Issue link: https://newsleader.uberflip.com/i/146256
Siesta Seen THE COUNTY IS EXPLORING TAKING OVER STATE ROAD 758 IN AN EXCHANGE INVOLVING RIVER ROAD; LIGHT UP THE VILLAGE PLANNING IS UNDER WAY; AND THE SABAL DRIVE LEGAL COMPLAINT HAS SOME INTERESTING DETAILS By Rachel Brown Hackney Editor Although Commissioner Nora Patterson in the past has voiced reluctance about having the county take control of State Road 758 — Bee Ridge Road/Stickney Point Road/Midnight Pass Road/Higel Avenue/Siesta Drive (including the bridge infrastructure) —from the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT), a new initiative is afoot involving a trade of that stretch for River Road. The county's chief engineer, James K. Harriott Jr., reported to the County Commission recently that staff had met with FDOT officials in Bartow on July 2. "FDOT is open to the idea of a transfer," he wrote in an email, with the condition that it be an equitable one. In a July 3 email, Harriott pointed out that staff had discussed the idea with Randell Prescott, operations director for FDOT's District 1. "Mr. Even with no rain that afternoon, a rainbow appeared over Siesta Village on July 20. Photo courtesy of Peter van Roekens