Will the flyover proposal fly in Bradenton? Mixed reactions continue

The only thing everyone agrees on when it comes to alleviating traffic congestion between Bradenton and Palmetto is that something must be done.

Consensus on a solution is nowhere close. Still, there is time to figure it out.

That was the message Thursday from Bradenton City Councilman Harold Byrd Jr. and Sarasota/Manatee Metropolitan Planning Organization Executive Director David Hutchinson during the monthly Tiger Bay Club meeting at Pier 22, which focused on the flyover proposal to replace the aging Desoto Bridge.

Yes, there is time, but not an unlimited amount.

“People call me Mr. anti-flyover, but I’m not,” said Byrd, who has been a strong voice in opposition until the community knows all there is to know about the project. “I’m pro ‘let’s make Bradenton a desirable place to come without making traffic worse.’ If it comes back to the flyover and we can say as a community that it’s the right thing, then we made the right decision.”

But Byrd is skeptical that will happen and wants more emphasis placed on other alternatives being proposed. With an estimated traffic count increase from 54,000 today to 100,000 in 14 years through the First Street corridor alone, the Florida Department of Transportation has put an emphasis on the flyover as a solution to take one-third of the traffic that does not stop in Bradenton or Palmetto, and shuffle that traffic through the area without hitting the local grid.

The Desoto Bridge will be replaced regardless in the next 10 to 12 years due to age, but replacing it does nothing to address traffic.

“We have to do something,” Byrd acknowledged. “Every place you go, people talk about traffic. We’re growing a lot and have to look at all the alternatives to move traffic through our area. But are we at a point where we need a flyover? We definitely can’t sit by and do absolutely nothing and expect things to get better.”

While there is time to get a community consensus, it’s not a lot, according to Hutchinson, who said the Project Development and Environment (PD&E) study, will be funded in five years. That study will invest significant dollars into developing a conceptual solution and focus on the project selected.

Other long-term solutions, including the flyover proposal, are to build a third bridge at either 27th, 15th or Ninth streets east.

FDOT consultants have been lukewarm in presenting those options, noting significant environmental challenges or added expenses in obtaining rights of way and increasing infrastructure to connect traffic to primary roadways.

Byrd said there are too many unknowns to focus on just the flyover, which he calls a “critical and vital issue before our community. The proposed flyover must not only be an effective use of public funds, but must prove to be a solution to the congestion problem without a negative impact. I feel, based on what’s going on in other communities, that it will shutter existing and new retail business, eliminate jobs of area residents, could close some of the churches affected by right-of-way acquirement, which are unknown to us.”

Hutchinson said all of those issues, and more, will be addressed as more detailed studies are proposed. However, he added, “We are capable of building things today without it having a negative impact, but yes, we have to learn from history. It’s much too early in this process, but whatever is designed and built, because of a lot of community discussion and input, will be done in a way that’s a win-win.”

Manatee County Commissioner Betsy Benac said it’s not just a traffic issue that a flyover potentially could resolve.

“That is a huge issue for this community,” she said. “But what’s being thrown out of the conversation is that this corridor is a death corridor. Pedestrians are getting killed in this maze. To assume automatically that an elevated roadway would be worse or divide a community, I don’t think we are giving it enough thought when we already have people dying on a corridor that already divides the community.”

Hutchinson said in no way would he advocate a delay in any of the chosen alternatives.

“But regardless of what we end up doing, it will involve partnerships and working together,” he said. “This study is not just about congestion but safety and the (ability to preserve) our communities.”

The Central Manatee Network Alternatives Analysis isn’t a single action plan. It’s a multi-layered study between the long-term solutions such as the bridge discussions, as well as mid-term and short-term solutions. An example of a mid-term solution is to eliminate the one-ways on Manatee Avenue West and Sixth Avenue West, return them to two-ways and expand one-way traffic further to the south on wider, but less used roadways such as Ninth and 13th avenues west.

Bradenton already has given FDOT the go-ahead for further study on short-term solutions, which would reroute four major intersections through downtown.

And many more questions remain. Even if a flyover design is considered to be feasible, how will long-term construction still impact local businesses? How much right-of-way will be needed, and will it affect the local and historic church community? What would a flyover do to surrounding property values? Will the short-term solutions help or create unintended consequences? Will a future study in the works for the Interstate 75 corridor that could eventually expand the interstate to 10 lanes encourage regional traffic to stay on the highway in the first place?

“There are tons of questions that need answered,” Benac said.

There is time, but not a lot: “We can just take a moment and get it right,” Byrd said.

This story was originally published March 15, 2018 at 2:53 PM with the headline "Will the flyover proposal fly in Bradenton? Mixed reactions continue."