APRIL FOOL: Tolls proposed for Siesta bridges

To help cover the costs of hurricane recovery on Siesta Key, Sarasota County has instructed staff to study imposing tolls to cross the bridges onto the barrier island at Siesta Drive to the north and Stickney Point Road to the south. 

The proposed fee structure being is $2 per trip across the drawbridges for non-residents, $1 for residents. Rather than staffed toll booths, installed gantries will digitally capture license plates for billing and to scan SunPass transponders. 

“We think it is only prudent that the people who visit Siesta Key regularly or even just once per year, and especially those who live there, should help cover the cost of storm recovery,” said a county spokesperson.

In order to include everyone who accesses Siesta Key, a system is being planned for boaters as well. Scanners, at all points of entry into Little Sarasota Bay, including the newly opened Midnight Pass, will capture boater registration numbers and owners will receive bills by mail.