Sarasota City Commissioner Hagen Brody said the plan does a great job in improving pedestrian and bicycle access in the City, but it did not address making it easier for people to drive to and from the City and within the City.

Why not just drop some speed bumps on St. Armands Circle as if throwing nail strips in front of sea turtles to slow them down as they try and crawl home?

In the past week alone, Longboat Key’s Town Manager, Sarasota City Commissioners, Longboat Key Commissioners, the St. Armands Merchants Association President and numerous residents have implored the City of Sarasota and the Florida Department of Transportation to explain why the traffic is so persistent, offer suggestions and insight and to raise safety concerns.

FDOT says the roundabout will slow traffic and create a more pedestrian friendly environment.

Longboat officials say they are supportive of enhancing pedestrian connectivity but not at the cost of increasing traffic.

Hines said that rather than spending $1.1 million he would prefer funding a trolley or build something tangible instead of hiring consultants.

Traffic has already been amassing in late afternoons.

“My experience is wherever I have traveled in the country, when two lanes become one, I find traffic and congestion.”

Each time the bridge went up, there was an instant three-mile standstill because of traffic volumes.

“Do not assume I am patient. I am a caffeined-up, angry ex-New Yorker…