Manatee County Commissioner Vanessa Baugh: Road work means residents to 'suffer' a bit before traffic improves

LAKEWOOD RANCH -- With construction on the diverging diamond interchange at Interstate 75 and University Parkway underway, along with other roadway improvements on the horizon, Manatee County District 5 Commissioner Vanessa Baugh told constituents they will have to "suffer a little bit before it gets better."

"We have a lot of infrastructure being worked on for roads," said Baugh, who represents Lakewood Ranch and East Manatee. "We are just going to have to live through it for a little while. ... We have a lot going on that's going to make it better."

Road construction, traffic signals, speed limits and impact fees were among the topics Wednesday night at the meeting at Lakewood Ranch Town Hall. About 40 people attended the hour-long meeting.

Traffic signals at Edgewater and University Parkway and State Road 70 and Greenbrook, and the extension of Lakewood Ranch Boulevard and Lorraine Road as four lanes from University Parkway to Fruitville Road, were among the roadway improvements discussed.

Lakewood Ranch resident Michael Paolino said: "There is going to be a little bit of pain for the improvement."

Schroeder-Manatee Ranch, the Lakewood Ranch developer, is engineering Lakewood Ranch Boulevard and Lorraine Road. SMR will take out $80 million in bonds for the extensions, Baugh told residents.

Baugh also said State Road 70 should be four lanes from Lorraine Road all the way across state.

"It's used as an evacuation route," Baugh said. "There is a lot of traffic on that road. A lot of commercial traffic uses State Road 70."

Lakewood Ranch residents Pat and Bobbi Knowles said they came to hear what is going on with traffic and construction on the diverging diamond interchange. Bobbi Knowles said University Parkway is going to get worse as the northerners come in.

"We understand that is something we have to tolerate until construction is done," she said, adding more cars would be able to get through the light if traffic signals were timed differently.

Baugh also told residents a library in Lakewood Ranch is needed. The county is considering adding an impact fee for libraries, she said.

"I'm looking forward to getting a library built for out here," Baugh said, adding SMR designated land for the library.

Lakewood Ranch resident Jacqueline Borda said Lakewood Ranch is "an intellectual desert."

"It's not being they don't have the population," she said. "There is nothing for that population. You only drink and eat here. It's fine but there is more to life. I think they need a library."

Claire Aronson, Manatee County reporter, can be reached at 941-745-7024. Follow her on Twitter@Claire_Aronson.

This story was originally published October 28, 2015 at 9:00 PM with the headline "Manatee County Commissioner Vanessa Baugh: Road work means residents to 'suffer' a bit before traffic improves ."