Local boat tour company pitches water shuttle service from Bradenton to Anna Maria Island
BRADENTON BEACH -- A Bradenton Beach-based tour company wants to bring a water shuttle to Anna Maria Island -- a move its senior captain said could help alleviate the 7-mile barrier island's traffic congestion issues.
At a Barrier Island Elected Officials meeting Wednesday in Bradenton Beach, Sherman Baldwin of Paradise Boat Tours expressed the company's desire to expand services through a new pilot program, and asked for official cooperation in helping the company gain access to a docking facility.
Baldwin's proposal is for a 49-passenger, 22-mph motor vessel called the "Aqua Link 1" to run a regular daily schedule. At $5 per ride, the water shuttle would run in the morning from the Bradenton Riverwalk to the Anna Maria City Pier, followed by stops in Holmes Beach, Bradenton Beach, Longboat Key and Cortez. Baldwin said the service would repeat the barrier island part of the route until 4:30 p.m. -- when it would be time to head back to the Riverwalk.
"While we don't believe that we have all the answers, I do think that we have some of the answers," Baldwin told island mayors.
In any island meeting he attends, Baldwin said he hears discussions about parking and about the island
"not becoming Disneyland." The proposed water shuttle would serve commuters, novelty riders, locals, tourists and those visiting the island for a day.
"We'd bring them from one point to another without cars," Baldwin stressed.
According to his presentation, a viable "people mover" over the area's waterways is inevitable -- whether it will be in five weeks, five months, five years or five decades.
"People are discovering our barrier islands like nothing else we have ever seen. If we are not careful, we will see much more massive traffic jams, parking problems and overcrowding in ways we could not have imagined just 15 years ago," the introduction read. "Is it acceptable to take an hour and a half to travel from Anna Maria to Bradenton Beach? We think not."
Bradenton Beach Mayor Jack Clarke said he'd like more discussion with Baldwin and the other island mayors about the proposal.
"I think Mr. Baldwin's plan, to some extent at least initially, does address the concern for getting our workers to the island and home from the island," Clarke said. "There's a lot of homework to do here but I like the theory of going from the Pier 22 area to the island."
Anna Maria Mayor Murphy expressed special concern for people who work on the island.
"We need more than that from my point of view and it has to appeal to workers," he told Baldwin.
Paradise Boat Tours operators envision a full-service water shuttle serving Southwest Florida from Saint Petersburg to Venice.
Holmes Beach resident Connie Kihm said she thought the water shuttle was an excellent idea.
"But I'm not sure that it addresses the traffic problems right off," the 68-year-old said. "We need a commuter ferry."
Kihm then paused.
"Anything that alleviates traffic is a great idea," she said with a smile.
Amaris Castillo, law enforcement/island reporter, can be reached at 941-745-7051. Follow her on Twitter @AmarisCastillo.
This story was originally published September 17, 2015 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Local boat tour company pitches water shuttle service from Bradenton to Anna Maria Island."