With Manatee County Commission, ‘money talks louder than reason’ | Letter to the editor

The Manatee County commissioners have foolishly approved a development on Upper Manatee River Road that will add an estimated 300 cars per day to a road that is two lanes. Another smaller development has been built recently on the same road. In the morning and evening the road is bumper to bumper continuous traffic. Where are the cars to go? I have seen the road congestion go all the way back to Old Tampa Road in the morning. That is over the Fort Hamer Bridge, which is another unmitigated disaster.

I have always believed that the commissioners are paid by the developers to keep building without considering the effects on the existing population. This development should not receive an occupancy permit until the infrastructure is restructured so the additional traffic can be accommodated.

I am pretty certain that my plea will go nowhere because money talks louder than reason.

Stewart Reiman

Ellenton

This story was originally published February 17, 2020 at 8:41 AM with the headline "With Manatee County Commission, ‘money talks louder than reason’ | Letter to the editor."