Tuesday's letters: Downtown roundabout has worsened, not improved, congestion

Sarasota Herald-Tribune
·3 min read
The roundabout at Gulfstream Avenue and U.S. 41 opened to vehicles in December 2022 but the work was not completed until March this year. The $8.6 million project, designed to alleviate traffic woes along a critical gateway to Lido Key, has drawn complaints about heavy traffic.
The roundabout at Gulfstream Avenue and U.S. 41 opened to vehicles in December 2022 but the work was not completed until March this year. The $8.6 million project, designed to alleviate traffic woes along a critical gateway to Lido Key, has drawn complaints about heavy traffic.

Un-jam traffic at Gulfstream Roundabout

Has anyone tried to drive from St. Armands Circle to downtown Sarasota lately? The traffic is horribly backed up and hardly moving.

This problem exists daily from 3 p.m. to after 7 p.m. The backups here started Dec. 21, 2022, when the roundabout at U.S. 41 and Gulfstream Avenue was opened.

It now takes 30 minutes to two hours to traverse this 2.5-mile road going east from St. Armands Circle in the later afternoon. The traffic is often backed up two to three miles into south Longboat Key as well.

More: Residents take inaugural drives around the Gulfstream Roundabout

More: How to send a letter to the editor

This is quite a hindrance to residents, tourists and businesses in the St. Armands area and downtown.

The roads leading into the roundabout and the roundabout itself need an additional lane to accommodate the heavy traffic. This is a big problem in a very popular part of Sarasota.

What will happen when someone from Lido or Longboat keys has a medical emergency? An ambulance will not help them, and they will need a helicopter.

It's time for Sarasota County and the Florida Department of Transportation to review this traffic trap and come up with some solutions.

Gail Zittel, Sarasota

Stop state from muting free speech

House Bill 991 and Senate Bill 1220:  Defamation, False Light, and Unauthorized Publication of Name or Likenesses must not become law.

These anti-democratic bills silence the First Amendment right of free speech in seven ways:

  • Chill speech critical of government.

  • Make it easier to sue media or the public for defamation over criticism of public officials.

  • Provoke future showdown before the U.S. Supreme Court.

  • Force journalists to reveal anonymous sources and scare victims of discrimination into silence.

  • Institute one-way attorney fees in defamation and libel suits.

  • Make allegations of sexism, racism, homophobia and transphobia “defamation per se” (where the claim is presumed to be fake and defamatory).

  • Forbid proving an allegation of homophobia or transphobia is true by citing the speaker’s religious or “scientific” beliefs.

As a former journalism teacher, I am appalled by the authoritarian tone of these bills. If Florida is indeed “free,” why are our free speech rights being abridged?

If you feel the same way, send the message above to the Judiciary Committee chair(s) for each bill.

The HB 991 chairs are Alex Andrade and Mike Beltran.

Andrade can be reached at Alex.Andrade@myfloridahouse.gov.; Beltran at Mike.Beltran@myfloridahouse.gov.

The SB 1220 chair is Jason Brodeur, who can be reached at brodeur.Jason.web@flsenate.gov.

Karen Fisk, Rotonda West

Housing shortage affects school hiring

At a recent School Board workshop, one board member asked for a brief presentation at a future meeting about a possible solution to Sarasota County’s affordable housing shortage. Three members immediately answered no.

“We’re focusing on other things right now,” one said. And they informed him that he was not authorized by this board to explore the problem any further. I was stunned.

More:Sarasota County moves to promote affordable housing

Sarasota is competing with school districts around Florida to attract the best possible educators for our students, not to mention bus drivers, food service employees and other workers. Where are they supposed to live?

For people working in these jobs, it can take two paychecks or more to cover their housing costs. Every Sarasota citizen should be concerned about the lack of affordable housing that is endangering two of our most treasured assets: our public schools and our public hospital.

Could the real reason our School Board rejected the housing presentation be that it was suggested by the one board member from a different party? Because of the political agenda and personal animosity on the board, our teachers and ultimately our students will be punished.

Charles Weiss, M.D., Sarasota

This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Add lanes to smooth traffic at roundabout, bills aimed at free speech