Beach traffic issue flow raised again by north-end Longboat community

Snowbirds and peak tourist season revitalize the island in spring, but the influx of people to Longboat Key and the islands also brings increased traffic. 

Traffic concerns, especially on the north end of Longboat Key, are a common gripe among residents during this time of year. North-end communities raised the concern again to town commissioners to see if anything could be done to alleviate the issue. 

Maureen Merrigan, who co-chairs Longboat Key North, spoke about her concerns and ideas at a commission meeting on Feb. 3. 

Longboat Key North is a coalition of homeowner and condominium associations on the north end of Longboat Key that meets regularly to talk about north-end issues. 

North-end residents like Merrigan say the main pinch point of the traffic going north is at Coquina Beach and Bradenton Beach. 

Merrigan suggested that these areas require quick action with solutions she presented as cheap but effective. 

“The issues I’m raising here are probably cents on the dollar in the scheme of things, and addresses equity of people getting off of Longboat Key,” Merrigan said.

First, Merrigan suggested the parking lot at Coquina Beach needs to have better exit control. 

As it is now, the large parking lot, which could hold upward of 200 cars, has multiple exits. Merrigan estimates for every one car coming from Longboat Key, about 15 cars from the beach parking lot, enter the long line of traffic.

Merrigan said many other north-end residents have raised similar concerns about the equity of parking lot exits versus people trying to leave Longboat Key.

“What we'd like to encourage you to do is control the exits. We would ask that you enforce that and get to one exit on Coquina,” Merrigan said at the meeting. “I think we have an opportunity where we don’t want to be two years from now and say, would have, could have, should have.” 

It’s not only residents trying to go north in this traffic but also service workers or laborers trying to make it to their next destination, Merrigan explained. 

Similarly, Merrigan also shared concerns about the parking egress areas in Bradenton Beach, from which people back out of the parking spaces and into the traffic line. 

Control of the Coquina Beach exit gates is with Manatee County. 

Vice Mayor Mike Haycock suggested, with new faces on the Manatee County commission, it might be time to revisit the conversation about exit control on Coquina Beach. 

District 4 Commissioner Debra Williams questioned who else the commission could talk to about the issue, also agreeing this solution could be effective. 

“We’ve talked about this for several years now, and this is not a high-cost solution. It doesn’t really inflict pain on anybody. It just makes traffic move more freely for everybody, even those people coming out of the parking lots,” Williams said. “Maybe we’re following up with the wrong channels, maybe there’s somebody else.”

Town Manager Howard Tipton said Manatee County is still the main point of contact, and this could be discussed at the Longboat Key commission’s next joint meeting with the Manatee County commission. 

That joint meeting was supposed to be held at the end of April but needs to be rescheduled, according to an email Tipton sent commissioners on Feb. 13.

Also in that email, Tipton said the Longboat Key staff reached out to the Manatee County beach staff and set up a meeting with the county’s public works team to discuss the issues. 

Looking long-term

After the Feb. 3 meeting, Merrigan and Longboat Key North sent a letter to Manatee County District 3 Commissioner Tal Siddique. 

Siddique was elected to his first commission term in November 2024. 

When asked about the traffic concerns around the north end of Longboat through Bradenton Beach, Siddique said it’s a complicated matter. 

“There’s no quick fix,” Siddique said. “Anything related to that area and the islands or the Key are complex because we have the state roads, but we also have county maintenance over the parking lot.” 

While it is complicated, Siddique said the traffic concerns are something he is cognizant of, but it is still an inevitable issue when the busy season comes. 

“The priority is certainly ensuring we can get free-flowing traffic there,” Siddique said. “There’s always going to be some form of traffic there. It’s a pinch point.”

Looking long term, Siddique said he’s also heard of other roadway improvements that may alleviate the traffic concerns through the barrier islands. But, for now, Manatee County is looking elsewhere for its roadway projects. 

According to Siddique, the Manatee County commission’s latest list of infrastructure priorities sent to the Sarasota/Manatee Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) did not include suggestions for traffic control on the barrier islands. 

“I was a little bit disappointed in that, but I think we still have some time to advocate for it and secure funding for the appropriate projects,” Siddique said. “I think where we’re at, there’s a need to prioritize those (traffic improvements) and then fund them.” 

However, the MPO is working on a Barrier Island Implementation Plan that will be a continuation of the Barrier Island Traffic Study (BITS) conducted in 2020. 

The implementation plan is aimed at including more actionable items than the previous BITS and allows local municipalities an opportunity to prioritize some projects to the Florida Department of Transportation. 

A final draft of the implementation plan is expected in August 2025.