Longboat Key Crosswalks 2.0

APRIL FOOLS' — The last few months have been a bumpy ride for Florida Department of Transportation officials who have heard complaints from residents, visitors and officials about the four crosswalks recently installed on Gulf of Mexico Drive.

But now, FDOT officials say its full speed ahead as it works to install a new design concept in each crossing by April 1.

“We’ve listened to the people, and they want better crosswalks,” FDOT spokeswoman Anita Knapp said. “We will give that to them.”

Knapp said officials could not have predicted the flaws with the crosswalks when they were installed in December. Officials were unaware, for example, that their paths led directly into bushes and shrubs instead of sidewalks and that the flashing lights were difficult for motorists to see.

After fielding hundreds of complaints, the agency conducted a $436,543 traffic study and determined that the paths led directly into bushes and shrubs instead of sidewalks and that the flashing lights were difficult for motorists to see.

Armed with the new consultant-provided information, FDOT officials redesigned the crosswalks with new vegetation and traffic-control devices. 

“People don’t want to walk on other properties’ grass, so we’ve added an element that will have invasive, non-native vegetation such as cacti and Toxicodendron radicans (sometimes referred to as poison ivy),” Knapp said. “The addition of those plants is visually appealing.”

In addition to the new plants, each crosswalk will include a different obstacle in the road, which Knapp believes will add an element of fun, while also making the pedestrian more visible to drivers.

“Everyone on Longboat is there to have fun, so why not make crossing the street fun as well?” Knapp said. “For instance, on one crosswalk, there are hurdles to jump over. We’ve heard of a lot of people on the Key who used to be runners, so we thought that would be a fun way of connecting with them.”

Knapp said the new crosswalks will have the additional benefit of slowing down Longboat Key pedestrians and drivers, who are notorious for their speed.

FDOT was unable to change the lighting of the crosswalk to red, which many suggested would make drivers more likely to stop, due to concerns about turtle safety. However, the new crosswalk system will blare Kanye West's "Flashing Lights" when a pedestrian activates the lights to generate driver awareness.

FDOT will also add 11 new crosswalks along Gulf of Mexico Drive.