Siesta residents uneasy about roundabout prospect

A new roundabout may be on the way for Sarasota County, and Siesta Key residents have already started pushing back against plans for the traffic feature.

The Siesta Key Association received an update from the Florida Department of Transportation about possible changes to the intersection at Beach Road and Midnight Pass Road at its meeting Thursday night.

FDOT representative William Hartmann was quick to reassure the 50-some attendees that no decision had been made as to what would go at the intersection. FDOT will be looking at three options before choosing the most suitable: putting in a roundabout, removing the continuous right turn lanes and adding in a signaled right turn, or doing nothing.

The project development and environmental study must be completed before any action is taken, Hartmann said. Another neighborhood meeting will be scheduled in January; FDOT hopes to start designing the project by March.

Residents were not put at ease, despite FDOT’s promise that no decision was made. Attendees expressed concern about pedestrian traffic, effects on the current traffic and the fact that the traffic study for the area was completed in October, an off-season month.

Commissioner Nora Patterson, who attended the meeting, reminded residents of the many concerns that were expressed about the work done to the Siesta Key north bridge in the summer of 2012, and how well FDOT had handled the situation.

“These guys really do listen,” she said.