Crosswalk issues and street safety plague Siesta

On the Fourth of July, as 1,500 pounds of explosives tore into the night sky illuminating most of Siesta Key, the crosswalks in Siesta Village remained dim.

But, 13 stakeholders, in the quest to change that condition, gathered the following day around a 10-foot ladder to test lighting options for the pedestrian-heavy commercial district. The outcome: close, but no light for that cigar.

“What else you got?” asked Siesta Key Association Vice President Peter van Roekens to the business owners demonstrating their LED lighting products at the Thursday, July 5 demonstration in front of Daiquiri Deck Raw Bar and Gilligan’s Island Bar & Grill.

Sarasota County Public Works Director Jim Harriott also attended the hour-long demonstration.

Craig Hall, vice president of business development for Sunovia, stood on a ladder to show off his firm’s Cobra Head Luminaire and Low Profile Flood Light.

“This is the lighting of the future,” he told the Pelican Press during the demonstration. “I guarantee in five years everyone will be using LEDs.”

Dick Metchear and Betsy Piper, husband-and-wife owners of Naples-based Stonelight, brought two waist-high bollards with Sunovia products installed within them.

“You’re making a huge mistake if you go with overhead lighting,” Metchear told van Roekens and Siesta Key Chamber of Commerce Chairman Mark Smith.

Siesta Key Village Association representatives want to find a balance between aesthetics and efficacy, and, although Stonelight’s products are visually pleasing, they don’t spill light far enough across the crosswalk.

The favorite, according to van Roekens, was the Low Profile Flood Light, a flat light panel with LED lights generating 30 watts of light. It would have to be mounted more than 10 feet in the air but would be less prone to vandalism than the bollard, he said. Smith applauded its efficacy but said to mount the product Sunovia would need to make a custom light pole matching the street light fittings already in place in the Village. But, that could inflate costs, which Smith said is another factor he hopes to balance with a selection.

On the vandalism issue, Metchear assured that his bollard was the right choice for SKVA.

“If somebody really wants to break it, they’ll have to come back with a sledgehammer,” he said.

In fact, Metchear was so sure of his product, he offered to return for another demonstration after tweaking the angle of the bollard light. Also, Smith said Jag Lighting, which did a similar demonstration June 19, wants another chance to demonstrate its product.

No dice on Midnight Pass
Nearly six months after a drunk driver on Midnight Pass Road killed Donna Chen, the Florida Department of Transportation rejected pleas from Siesta Key Association President Catherine Luckner for more signage and safety features, as well as lowering the speed limit on Midnight Pass Road.

The organization reached out to FDOT and asked for blinking lights on crosswalks near the curve on which Chen was killed but was turned down to avoid potential complaints from nearby residents. When a pedestrian activates the flashing crosswalks, an audible signal is activated, as well.

FDOT installed flashing speed-limit radar signs on Beach Road near the main entrance to the public beach but has yet to release data showing the signs’ effectiveness, which would make a case for more flashing signs on Siesta. The agency waited two weeks to turn the visual radar on to collect baseline statistics on car speed, which can be compared with two numbers from the following two weeks to ascertain the average speed change due to the radar signs.

But, the pole that would secure the sign Luckner suggested on Midnight Pass Road had not been crash tested, which originally created the delay.

“FDOT doesn’t want signs all over the place,” said Sarasota County Commissioner Nora Patterson at a July 5 SKA meeting. “Usually, when you bug them twice, you’ve probably got them as far as you’re going to go.”
SKA member Bob Luckner said if given the data from the interactive speed-limit sign on Beach Road he would prepare an analysis. But, for now, the wait continues on Siesta Key traffic safety features.
We gave it a good go,” Luckner said.

And the winner (kind of) is ...
Peter van Roekens and Mark Smith, members of the Siesta Key Village Association, did not settle on an ideal choice for crosswalk lighting in Siesta Village during the second round of product demonstrations July 5. But, Sarasota-based Sunovia showed off a flood light that both men decided was the best of the display.
The EvoLucia LED Low Profile Flood Light looked like it balanced the goals of safety, structural and aesthetic integrity the Village merchants hope to achieve.

BY THE NUMBERS

LED Stonelight Bollard
Power: 8 watts
Life Expectancy: 70,000 hours
Durability: Impact-resistant lens

Low Profile Flood Light
Power: 30 watts
Life Expectancy: 70,000 hours
Durability: Mounting suggested

Cobra Head Luminaire
Power: 110 watts
Life Expectancy: 100,000 hours
Durability: Heavy duty aluminum