Bradenton Beach pitching jitney tram as new way to avoid traffic on Anna Maria Island
Bradenton Beach is ready to revolutionize the way visitors get around Anna Maria Island by debuting a new transit system that’s been discussed for years.
City officials pitched the idea of a jitney tram that would work its way up and down Cortez Beach — between Fifth Street South and 13th Street South — as an option that should relieve congestion, while improving safety and mobility, to the Manatee Board of County Commissioners at a work session meeting Tuesday morning.
“This is about the next generation that’s not as dependent on their vehicles,” said city engineer Lynn Burnett. “A lot of them don’t want to get their license or a vehicle. They want to use public transit, and they’re passionate about it, so how do we make that connection?”
Mayor John Chappie told commissioners that he hoped to work with them to finally bring the tram service to life. A partnership between the city and county is needed to build a trail on the county’s right-of-way along the parking side of Gulf Drive North.
The city isn’t asking for any money, but it needs Manatee’s permission to install a new path wide enough for the tram — an extended golf cart — to drive on, renovate the existing recreational trail and reconfigure some parking spaces at Cortez Beach. That reconfiguration would make it so that cars park facing Gulf Drive and drive straight out.
Bradenton Beach needs county’s help
But Bradenton Beach representatives faced an uphill battle in their conversation with county commissioners, who were concerned that those changes might result in fewer parking spaces for beachgoers. The county must maintain a certain number of parking spaces to retain its eligibility for beach renourishment funds from the federal and state governments.
“If there’s something I have learned over the past years, people hate change, especially at the beach. It makes me very nervous when we start talking about significant change, so the devil is in the details,” said Commissioner Betsy Benac.
Commissioner Carol Whitmore, a longtime Anna Maria Island resident, said she had “mixed feelings” about the project. Commissioner Vanessa Baugh acknowledged that change needs to occur for better traffic flow, but she expressed skepticism of the proposal.
“It sounds like a great idea, there’s just too many details right now that we’re not sure about,” she said.
City Attorney Ricinda Perry assured commissioners that Bradenton Beach engineers would find a way to preserve all of the county’s parking spots, while providing a helpful way to move around the city for residents and tourists.
“I am not going to stand here today and say that this project is going to make everybody happy. What I can tell you is people are unhappy with the way that there is congestion, problems with public safety, problems with parking,” said Perry. “They’re not happy with that. This is not the be-all, end-all solution, but it’s a step toward that.”
“What I can commit to you today is that you will not lose parking spaces. We will make sure that’s protected,” Perry promised.
Anna Maria Island businesses support tram plan
Several Bradenton Beach business owners and elected officials spoke in support of the plan, including restaurateur Ed Chiles.
“This is going to be a tremendous project, and this is just a chance to open your eyes to it,” he told the board. “This is something that’s going to be on the front of your brochures, if we’re successful.”
“I just see this as another thing that’s enhancing the island experience,” City Commissioner Jake Spooner added.
By the end of the discussion, Bradenton Beach officials won over the support of the board, and were encouraged to work with county staff to move forward with preliminary plans. The city said it has already worked closely with the Florida Department of Transportation and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection.
“I’m excited,” said Baugh. “We need to figure out ways to get people on and off the island. It’ll make for a better visit when people are there.”
“I think it’s a great step. We’ve got to try something. We talk and we talk and we talk, and we’re great at talking, but hopefully we start doing something to solve these problems,” said Commissioner Stephen Jonsson.
Within the next two months, a pilot program to test the tram on the existing shell parking area along Cortez Beach. Officials say they hope to submit preliminary designs to FDEP within six months that prove the county will still meet beach renourishment requirements.
