S I E S TA K EY S A RA S OTA
Pelican Press THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 2011
AN OBSERVER NEWSPAPER
INSIDE
how fast? By Rachel Brown Hackney | Managing Editor
County wants more options The Sarasota County Commission Tuesday asked staff to create options that could lead to the completion of the Siesta Key Public Beach improvements as fast as 18 months after their start.
DIVERSIONS The 94-year-old matriarch of Julie Rohr Academy proves she’s still got what it takes to make kids sing.
With interest rates and construction costs so low, the Sarasota County commissioners Tuesday asked staff and Interim County Administrator Terry Lewis to bring them options next month that could result in all the improvements to the Siesta Public Beach being completed as quickly as 18 months, instead of prolonging the work through fiscal year 2024. However, County Commission Chairwoman Nora Patterson told
her fellow board members, “I can’t support anything that’s going to flat shut down the parking for a season.” The board Tuesday also approved a request from project manager Spencer Anderson to allow the firm already under contract, Kimley-Horn and Associates, to proceed with the design and engineering work for the improvements. Included in the motion, which passed unanimously, was the approval for staff to pro-
ceed with getting bids for the construction of a new stormwater drainage system that has been designed to prevent polluted runoff from necessitating future beach closures. Anderson explained that the stormwater pond would be moved in the site plan to the border with the Gulf & Bay Club. Anderson has had numerous discussions with residents of that
SEE BEACH / PAGE 2A
Rebecca Baxter
Drainage improvements at Siesta Key Public Beach have been planned to prevent runoff carrying high levels of bacteria to the Gulf of Mexico.
NEIGHBORHOOD
Gamesmanship
leader of the 1B The Key’s community
policing station has racked up more medals from the 2011 Florida Police & Fire Games.
the real heroes
12A
Firefighters get plenty of cheers and accolades during a 9/11 march and other events recognizing the bravery of first responders.
4
Faster! Faster! Loren Mayo
Gillette Bauer, Susan Pacer and Sofia Mascorro send their Life Savers racecar zooming across a table. Fourth-graders at The Out-of-Door Academy used Life Savers, tape and paper to build their machines. More photos on page 3B.
CELEBRATING
YEARS
1971-2011
INDEX
Business directory........ 10B Classifieds.................. 10B Diversions.....................15A Cops Corner..................10A Crossword...................... 9B Opinion..........................6A Real Estate.................... 7B
Vol. 41, No. 9 | Two sections YourObserver.com
slow down
By Rachel Brown Hackney | Managing Editor
Council recommends lower Beach Road speed The Sarasota County Traffic Advisory Council this week approved a Siesta Key Condominium Association request to lower the speed limit from 35 to 30 mph on the section of Beach Road that includes the public beach. The Sarasota County Traffic Advisory Council Monday approved unanimously a request from the Siesta Key Condominium Association for a reduction in speed from 35 to 30 mph on the portion of Beach Road from the Midnight Pass Road intersection to Ocean Boulevard. The recommendation will go before the Sarasota County Commission, which will have final say on the matter. Efrain
Duque, manager of the county’s Mobility/Traffic Engineering Office, said it typically takes his staff five to six weeks to get a TAC recommendation on the County Commission agenda. Staff will start the process immediately, Duque said. Walt Olson, vice president of the condo association, has been working for months to convince county officials of the need for the lower speed limit. However,
Chris Hauber, an engineer with the Mobility/Traffic Engineering Office, told the five TAC members during their regular meeting Monday that traffic studies showed the current speed limit is appropriate. According to standard traffic management practices, the speed limit should be within 5 mph of the speed 85% of the traffic travels, Hauber said. Traffic counts taken this year, he
said, showed that of the 4,250 eastbound vehicles along that stretch of Beach Road, the 85th percentile was traveling 36.4 mph; for the 5,846 westbound vehicles, the 85th percentile was moving at 34.9 mph. A traffic study undertaken in May 2010, he said, showed slightly higher speeds: 40.1 mph for the eastbound traffic and 39.5 for vehicles heading west. TAC member Joseph Glickman said a lot of the signage near the public beach is covered by vegetation, which should be trimmed
SEE SPEED / PAGE 8A