Manatee commission urges for more highway patrol

The Manatee County Commission is asking Florida Highway Patrol to increase its presence along State Road 64 and State Road 70 in an effort to improve safety conditions.

Chairwoman Priscilla Whisenant Trace on Thursday sent a letter to Troop Commander John Baumann, of the Florida Highway's Bradenton station, urging for change. 

Trace noted the deaths of two teenagers in September on State Road 64 near Pope Road and  a 30-year-old who died in a wreck with a drunken driver near Verna Bethany Road. That brings the death total this year to nine.

"The Florida Department of Transportation made lane improvements at Pope Road and SR 64 to improve conditions, and FDOT has long-term fixes planned to calm traffic in the high-speed areas of East Manatee, but something must be done to save lives and slow traffic before those roundabouts are constructed," she wrote.

The letter comes as followup to unanimous Oct. 23 decision by the board to urge FHP to help slow traffic and help prevent serious accidents. 

"We thank you and your dedicated patrol officers for their service to our great state throughout the year," Whisenant Trace wrote. "Your help is a critical piece of improving the safety conditions in these fast-growing areas of our community."