Issue link: https://newsleader.uberflip.com/i/127088
OPINION TIME HAS ARRIVED FOR REALISTIC DECISIONS TO ADDRESS SIESTA KEY PARKING PROBLEMS EDITORIAL What happens if a tourist destination becomes too popular? That is the question the County Commission was able to defer in regard to Siesta Key as a result of the Great Recession. Now, with overflowing seasonal visitors — as clearly evidenced by the rise in tourist development tax revenue — the time is readily drawing nigh when the commission is going to have to address the dreaded "P" word on Siesta: parking. become the de facto overflow area for the municipal parking lot, which has one access point on their road. Marlene Merkle, who has lived on Avenida de Mayo for 25 years, and her neighbors brought their case to the Siesta Key Association last month; it has promised support for encouraging county officials to protect residential areas. The board will have its Could postings on Facebook or first shot at it on May Twitter, fueled by angry drivers, start 21, when residents warning people away from Siesta Key of Avenida de Mayo because there is no place to park? air complaints about how their street has During that SKA meeting, Diane Erne, an Avenida Messina resident, also repeated a complaint she has aired in the past: Delivery trucks bringing supplies to restau-