Legacy Trail to get beacon sign

The Sarasota County Commission voted unanimously at last week's meeting to install a flashing beacon stop sign.

The new sign, similar to those used in locations on Siesta Key, will flash red when activated by a trail user to alert motorists.

The crossing at Legacy Trail and Central Sarasota Parkway is currently marked with a caution sign and a “Bike X-ing” directed at motorists, and a stop sign on the trail that tells trail users that motorists do not stop.

The contradictory markings have been a source of confusion since 2012.

When the trail was first constructed in 2008, there was a flashing beacon sign: but this one was yellow, and not red, which was also a point of confusion for motorists.

The Palmer Ranch Master Homeowners Association approached the commission this summer about finding a new solution to the crossway confusion. The president, Gary Wharton, suggested a traffic light be installed, and also suggested the stoplight at Laurel Road and Legacy Trail could be recycled when it was removed for the overpass over Laurel Road. However, county staff advised that the project would be several years in the making, and Commissioner Nora Patterson suggested the beacon sign as an alternative.

According to an email from Patterson to county staff, the installation will be occurring soon, as the money for the installation is within the 2015 fiscal year budget.