Shell Road reopens with improvements

Sarasota County has finished parking improvements on North Shell Road, which will give crowds on Siesta Key another option for beach access during the Fourth of July.

The county removed barricades around the construction site before 10:30 a.m. today, revealing 16 regular parking spaces and one handicap spot along the popular access, according to an email from County Engineer Jim Harriott. Shell Road is located on the north end of Siesta off of Higel Avenue.

The roughly $31,000 renovations created parallel parking spots along the road, which previously no delineated parking spots; a pedestrian sidewalk was eliminated to add six of the parking spots.

Construction took roughly a month, during which the access was closed to the public. Nearby neighborhoods reported overflow parking on their streets during that time.