Traffic is a problem for Manatee County drivers. Commissioners ready to pay for fixes
Budget season is back again, and this time, Manatee County officials say they’re ready to spend millions on improving local roads in an attempt to meet the demands of a rapidly growing community.
“I would say that, here and now, transportation is your top priority,” said County Administrator Cheri Coryea, who presented a list of projects that may be funded in next year’s budget at Tuesday’s work session meeting.
Staff compiled more than two dozen transportation “challenges” that the county wants to tackle, and while there likely won’t be enough money to pay for all of them this year, the Board of County Commissioners was happy to start prioritizing the issue.
“Nothing is off the table yet, I should say, but we’ve got to prioritize, right? We don’t have endless resources,” said Commissioner Betsy Benac. “I’m excited to see transportation up front.”
Among those priorities are improvements to Moccasin Wallow Road, Buckeye Road and the 44th Avenue East extension, which the Florida Legislature may put another $10 million toward in 2021.
Projects were also broken down by section, including road conditions, intersection improvements and right-of-way acquisition for the county to expand and improve aging roads. The county set aside $500,000 to purchase right-of-way last year, but with several roads set to be upgraded, commissioners have to choose their purchases wisely.
“We can’t continue to do thing we’ve always done them because that’s why we’re in the mess we’re in,” said Commissioner Vanessa Baugh. “Now we’re in a point where, financially, we’re in a jam. If you don’t think it’s a priority, let it slap you in the face. It’s a priority.”
“We have to be looking at right-of-way to widen the roads, make them four lanes and do what needs to be done,” she added.
Commissioners agreed that they’ll need to think outside the box to start grabbing land at the right time and in the right places. Benac and Commissioner Priscilla Whisenant Trace suggested that might involve ongoing talks with key property owners.
“There’s nothing to say you can’t have friendly acquisition. Other words, if you went in there and they want to sell it to you today, you can buy it today. You don’t have to necessarily have a need on it.”
Trace said that approach could help solve one of Manatee’s biggest issues in handling growth — waiting too long to acquire right-of-way.
“We should prioritize where we think we should buy it in a couple places, because I think some places we may have already been too late and other places we can get ahead,” she suggested.
But commissioners also realize that better roads won’t solve every problem, and pointed out a need for expanded public transit, car pools and other creative solutions.
“When it comes to transportation, we can’t build our way our of the congestion problem,” said Commissioner Misty Servia.
Coryea said she would use the board’s discussion to help guide her in the budget process. Commissioners are also planning to examine traffic improvements during a transportation workshop on March 3 at the Bradenton Area Convention Center.
A comprehensive budget, with details on how the county will pay for traffic improvements, will be presented on May 28.
