Residents voice concerns over Cortez Road traffic

Tuesday night’s public hearing held to discuss the Florida Department of Transportation’s project on Cortez Road at the Cortez Road Baptist Church allowed Longboat Key and Cortez residents to express their concerns about traffic flow.

Officials showed those in attendance four options for the safety improvement project on Cortez Road, from east of 123rd Street West to west of 86th Street West, which is currently in the design phase. FDOT officials are looking to fix the issues brought up to them in both the short term and the long term using $3.7 million in federal safety money.

▪ Option A: Do nothing and leave the signal as it currently operates.

▪ Option B: Remove the signal and prohibit eastbound to northbound left turns and lengthen the westbound to southbound turn lane onto 119th Street West.

▪ Option C: Eliminate the eastbound left turn from Cortez Road onto north 119th Street West and eliminate the northbound left turn from 119th Street West to westbound Cortez Road. Provide a left turn lane for westbound Cortez Road onto southbound 119th Street West.

▪ Option D: Realign the south leg of 119th Street West intersection to match the north leg. This, however, would require approval to use county property, as the realignment would go onto a portion of the Florida Maritime Museum property.

Option B would require signal removal and restriping, and Option C’s initial phase begins the designing and building process to construct a median using temporary curb and barrier wall and modify the traffic signal.

During public comment, Longboat Key residents spoke of getting stuck in traffic for long periods of time to get off the island. Cortez residents and those representing businesses expressed concerns over traffic impacting local businesses and safety getting in and out of nearby neighborhoods.

About 15 people of the more than 100 gathered chose to speak during the public comment portion of the hearing.

“The most promising solution would be a continuous eastbound land from Cortez Bridge to the two lanes of eastbound Cortez,” Dave Bullock, Longboat Key Town Manager, said.

“As far as the options, the plans go, Option D is a great option, a permanent option. I don’t think a temporary option is going to do anything except change the traffic flow and make it harder for the permanent option to go through,” Bob Slicker, Swordfish Grill manager, said. “I think you’re just appeasing the barrier islands at the expense of business and the residents that live in the oldest active fishing village in the state of Florida.”

Slicker turned to those who spoke from Longboat Key, addressing their concerns about getting off the island saying “maybe you should build a bridge,” and several audience members applauded.

FDOT officials noted that Option D, realigning the south leg of 119th Street West intersection to match the north leg, may not happen until 2019. Options B or C could be started later this year.

Also included in the project is a proposal to construct a median from 119th Street West to 121st Street West along Cortez Road that has caused concern among Cortez residents — even though an FDOT official has said it’s not likely to happen. If the median was constructed, any westbound motorists seeking to make a left turn onto 119th Street West from Cortez Road would have to do so at 121st Street West.

Not everyone at Tuesday’s public hearing was pleased with the options. One person said the village of Cortez will struggle no matter what option FDOT decides to use.

“Believe me, if there was an easy solution we would have done it by now and we wouldn’t have been in the same state for the last 20 years or so with a signal at the off-set intersection. So we’re looking really hard for solutions,” David Gwynn, FDOT’S director of transportation operations, said.

Public comment on the project is open until May 19.

This story was originally published May 9, 2017 at 9:26 PM with the headline "Residents voice concerns over Cortez Road traffic."