Mayor Gans makes the case: Do no harm

Longboat Key Mayor Terry Gans delivered a rational and eloquent urging to the Sarasota City Commission two weeks ago on narrowing Fruitville Road downtown. Here are excerpts worth sharing: 

“We understand the underlying desire to follow the (Planner Andres) Duany-inspired plan adopted 16 years ago and the well-intentioned concept of neighborhoods-to-downtown.  We understand the desire to make Sarasota’s streets friendlier to all modes of traffic.  Again, a good intention. 

“However, the conditions that may have existed in 2001, while even at that time not a blank canvas have been supplanted by what exists in our 2017 real world. The proposed changes and the concepts of a decade-and-a-half-old vision would be imposed on what is an arterial highway — not a neighborhood street, not a collector road. 

“Fruitville Road is a critical element of the regional transportation network. Like it or not, it does not exist in a vacuum of downtown Sarasota.  It moves traffic to Interstate 75 not only from Longboat Key, but the city’s own Bird Key, Lido Key, St. Armands and City Island. The additional reality that existing, developing and future intense construction growth has already strained this specific area of the transportation network also argues for extreme caution in accepting projections that attempt to show that reducing lanes and adding circles would better serve increasing demand. 

The potential that lane reductions could produce intense congestion, diminished safety and a less livable community seems a gamble not worth taking, no matter how well intentioned its genesis … 

“We would encourage serious consideration of the other alternatives that may better marry the city’s aims with the real needs of the entire network. And, FIRST DO NO HARM.

“We are sensitive to the city’s goals and indeed its rights. We request this same sensitivity in return, and not the ‘You’ll have to find another road’ statement that was made to us in a careless moment.”