Issue link: https://newsleader.uberflip.com/i/144898
Siesta Seen SIESTA VILLAGE BOLLARD INSTALLATION IS SET FOR AUGUST; COUNTY STAFF IS STILL WORKING ON NEW PEDESTRIAN WARNING LIGHTS FOR BEACH WAY AND AVENIDA DEL MARE AS WELL AS ILLUMINATION FOR OLD STICKNEY POINT ROAD By Rachel Brown Hackney Editor Some days, Peter van Roekens must feel like the voice crying in the wilderness. More than a year and a half after he first broached the idea of better crosswalk lighting in Siesta Village, county staff finally appears on the verge of getting bollards installed to provide LED illumination at seven crosswalks. Just as I was finishing up my column for this week, I found the following note in Sarasota County Chief Engineer James K. Harriott's July 8 report to the County Commission: "The work assignment was issued to the contractor. A purchase order is scheduled to be issued the week of July 15, 2013. Preparation work, utility locates and permitting is scheduled to be completed by the end of July, 2013. Installation ... is [scheduled] to start by August 1, 2013. The entire project is scheduled to be completed by the end of August, 2013." Now it has been more than five months since van Roekens brought up the need to remedy another situation: constantly blinking lights at crosswalks for Siesta Public Beach-goers at Beach Way and Avenida Del Mare. That project is still in the "memo phase." A map shows the area of Avenida Del Mare on Siesta Key. Map courtesy of Google Maps