township’s point of view, doing nothing is an option. They would have to take affirmative steps to change the name from Gulf of Mexico Drive to something else. In my judgment, if they just did nothing, that would be better than the alternative.”