Issue link: https://newsleader.uberflip.com/i/277189
Russell Matthes, co-owner of the Daiquiri Deck in Siesta Village and a past president of the Siesta Key Village Association (SKVA), was also pleased to learn of FDOT's plans when the News Leader contacted him. "That makes sense," he said of the blank-out sign. "That might work." Cheryl Gaddie, current SKVA president, con- curred with Matthes. "That sounds absolutely logical." Still, Matthes concurred with Robinson's concern about the timing of the intersection problem. "March is our busiest month, so [FDOT needs] to get [the sign] up now." Commissioner Nora Patterson, who lives on Siesta Key, told the News Leader that FDOT District One Secretary Billy Hattaway already had told her of the signal timing adjustment and plans for the blank-out sign. "I think that sounds innovative and a good thing," she said of the latter measure. "We'll see how it works." However, Patterson continues to have reser- vations about the signal timing adjustment; she voiced them during the March 4 County Commission meeting. "I've seen very bad traffic jams from Beach Road to Stickney Point," she told the News Leader on March 12, adding that she fears they will increase. Hatchell could not help but wonder, she said, based on her own observations and anec- dotal information, whether an increase in the number of tourists this season has been one reason the traffic jams have been worse at the Traffic is thick on the morning of March 11 at the intersection of Stickney Point Road and Midnight Pass Road. Photo by Rachel Hackney I think that sounds innovative and a good thing. We'll see how it works. Nora Patterson Commissioner Sarasota County Sarasota News Leader March 14, 2014 Page 11