How can we solve gridlock on Manatee Avenue? Here’s an idea.

It seems our so-called elected representatives are worried about the gridlock caused by commuters using the Green and Desoto bridges onto Manatee Avenue. Maybe if once in a while our city officials and county commissioners would just say no to the developers who want to build on every square inch of vacant land, then maybe traffic wouldn’t be so bad.

I know that would hurt the campaign contributions they get from these fat-cat developers by using that terrible word “NO,” but at least they may again gain the respect of those who voted for them. I am not against development because smart growth benefits all. But what we have been getting is anything but smart, especially when they destroyed a park in east Bradenton to build over 400 rental apartments. Everyone who lives there will eventually have to use Manatee Avenue to travel anywhere by car. I don’t call that smart growth — creating more traffic gridlock, then start talking about spending millions of dollars to alleviate the problems they helped create.

Maybe the answer to our gridlock problems will be solved by the ballot box on election day, if only our citizens would quit listening to the bull spread by our politicians at election time and start looking at their records instead, then maybe we would finally get smart growth.

This story was originally published November 13, 2017 at 2:12 PM with the headline "How can we solve gridlock on Manatee Avenue? Here’s an idea.."