Summer Update Part I
Transportation, hurricanes, surveys & more.
Introduction
In the past 7 months we have denied more projects than prior boards have in any given year. The projects making their way to our desk are attempting to be more thoughtful or designing to higher standards. We are making headway at restoring wetland protections, have raised impact fees, and are working on a budget based on your needs. All in all I believe this has been an incredibly productive year so far.
In this two-part update I will discuss the hurricane season, budget process, and the future of transportation in district 3 & beyond. In the second issue I will focus on district 3-specific projects, my town hall schedule, and how I am working to involve more young people in the civic process.
Community Surveys
We have two important surveys you will not want to miss. One is focused on the future direction of Central Library and the second is about our new Veterans Resource Hub and Memorial Park project. Your support in helping get the word out can make a difference in community engagement and participation:
Hurricane Season 2025
The Atlantic hurricane season is here. You will no doubt see dozens of guides, news articles, social media posts, and more about how to prepare. I will start by sharing a few resources below:
Florida Division of Emergency Management’s Hurricane page here
Your local news source
The 2024 hurricane season hit this community unlike any other and we are still recovering. At town halls residents across my district have rallied to make their voices and frustrations with the county heard. These centered around permit response times, confusion around substantial damage estimate determinations, and concerns with benefits one could receive from the local, state, and/or federal government. I believe the FY26 budget, and additional information outreach, as presented in September will go a long way towards addressing some of these concerns.
Budget Process for FY26
Our board started the budget process for FY26 on June 9th. Each department and constitutional office got to present their asks while we deliberate on priorities you want to see implemented. Here are some items I am promoting in this year’s budget:
Eliminating 59th Street West from our Capital Plan.
Allocating funds for the SUNtrail
Increased funding for road resurfacing, and
Additional positions for floodplain & permit techs
This is in addition to increased funding for public safety via our Sheriff’s office and EMS, a number of small, medium and large infrastructure projects; and other asks which residents have raised with me.
The future of transportation in District 3, and beyond
I believe the future of transportation in District 3, and beyond, will focus on:
Public transit
Urban Trails
Functional improvements to roadways
Public transit
Public transit is not thought of as a first or second choice. Typically, residents will resort to an Uber or friends if they have car trouble or transit needs. I believe that needs to change. The transit system of tomorrow will start by looking at congested, desirable routes and build the necessary infrastructure to make transit a viable first-class option.
The necessary infrastructure will consist of dedicated bus lanes, signal improvements, consideration for pedestrian access, more frequent service, and a more premium experience. The SunRunner, pictured above, in Pinellas County features dedicated bus lanes that can move people through congested roadways to key destinations. Turn lanes and medians were consolidated into bus lanes with intersection improvements to allow for better pedestrian access. Whether the bus lanes are on the outside or in the middle is up for debate and engineers to discuss. I believe this will be part of a long-term solution for traffic on Cortez Road from Cortez to Lakewood Ranch, US-41, and beyond.
I believe with the Cortez Corridor Action Plan underway and the bridge replacement in Cortez we can advocate for dedicated bus lanes that will take hundreds of cars off the road. At the same time I am working to add a water taxi stop at the new Cortez Marina property as well as a bus stop.
If we can terminate transit at our Cortez Marina, we can drop people off to take a short 10-minute water taxi to the beach without having a bus sit in traffic on the Cortez Bridge. I believe this is our best option for transportation and infrastructure improvements in the district. From here, we can build off the success and provide similar lanes along 41 for transit to Sarasota.
Lakewood Ranch presents the next best opportunity to implement a great public transit system. Sarasota County implemented Breeze OnDemand for on-demand transit for their residents. We entered into an agreement to extend this service to our portion of Longboat Key where it has been well received. Given the growth and the lack of public transit, I believe this may be a good starting point for Lakewood Ranch.
As a LWR-focused on-demand network with the potential for direct and flex routes, I believe residents there can eventually expect to take trips to UTC and west county. From there it could theoretically bring in workers or residents from Parrish. We will need community input and data but I believe this is something that can serve as another amenity for residents out east.
The SUN Trail - an Urban Trail for Manatee County
The Shared Use Non-motorized trail (SUN Trail) started in 2015 as a state-wide effort to fund a system of interconnected, high priority and strategic paved multi-use trails. In Manatee County a study conducted by the Sarasota-Manatee Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) finalized the alignment for the Manatee County portion of this system. This trail will tie in to the broader Manatee County trail network which forms a giant loop from the islands through downtown, up to Palmetto, east to Parrish & Lakewood Ranch, and north-south to Hillsborough & Sarasota Counties.
I believe this is an amenity people have been demanding for a long time. It is the kind of long-term improvement our district needs to make manatee healthy again while providing residents with an alternative transportation solution.
During the FY 26 budget Process I pulled funding from 59th Street West, a project whose costs ballooned to $80-million, and brought in the SUN trail at $19.5 million - a quarter of the cost. While the budget process is awaiting a final vote in late September I believe a significant county match along with state & federal funds can take this project to the finish line.
There is still much work to be done. We still need to come up with answers to address the following questions:
What does the Manatee County Trail look like?
How does it handle intersections?
How will residents know where to find the trail?
These questions and many more will be addressed at a trails workshop this fall. I suspect it will be a lot more fun than the parking garage workshop from two years ago.
Functional improvements to roadways
You have likely seen a traffic circle, or two, pop up in West Bradenton along with a few speed humps and sidewalks. This is part of a broader effort to promote traffic calming and public safety in the district’s most traveled thoroughfares. I believe these projects will go a long way towards improving walkability and reducing speeds. If you have a specific request for your area please let me know.
Part II - Project Updates & Town Hall Schedules
Part II of this “Summer Update” will focus on District 3-specific projects and more. I’ll see you there!
Thanks for this update Tal. I have yet to finish reading the whole thing but am THRILLED to see that you propose to eliminate the 59th St project.
Thank you! I appreciate this information.