Issue link: https://newsleader.uberflip.com/i/144898
Sarasota News Leader July 19, 2013 Page 85 Siesta Seen Although there was a slim chance staff would have a report on the latter matter ready for the County Commission before its summer recess began last week, the memo evidently was not finalized in time. Van Roekens — the secretary of the Siesta Key Association and a Terrace East condominium complex representative to the Siesta Key Village Association meetings — explained during the Feb. 5 SKVA meeting that the constant flashing of the lights at the two sets of crosswalks on Beach Road is dangerous because drivers who have become inured to them fail to look for pedestrians using the crosswalks. He suggested that county staff needed to adjust the lights to blink only on demand — in other words, a person getting ready to cross the street would press a button and the lights would begin flashing. After raising the same point during the SKA meeting that February week, van Roekens ended up working on a compromise with fellow SKA Director Deet Jonker — a Siesta Isles resident. The request was that the county install the type of crosswalk lighting the Florida Department of Transportation put in last year along Midnight Pass Road. "The Siesta Isles Association has fought for that light over the years," Jonker said of the Beach Way flashing light during the February SKA meeting. But residents really liked the new Midnight Pass crosswalks, Jonker said. Tom Maroney, general manager of business operations in the county's Public Works De- partment, recently gave me an update on the Beach Way/Avenida Del Mare request, and he sent one by email to Commissioner Nora Patterson, who lives on Siesta. Maroney noted in his July 3 email to Patterson that "the rectangular rapid flashing beacon pedestrian sign (RRFB)," like those on Midnight Pass Road, is becoming pretty popular with people. Alternating, or "wig-wag," flashing lights are mounted below each sign. Nonetheless, "There have been some unresolved corrosion issues with the circuits. This has been brought to FDOT's attention and the manufacturer," Maroney added. "Repairs were made and they are currently functioning. However, we continue to evaluate their reliability and await manufacture resolution to the corrosion problem before recommending further use," he wrote. The goal with the memo being prepared by staff is to provide all the relevant details to the County Commission, Maroney told me, so the board "has enough information to make a quality decision." In a related matter, Harriott, the county's chief engineer, reported to the County Commission on June 17 that county staff recently had positioned a truck with a camera near the intersection of Beach Way and Beach Road to record vehicle and pedestrian movements. "Several citizens have requested a signal at the intersection," he added. "This a repeated request, [but] studies have shown that the intersection does not meet warrants for a traffic signal."