Regional Planners Draft Legislative Priorities
By Lisa Neff
The region’s transportation planners are preparing to ask legislative delegations to support funding for new bridges, north-south transportation corridors and water taxi services.
This fall, representatives of the Sarasota/Manatee Metropolitan Planning Organization, an agency that develops transportation plans and policies, will present their policy priorities for 2026 to state legislative delegations.
Ryan Brown, MPO deputy director, presented a draft of the priorities earlier this month to the agency’s technical advisory committee for review.
“It’s fairly consistent with last year,” Brown said.
The first proposed priority is funding for a Bradenton-Palmetto connector, an alternative to ease capacity on U.S. 41, U.S. 301 and U.S. Route 19, as well as support for Complete Streets programs — an approach to transportation planning that creates roadways accommodating the needs of all users, including pedestrians, cyclists, motorists and transit riders.
Another proposed priority is advancing funding for barrier island mobility projects and supporting water taxi services to address seasonal traffic issues.
Additionally, the draft document calls for advancing funding for the Longboat Pass, Cortez and Anna Maria Island bridges, including creating “bus-on-shoulder or reversible lanes for emergencies.”
Other proposed priorities:
• Investing in Port Manatee projects to increase cargo capacity;
• Supporting capacity improvements and intermodal connectivity at Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport;
• Implementing state-funded capacity and multimodal improvements on U.S. 301, State Road 72 and State Road 789;
• Encouraging transportation alternatives, including investing in public transit, bicycle and pedestrian trails and transportation management systems;
• Expanding local revenue sources for transportation;
• Protecting transportation trust funds and programs.
Safety and resiliency also are noted in the draft of policy priorities that the MPO board will consider during a meeting Sept. 29 in Sarasota. The draft reads: “Incorporate safety and resilience: Consideration in all projects and priorities processes. Fund planning improvements to address rainfall flooding and hurricane evacuation.”
During the same meeting in which the technical advisory committee reviewed and recommended draft policy priorities, members discussed fatal and serious injury crashes in the region.
In 2023, the MPO adopted the state’s safety targets of zero fatalities and zero serious injuries. The MPO board has reiterated the commitment over the years and, during the technical advisory committee, members looked at numbers showing some progress toward the goals.
Looking at a five-year rolling average, the fatality rate declined 5.56% for 2021-25.
Serious injuries also declined, said MPO transportation planner Nick Chiavini, who pointed to a rate drop of 20.35% and described the decline as “a huge win.”
Still, Chiavini said, there were at least 42 fatalities between Jan. 1 and June 10 in the region and 358 serious injury crashes. Fifteen of the fatalities and 68 of the serious injury crashes involved bicyclists and pedestrians.
For the record
Between Jan. 1 and June 10, there were at least 20 serious injuries and two fatalities from head-on crashes.
There also were:
• At least 72 serious injuries and one fatality in rear-end crashes.
• At least 70 serious injuries and four fatalities in left-turn crashes.
• 38 serious injuries and 12 fatalities in pedestrian-involved crashes.
• 45 serious injuries and 11 fatalities in off-road crashes.
• About 57% of fatalities occurred at night.
• About 87% of bike/pedestrian fatalities occurred at night.