Issue link: https://newsleader.uberflip.com/i/289950
The Sarasota City Commission's agenda for April 7 has some goodies for strollers, cyclists and motorists. It includes a rehab of the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall bayfront prome- nade, a new bridge to Coon Key and a pair of roundabouts. A second feature of the Monday meeting deals with fighting abuse and assault. On the consent agenda soon after the meet- ing begins at 2:30 p.m. will be approval of a new concrete boardwalk along the bayfront north of the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall. It will be a precast concrete deck with a timber handrail. The contract also calls for major work on the pedestrian bridge across Hog Creek connecting the Van Wezel with the former G.WIZ property. The recommended winning bid from Bayshore Construction is $236,622. A similar bridge is on the evening agenda, when the city engineer will call for consideration of a new bicycle and pedestrian structure along the John Ringling Causeway to Coon Key, where the Sarasota Yacht Club is located. Alex DavisShaw says what every bicyclist in town knows: The existing Coon Key bridge is a nail-biter, the scariest piece of asphalt between downtown Sarasota and Longboat Key. DavisShaw is putting together proposals for the future budgets of the Sarasota/Manatee Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) and is asking city approval to propose either expanding the existing Coon Key bridge or installing a new, lighter-weight bridge for non-motorized traffic. She is also proposing another roundabout for Charles Ringling Boulevard. This one would replace the signal at Pine Place, the side street at the downtown post office and Sarasota County Administration Center. She wants to The wooden bridge from the former G.WIZ property to the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall will undergo significant repairs. Photo by Norman Schimmel THE CITY COMMISSION WILL HAVE DIVERSE ISSUES TO TACKLE ON APRIL 7 TRANSPORTATION AND HUMAN RIGHTS By Stan Zimmerman City Editor