Post-season: Traffic is job 1

Easter is over, and the remainder of the spring break families and grandchildren are likely packing up this weekend, ready to fly and drive north. 

Not far behind them: our lovable snowbirds.

So it’s almost time to do a post-mortem. How did the season go? What went right? What went wrong? What can we, should we, do to improve next season?

A lot went right. The economy here is strong now. But let’s cut to the quick: Everyone knows the No. 1 issue that must be addressed. 

Traffic flow.

It consumed conversations. And you know the dreaded choke points:

• North Longboat Key-Longboat Pass Bridge.
• Cortez Bridge.
• South Longboat Club Road and Gulf of Mexico Drive and the City Island stop light. 
• State Road 789 from St. Armands Circle to Longboat Key, both ways.
• Ringling Causeway — from St. Armands to U.S. 41, both ways.
• Fruitville and U.S. 41. Aaahh!
• U.S. 301 from Fruitville south to Mound, and Tamiami Trail south to Webber, both ways, from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Why is it always jammed?
• Siesta Drive, to and from Siesta Key. 
• Stickney Point Road, to and from Siesta Key.
• University Parkway and Interstate 75. OMGosh.

To be sure, we expect traffic tie-ups every year at this time. And we can’t help but chuckle when Longboaters and others who live in the region complain about traffic. Comparatively, it is mild. Go to Miami … or Atlanta … Chicago … D.C. … New York … etc. That’s traffic. 

But at the same time, this season felt worse — and was worse — than previous years. Clearly, there had to be more snowbirds and visitors here than before — and certainly more of them driving around at peak times than there is capacity to keep traffic flowing steadily.

What’s distressing, we all know it’s going to get worse — when all of those new hotels and condos slated for Longboat Key, Golden Gate Point and downtown Sarasota open in the next 24 months.

Can you imagine what those choke points will be like when they are completed?

The region’s traffic woes are not just an inconvenience. They are a serious economic threat. We have heard firsthand and others have told us similar stories of visitors and part-time residents who have said: “If this is the way it’s going to be, we’re going somewhere else.”

The more traffic backs up, the more it damages our economic health.

To be sure, crossing guards in neon vests on St. Armands Circle aren’t going to solve a thing.

And to make matters more ominous, there doesn’t appear to be much effort to address what is to come. If we live by the priority list of the Florida Department of Transportation and the Sarasota/Manatee Regional Planning Organization, there is nothing on their priority lists that hints at addressing any of the downtown, U.S. 41 or barrier-island congestion points for the next two decades (see map).

In fact, if you read their priority lists, you would think the answer to traffic management is a roundabout. There are seven of them on the priority list — although not a one is fully funded.

And while we don’t want to be a complete Debbie Downer cynic, anyone familiar with the Metropolitan Planning Organization and FDOT knows these organizations’ speed of operating doesn’t even approach slow. Nothing happens until after they conduct a study. To that end, the mayors asked FDOT a year ago to explore 22 ideas that could improve traffic flow. We’re told FDOT this month informed the mayors it would fund 80% of the research. A year to make a decision.  

Suffice it to say there is no rush among regional elected officials and government transportation agencies to fix or address what many residents, businesses and visitors would consider crisis points.

But that must change — before conditions become complete gridlock and severely damage the region’s economic engine and quality of life.

To their credit, elected commissioners and council members from Longboat Key, Holmes Beach, Bradenton Beach and Anna Maria continue to lobby FDOT and MPO officials to take action. A week ago, they sent letters urging them to implement a series of short-term fixes and reiterated the 22 study items.

But that’s just a start. Efforts to address current and future traffic congestion  in the choke points cited need to be far greater.

This is one of those times in a community when leaders must step forward to solve a growing crisis. Cliche as it may be, it’s one of those times for a community task force dedicated to action.

At the table: elected representatives from both counties and the affected municipalities; FDOT and MPO; chambers of commerce; St. Armands Circle and downtown merchants; leaders from the hotel industry; developers whose projects will be contributing to the crisis; and thoughtful, expert voices from the community.

If not addressed, the outcome is predictable. What’s bad now will become worse. The region’s reputation and economy will suffer. And the antigrowth advocates will rule, a fate that punishes everyone — rich, middle class and poor.

The alternative is to be proactive. Sarasota is growing up. It’s no longer the small town for which the old-timers pine. Its ambitions are growing. Population growth contributes to prosperity and creates opportunity. For all of the many cultural, lifestyle and physical amenities to continue to flourish, adequate infrastructure is an essential ingredient.