Longboat Key approves short list of transportation projects

The town of Longboat Key renewed its wish list of transportation projects Monday, unanimously approving four projects to be submitted to the Sarasota/Manatee Metropolitan Planning Organization for inclusion on its Long Range Transportation Plan.

“It’s to help prioritize the various projects that the region has,” Town Manager Howard Tipton said. “It’s a regional look at transportation initiatives. They do the best to prioritize based on funding available. But every five years there’s a new Long Range Transportation Plan.”

The current plan the MPO has published is for 2050.

The projects the town shortlisted include two roundabouts, one on the northern tip of the barrier island and one on the southern tip. Tipton said roundabouts help prevent unneeded stops when traffic is sparse and keep traffic moving steadily without backing up when traffic is heavy.

“They seem to function well,” Tipton said. “I think especially for an island or somewhere you have two lanes of traffic, signals that are timed can stop traffic when there’s no one there to go. A roundabout gives a more natural flow to traffic rather than a mechanical flow.”

The roundabouts are planned to be built many years apart, with design for the Broadway Street roundabout already well underway while the Longboat Club Road roundabout planned on the south end is merely an idea. The Broadway Street roundabout already has funding “locked in for (fiscal years) 2026-2030” for construction. Design plans for that project are expected to be completed by the end of February, and construction bids by project lead FDOT will begin in July.

Also on the priorities list is “context sensitive design” for the entirety of Gulf of Mexico Drive. That term is the new lingo FDOT uses to refer to Complete Streets, road designs that cater to pedestrians, cyclists and vehicles alike.

“It’s an FDOT shift in conversation. We can still use the term Complete Streets and know what we’re referring to,” Assistant Town Manager Isaac Brownman said. “What FDOT means by context sensitive design is that the design of your roadway not only looks at all those (multi-modal) elements, but also looks at the land use patterns around it. So each jurisdiction has a different style and land use pattern and identity, so now they’re looking for roadways to match that and mimic that. So it’s not only just bikes, peds and cars, but what’s going on in the adjacencies. So that’s their way of saying context sensitive. Our context on Longboat Key is different than Bradenton Beach, which is different than up and down the corridor.”

According to a presentation made by town staff at Monday’s commission meeting, the context sensitive design and Longboat Club roundabout bullet points may be funded years or even decades from now, with date ranges showing 2031-2050. And it may take even longer.

“It’s a big window and there’s no guarantee, so it could likely get pushed out beyond that,” Tipton said. “There’s a constant competition for those funds. So some of these projects may require a greater local buy-in than in areas that have a lot of accidents or heavier traffic.”