Planners Seek Final Comments on 2050 Transportation Blueprint
By Lisa Neff
Regional planners are seeking public comments to drive to the finish their roadmap to transportation in 2050.
The comment period on a final draft of the Sarasota/Manatee Metropolitan Planning Organization’s 2050 long-range transportation plan — “Invest Today Transform Tomorrow” — opened Aug. 5 and closes Sept. 5.
The organization wants people to review the technical reports, charts and chapters in the federally mandated plan, found at mympo.org, and then submit comments via the website. People also can email mpo@mympo.org or write to 8100 15th St. E., Bradenton, FL 34243.
This is not the first opportunity for public comment, as the MPO has conducted surveys and workshops throughout 20 months of work on the document, but these will be the final comments before adoption this fall.
Inviting readers into the document, the plan introduction reads, “Invest Today Transform Tomorrow 2050 is the plan shaping the future of air, land and sea transportation to benefit the people of Sarasota and Manatee counties. … This plan presents the transportation improvements that are needed today and in the future to help move people and goods safely and efficiently about the community.”
The plan deals with issues of interest to everyone in Manatee County, whether one drives, walks, pedals, rides or even flies.
The document isn’t entirely new, but rather an update of a 2045 long-range plan with the goals of promoting economic growth, preserving environmental health, creating vibrant places and building resilient communities.
Specifically, the plan addresses the following goals:
• Safety: Decreasing vehicle crashes and planning for efficient evacuations and safe returns;
• Technology: Identifying needs for autonomous, connected and electric tech;
• Economy: Stimulating economy in enterprise zones and improving access to tourist destinations;
• Livability: Increasing access to public transit and expanding access to essential services;
• Environment: Reducing vehicle miles traveled, supporting low-impact development and natural redevelopment, and achieving weather-appropriate tree cover;
• Infrastructure: Replacing and retrofitting bridges to include multimodal options and mitigating stormwater impacts;
• Mobility: Promoting projects that reduce travel time and expanding transportation options.
The plan’s mobility chapter addresses congestion, commonly caused by a myriad of reasons — high traffic volumes, bottlenecks, crashes, weather, work zones, inefficient signal timing and special events.
Where are some problem areas today? According to the plan, they include the DeSoto Bridge, Sixth Avenue/15th Street from 10th Street to Manatee Avenue, Manatee Avenue West from 51st Street West to 15th Street West, the Green Bridge, Manatee Avenue from 10th Street West to 12th Street East and I-75 between Manatee Avenue and the State Road 70 exits.
The plan lists the contents in the toolbox for solving congestion — dynamic message signs providing travel times, traffic incident management programs for responding to and clearing crashes, adaptive signal control technology to adjust the timing of streetlights, detection devices to reduce intersection collisions, parking management to provide real-time information about routes and open spaces and work zone management to reduce delays.
Have a thought about those tools, a curiosity about automated vehicles, an interest in expanding the charging network for electric vehicles or a desire to learn about micromobility and complete streets?
Read on at mympo.org and then write the planners.
About the MPO
The Sarasota/Manatee Metropolitan Planning Organization, established in 1978, is a regional planning entity for the two counties governed by a 17-member board of elected officials, along with representatives from the Sarasota Manatee Airport Authority and the Florida Department of Transportation.
The MPO does not implement transportation projects but instead provides oversight on prioritizing funding for transportation projects, especially those receiving federal funds.