City explores downtown bollard options

Following a request from the Sarasota Farmers Market, a growing circle of city leaders are examining the possibility of adding protective bollards to downtown streets.

By David Conway
| 6:00 a.m. February 15, 2018

The Downtown Improvement District continues to pursue bollards throughout the downtown area as a safety measure.

Sarasota
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In November, Sarasota Farmers Market Executive Director Phil Pagano approached the Downtown Improvement District to discuss the possibility of adding protective barricades around the perimeter of the event.

Three months later, Pagano’s concern for the safety of market patrons has sparked a broadening conversation about how to protect downtown visitors.

In addition to the DID, Sarasota Mayor Shelli Freeland Eddie and U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan have discussed facilitating the addition of protective bollards downtown.

At a Feb. 6 DID meeting, board members heard a presentation on a variety of bollard options. The bollards, designed to prohibit vehicles from driving into a crowd, varied in sophistication. Some were capable of automatically rising from beneath the street; others could be manually placed before an event.

The DID has identified five sites for placing bollards: four along Lemon Avenue between First Street and Pineapple Avenue, and one near the eastern entrance to the State Street parking garage.

Installing five sets of retractable bollards, a choice for which the DID expressed support, could cost more than of $300,000, according to estimates.

DID board member Mark Kauffman asked if it was possible to obtain grant money from the Department of Homeland Security. Currently, the federal department only offers security grants to organizations in urban areas deemed to be high-risk for terrorist attacks — a standard Sarasota doesn’t meet.

Wayne Ruben, the owner of the retail space in the ground floor of the State Street garage, reached out to Buchanan’s office for more information. Ruben said Buchanan sent a letter to the Department of Homeland Security in January, urging officials to expand the scope of its grant program.

“As you’re aware, terrorist attacks are not limited to designated urban areas,” Buchanan’s letter stated.

Ruben also said Eddie hopes to discuss the topic at a future City Commission meeting. As the DID looked ahead to funding questions, the group hoped it might be able to partner with the city.

“Let’s see where it goes with the city,” Kauffman said. “If they come up with a certain level (of funding), maybe we can amplify the level.”