Letters to the Editor

+ Downtown bus terminal should remain in its current location
Dear Editor:
The idea of relocating the downtown bus terminal is misguided. It is currently in the most central location, and the terminal is very nicely designed. Many of us who live downtown use buses to get to and from SRQ Airport, St. Armands, Lido Beach, Anna Maria and many other locations. A third of our population cannot, or choses not to, drive — including many teenagers, disabled and elderly people. The suggestion that most people who use buses are going to the courthouse or health department is absurd, and probably based on a prejudice by some folks who do not take advantage of Sarasota’s excellent bus system. The best thing for the business community downtown would be to promote bus service and bicycle accommodations, too. Pedestrians and bicyclists are customers.

Lois A. Levin, Helen B. Rittenberg and Marianne Wiedmann 
Citrus Square residents

+ City of Sarasota not friendly to small businesses
Dear Mayor Snyder:
It is now three weeks since I wrote to you regarding two issues, detailed in my original communique to you March 7, that are of grave concern to all merchants on Palm Avenue. Unfortunately, I have not had the courtesy of a response from you or from anyone affiliated with the City Commission or the city of Sarasota.

When I chose Sarasota as the city in which to start my business, I was so impressed with the vitality, beauty, cultural diversity and the plethora of small businesses that I saw here. I believed that this city would be a wonderful place in which to work hard and prosper. I also believed that the city of Sarasota wanted to help small businesses succeed.

Now, two years later, I have learned that there is no help or support forthcoming from the city. Only fees, licenses, inspections, certificates and taxes are in ample supply. Any supportive projects for merchants, such as a wayfinding system, have been ignored or, worse yet, had their funding co-opted to pay for other projects that have far exceeded their original budgets. All of this while our police force’s manpower is cut and our homeless/criminal vagrancy problem increases and exacerbates the dearth of business for Downtown Sarasota merchants.

I am sorry to sound rancorous, but the livelihood and well-being of my family depend on my business making a profit, which it will never do if the situation, as described, continues ad infinitum.

Douglas Gourley
President/owner As Good As It Gets

To send in your Letters to the Editor, email them to Jessica Luck at [email protected]. Letters pertaining to local issues receive priority.