Businesses, residents await Ringling roundabout

Doing business just a few dozen feet away from an intersection that’s closed for construction is, understandably, frustrating.

Just ask the employees of the Williams Parker law firm. Their office is at 200 S. Orange Ave. — right next to the Ringling Boulevard-Orange Avenue intersection, the site of a four-month city project to build a roundabout.

That project began in November and is scheduled to block the intersection until mid-April. Brad Robbins, Williams Parker’s chief operating officer, said the construction has caused some consternation among visitors and workers alike.

“We’ve had a number of folks who have expressed some frustration with the ability to get from where they are to where we are,” Robbins said. “And we get quite a bit of noise and vibration and whatnot in the building.”

Although it might be an inconvenience, Robbins said the firm sees the construction as a necessary part of doing business in downtown Sarasota. Robbins said Williams Parker was committed to operating in the heart of the city, and he appreciates the city is working to improve its infrastructure.

“We’re in it for the long haul, and we know this will be in the long-term best interests of the area,” Robbins said. “While we would prefer to have no dust, no noise and construction, we know we’re in the downtown core.”

Richard Winder, the city’s coordinator of capital projects, said he hasn’t heard any significant issues associated with the project recently. When the construction began, he said he worked to coordinate with nearby businesses and residents to ensure detours were properly posted and there remained some way to access to all properties in the area.

Today, signs posted at Ringling and Pineapple Avenue alert visitors about alternate routes to businesses such as Williams Parker and Jimmy John’s. After residents in Laurel Park complained about traffic being rerouted into their neighborhood at the beginning of the year, neighborhood association representatives now say they’re doing their best to live through the inconvenience until the project is through — soon, they hope. 

Winder hopes the city has done as much as it can to address everyone’s needs as the project continues through the busiest time of the year.

“It’s mostly the first month or two of the project that everyone has concerns and issues and questions,” Winder said.

The city had hoped to avoid building the roundabout in-season. Because the project is being funded through an $881,000 state grant set to expire at the end of 2017, though, the city moved forward with construction.

Despite any headaches, Robbins said the city has remained communicative throughout the construction process.

“We’re optimistic that it will end on time and that it’ll be fabulous,” Robbins said.