Issue link: https://newsleader.uberflip.com/i/344348
In February 2011, the county obtained the FDOT grant for the trolley, or "island bus," as SCAT is calling it, which will run from the Westfield Southgate mall on Siesta Drive through the Pavilion Shopping Centers in the Gulf Gate area, with stops in Siesta Village, at Siesta Public Beach and Turtle Beach. The trip from Southgate to Turtle Beach will take about an hour, according to SCAT staff. The grant required a 50-percent local match, according to a memo provided by SCAT Director Glama Carter. That will come in the form of salaries for the bus drivers, the memo notes. After the state funding for the service is exhausted, other sources of money will be needed to continue the route, the memo points out. Commissioner Nora Patterson, who lives on Siesta Key, has urged Siesta business own- ers to encourage use of the route. County staff and a future County Commission will consider ridership when they look at extend- ing the service beyond the initial three-year period, she has pointed out. A Feb. 24, 2011, letter from FDOT to then- SCAT General Manager Anthony Beckford says the project was designed to "alleviate beach and Siesta Village parking." The route will operate seven days a week in conjunction with the existing Route 11 that The Siesta trolley, which is being rebranded as an 'island bus,' will leave the Sarasota County Area Transit stop at Southgate mall about every 20 minutes. File photo Sarasota News Leader July 11, 2014 Page 60