Big Changes Wanted for Main Street's Streetscape

Nearly 100 downtown residents, merchants and property owners came to city hall Monday night, Oct. 10, to discuss options for improving Main Street’s streetscape from Bayfront (U.S. 41) to Washington Boulevard (U.S. 301).

The forum was put on by the Downtown Improvement District, and discussions stemmed from two “SemCons” (seminar/conference) in 2010 that focused on what people wanted downtown Sarasota to be.

Ernie Ritz, chair of the DID, said SemCon brought about, “nine ideas, two of which the DID selected. We were [only] able to work on the Main Street streetscape improvement, as well as identifying our historic district.”

Input from the public Monday night will be used to create a workshop summary and to develop alternative plan concepts.

Chris Hice, who led Monday’s workshop, said after plans are developed they would come back to the public for a second meeting in early-to-mid November. There would also be a presentation to the city commission.

This planning phase, he said, is scheduled to be fully completed by Dec. 31, and some improvements could be implemented “in a year or two."

Public Input

On Monday night discussion groups were formed based on four segments of Main Street: Bayfront to Five Points, Five Points to Orange Avenue, Orange Avenue to Osprey Avenue and Osprey Avenue to Washington Boulevard.

While the groups discussed trends for each segments there were recurring ideas among the four segments: brick streets/sidewalks, parallel parking and increased landscaping.

• Segment One (Bayfront to 5 Points) Public Suggestions
  • Wanted option for a pedestrian mall to close off street for festivals/events
  • Need for wayfinding signs, especially in this segment
  • Adding trees to JD Hammel Park
• Segment Two (5 Points to Orange Avenue)
  • Replace “messy” olive trees with shade trees
  • More flower baskets, a quick fix
  • Widen sidewalks
  • Remove “clutter” such as bicycle racks and trash cans to a more central location so stores can have more room outside business
  • Better lighting
  • Free parking after 6 p.m.
• Segment 3 (Orange Avenue to Osprey Avenue)
  • Something to draw people from west main street to east main street
  • Adding more crosswalks
  • More consistent store fronts
  • Better lighting
• Segment 4 (Osprey Avenue to Washington Boulevard)
  • Sign or arch identifying the entrance to downtown
  • Roundabout at Links Avenue
  • No bike lanes, takes up too much space
  • Widen sidewalks

Golden Example

While there are many cities across the U.S. that Sarasota could draw ideas from in terms of streetscape improvement, Downtown Sarasota Alliance member Tony Souza said Sarasota could look to SRQ’s Golden Gate Point as an example of a great streetscape transformation.

In the Fall of 2009, the Golden Gate Point Community celebrated the completion of its $3.8 million streetscape improvement project, which included a new entrance, brick street, underground utilities and landscaping.

“It was a nice area to begin with,” Souza said. “But then they wanted to do something really transformational; burring cables, bricking streets, planting trees. It’s like being in a park right now.”

That plan was 10 years in the making at Golden Gate. Crosswalks are now lit with solar powered lights in the pavers. The street went from 40 feet in width to 22 feet. The newfound space was used to put in perpendicular parking surrounded by landscape islands after every four or five parking spots.

Part of the project included removing utility lines that flanked the street and putting them underground.

Golden Gate residents approved a bond issues for their streetscape improvements in December 2005.