Longboat Key, Manatee leaders discuss island transit solutions

Town Commissioner Penny Gold described a common dilemma she hears from Manatee County Area Transit riders in Longboat Key.

“I just wanted to mention the frustration for riders only being able to come up to Bay Isles and the supermarket area and not be able to really run the extra five miles let’s say to St. Armands Circle,” Gold said.

Longboat Key is one of four Florida municipalities in two counties. Oftentimes, it means different kinds of service for many government operations, including transit.

During Wednesday’s joint meeting with the Town Commission and Manatee County Commission, Gold mentioned southern portions of Longboat Key that MCAT riders can’t access. They would need to transfer to a Sarasota County Area Transit vehicle to continue south in Longboat Key.

“There’s the Longboat Key Club, there’s a lot of other condos there that have workers daily, there’s a golf course there and it would be very helpful to have a one-county fix for transit,” Gold said.

SCAT has offered its on-demand service since June, whereas MCAT’s requires riders to make their trip reservations by 5 p.m. the day before.

When SCAT launched its on-demand system, it cut its No. 18 bus between Longboat Key and Sarasota.

“There should be some way that Sarasota (County) and Manatee (County) could work together to get this solved,” Gold said. “Both systems are good, but they’re different and because they’re disjointed, it really isn’t a very smooth service for Longboat Key.”

MCAT Planning Manager Jonathan Roberson described conversations he’s had with SCAT and its vendor River North Transit LLC.

“Could we, in theory, ask our commission to pay for the trips from their vendor in this geography, and Sarasota County and the vendor staff indicated to us that they couldn’t,” Roberson said. “We’d have to pay for trips, we’d have to pay for the whole zone, which goes to downtown, which goes through St. Armands and all the way to downtown… They couldn’t parse out the trips.”

Manatee County At-Large Commissioner George Kruse mentioned how he didn’t think it was difficult to find a solution, referencing how Route 99 goes between downtown Sarasota and downtown Bradenton via Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport.

“I mean, it seems like a minor additional cost for a potential majority community benefit,” he said of fixing Longboat Key’s two-county transit system.

Kruse proposed a solution.

“We could say, southbound from Manatee (County), we’ll drop you off wherever you want all the way down to St. Armands, but if you’re getting picked up down in St. Armands, our first stop is on the Manatee County side,” Kruse said. “We’re not making any up-stops because that’s (Sarasota County’s) responsibility.”

Up to 800 workers at once are expected to begin building the St. Regis development, which will be a five-star hotel and luxury condominium complex. It is scheduled to open in 2024.

“Let’s hope a lot of Manatee County residents get jobs there and opportunities because right now those are very high-paying jobs because they’re in demand,’ Kruse said. “If I can help get them down there, then I’ll do it.”

Longboat Key At-Large Commissioner BJ Bishop said public transportation is vital for St. Regis developer Unicorp to get its workers to the construction site.

“Quite honestly, if they don’t take public transportation, we don’t know where the hell they’re parking because there’s no land out there for them to park on,” Bishop said.

Bishop said she sees the transit inconsistencies as part of a bigger issue throughout Manatee and Sarasota counties.

“Service employees can’t afford to drive to and from Longboat Key and sit in traffic for two hours when rents have gone up 50% in both counties, and you’re looking at people who are not making that much money,” Bishop said.

Longboat Key Mayor Ken Schneier said some parts of operating in two counties are “unfixable” such as having separate property appraisers and separate supervisors of elections. However, Schneier believes transit is “fixable.”

“I don’t want to be behind the eight-ball on this,” Schneier said. “We can get a little in front and this is not on you. This on us, and it’s on both counties to try to come up with a solution.”

Town Manager Tom Harmer said town leaders will need to meet with MCAT and SCAT.

“What I heard the commission say to the administrator and to MCAT was, ‘We just got to get everyone in a room and what can we do to…figure it out,’” Harmer said.