Crosswalk construction starts this month

Five members of the Sarasota County Fire Department walked into St. Michael the Archangel Catholic Church Sept. 17, and they left content.

The process took longer than a year, but the Florida Department of Transportation will start work on new safety features for Siesta Key roads. The six crosswalks that will be constructed on Midnight Pass Road will each include yellow flashing pedestrian signs but won’t have raised “pedestrian islands” in the middle lane.

“My concern is to make sure these guys are happy,” said Fire Safety Inspector Richard Chapman, who remained at the FDOT open house after his younger colleagues left in a fire truck that had been parked behind the church.

The emergency personnel Chapman mentioned came in to look at the crosswalk plans to make sure they wouldn’t affect their jobs. When the project, which was awarded to a contractor with a $190,827 bid June 12, was initially proposed, the idea was to have 10 pedestrian islands along the 1.23-mile stretch of Midnight Pass Road north of Stickney Point Road, which could have slowed emergency vehicles using the middle lane — especially during season.

Two large digital signs on Midnight Pass Road warn of traffic delays starting Sept. 24, when FDOT will start construction of the crosswalks, which FDOT public information liaison Brian Bollas said will cost between $200 and $300 to maintain annually. That upkeep includes new paint and replacing the flashing sign bulbs or reflective bumps on the shoulder of the roadway. Federal funding will pay for the total cost of the road improvement, which engineers estimated to cost about $155,000, Bollas said.

There are 60 days of construction slated for the project, and a majority will take place during the day, with one day of work expected during the evening, Bollas said. But, because 30 days of the project’s timeline are devoted to letting the asphalt cure, there will only be construction on the roadway for the first several days and toward the end of the timeline.

According to a timeline graphic FDOT presented during the open house, it will take about three weeks to remove and replace existing signage and install the new flashing beacon pedestrian signs; two days to cut into existing asphalt and resurface the crosswalk area; and two days to re-stripe the work zone at the beginning of October. All of the time estimates are weather permitting, Bollas said.

Bollas said before the open house that he wasn’t expecting a large turnout because the project was already 

a “done deal.” But, at least two Siesta residents showed up to check out the plans and ask when another part of Midnight Pass Road would get a similar treatment.

“I think the crosswalks are a long time coming,” said Pat Bossman, who lives in Siesta Woods. He has been visiting the island since 2000 and moved here in June 2011. “It’ll be nice to be able to cross the road.”

But, Bossman and Shadowlawn Drive resident Grace Wessner said the intersection of Midnight Pass Road and Shadowlawn Drive is dangerous for pedestrians. FDOT has rejected residents’ pleas to lower the speed limit, however, and reflective chevron signs and flashing warning signs have done little to deter speeders, Bossman said.

“It’s our own little drag strip,” Bossman said.

By the Numbers
12 — Flashing beacon signs
1.23 — Miles of roadway in project
60 — Construction days
$190,827 — Bid awarded for project
$155,800 — Engineers' estimate for the job
$300 — Estimated annual maintenance