Issue link: https://newsleader.uberflip.com/i/277189
Relief is at hand for motorists who have suffered in long lines on Stickney Point Road since the Florida Department of Transportation erected a "No Turn on Red" sign at the Midnight Pass Road intersection on Siesta Key. FDOT plans to install a "blank-out" sign that will prevent right turns onto Midnight Pass Road only when a pedestrian has pushed the button to use the crosswalk at that intersec- tion, Lauren Hatchell, a public information officer for the agency, told The Sarasota News Leader on March 12. Additionally, FDOT already has adjusted the signal timing at the intersection, Hatchell said. It should not take long for the sign to be put in place, Hatchell added, though she was unable to ascertain an exact schedule. "We're already communicating with [Sarasota County] and moving forward with that," she said. Other than the times when the new sign has been activated by someone pushing the crosswalk button, she pointed out, "a free flow of traffic" should be the norm again at that intersection. Just before 10 a.m. on Tuesday, March 11, traffic is backed up on the Stickney Point Road bridge. Photo by Rachel Hackney STATE TRANSPORTATION OFFICIALS ARE IMPLEMENTING CHANGES AT THE INTERSECTION OF STICKNEY POINT ROAD AND MIDNIGHT PASS ROAD TO ALLEVIATE TRAFFIC TIE-UPS RESULTING FROM A 'NO TURN ON RED' DIRECTIVE REMEDIES AT HAND By Rachel Brown Hackney Editor NEWS & COMMENTARY