Speed limit on this major Holmes Beach street on the way back up

After much public outcry, a recent speed limit reduction on Holmes Beach is on its way to being reversed.

Once the new speed limit signs are installed, the speed limit on State Road 64/Manatee Avenue for the stretch west of the Anna Maria Island Bridge will be increased to 35 mph. It had been lowered to 25 mph. The speed limit on the bridge will remain the lowered speed of 35 mph.

“We can raise the speed limit back to 35 mph in the segment where it is 25 mph,” Florida Department of Transportation Director of Transportation Operations David Gwynn said in an email sent Wednesday. “In fact, we would not have reduced it in this case unless we were assured that the City would support and enforce the change. Since it appears that the process you as the City have for indicating the City’s support was not followed, a process that unfortunately we were not aware of, we will take the resolution attached to indicate that the City in fact does not and apparently never officially did support the change.”

Holmes Beach Police Chief Bill Tokajer made the initial decision about the speed limit reductions, asking Florida Department of Transportation to lower the speed. But after public outcry at a Holmes Beach City Commission meeting led the board to approve a resolution to reverse the decision, the speed limit on the one stretch will return to 35 mph.

“We will work in concert with FDOT to remove any additional signs that the city may have installed,” Holmes Beach Mayor Bob Johnson said in an email to FDOT. “We appreciate very much the commitment of FDOT to work with these island communities as expeditiously as possible. We also fully understand that there was a disconnect in the process as indicated in our request. Be assured that the City of Holmes Beach will work to coordinate more closely in the future.”

Johnson’s email was in response to the FDOT email, which asks Holmes Beach officials to direct staff “to remove the additional speed limit signs that appear to have been installed by the police chief so that there is not conflicting signage.”

“FDOT is the only agency that can determine the speed limit on a state road,” Gwynn said. “We will work with locals and use their input in the process, but the City Council cannot simply vote to change a speed limit on a state road.”

This story was originally published February 23, 2017 at 1:18 PM with the headline "Speed limit on this major Holmes Beach street on the way back up."