Downtown, Bayfront Connection Still Lacking - Spring 2016

Though re-connecting Sarasota’s downtown to its Bayfront was an oft-stated tenet of the city Downtown Master Plan 2020 when it was completed in 2001, the city has yet to install infrastructure or new traffic systems to attain that goal.

That could become even more important as more development occurs on land split from downtown by U.S. 41. Together, Kolter’s Vue Sarasota Bay, GreenPointe’s proposed Sarasota Bayside project and a potential Kolter addition at the Ritz-Carlton Sarasota would add nearly 1,000 new residential units, more than 400 hotel rooms and more than 100,000 square feet of retail space, for instance.

For visitors and residents alike to feel safe traversing from one section of downtown to the other, across U.S. 41, city and state transportation officials will have to formulate ways that pedestrians can access both areas without hindrance.

It remains a lofty goal but also a critical missing link to Sarasota’s future development as an urban area.