BRADENTON BEACH – Manatee County has some modifications in mind for the Coquina Beach, Cortez Beach and Bayside Park parking lots.
City and county officials discussed the plan recently when Bradenton Beach Mayor John Chappie, Police Chief John Cosby and Public Works Director Tom Woodard met with Manatee County Commission Chair Kevin Van Ostenbridge, Deputy County Administrator Charlie Bishop, Public Works Director Chad Butzow and Parks and Natural Resources Grounds Operations Manager Carmine DeMilio.
DeMilio summed up those discussions in a video recap that Chappie shared with city commissioners during their Aug. 4 meeting.
In the video, DeMilio details the county’s plans to create an additional overflow parking area near the children’s playground at the southern end of the Coquina Beach parking lot. Those plans include the installation of a split rail fence and the planting of royal palm trees to separate the children’s play area and the overflow parking area.
DeMilio said county staff would manage the overflow parking area and open and close the gates as needed to provide additional beach parking. DeMilio said this modification requires a change work order to the phase 2 drainage and parking lot improvements already taking place in the center section of the beach parking lot. Additional fencing will be installed along the entrance road that runs parallel to Gulf Drive South.
DeMilio said the county also plans to install a median, with parking on both sides, in the unpaved parking lot at the south end of Coquina Bayside Park parking lot, near the Longboat Pass Bridge.
Cortez Beach
DeMilio said the county plans to eliminate automobile parking at the far north end of the Cortez Beach parking lot along Gulf Drive South, between Fourth and Fifth streets south. The county plans to limit that narrow strip of parking spaces to motorcycle and golf cart parking.
To address the issue of tandem parking – cars parking in front of other vehicles – the county plans to install fencing and/or rope bollards that would reduce the depth of the automobile parking areas to 10-12 feet deep, which would only provide space for a single row of automobiles to be parked between the fence and Gulf Drive South.
DeMilio did not specify when the proposed changes would be made to the Coquina Beach, Bayside Park and Cortez Beach parking lots.
Tram path
After watching DeMilio’s video, Chappie commented on the proposed fencing in the Cortez Beach parking lot.
“The idea is to move it back so you cannot tandem park in that area. There’s a big safety concern – not only tandem, but three (vehicles) in a row,” Chappie said.
Chappie said vehicles parked two and three deep reduces access to the multi-use trail and reduces the drivable area between the parked cars and the bike lane along the western edge of Gulf Drive South. Chappie also said the city could create a tow-away zone there to further address tandem parking.
Commissioner Ralph Cole noted the Bradenton Beach Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) hopes to one day install along that same stretch of the Cortez Beach parking lot a dedicated path for the CRA-funded Old Town Tram parking shuttle service. Cole asked Chappie to make sure county staff takes that into consideration.
City Attorney Ricinda Perry reiterated the need for county staff to be aware of the desired tram path when planning the Cortez Beach parking lot modifications. She noted former City Engineer Lynn Burnett previously took several measurements in the Cortez Beach area as part of the initial tram path plans informally presented to and tentatively supported by the county commission. Perry suggested using temporary tape to lay out and conceptualize where the tram path might be located.
“I don’t want to lose that tram path,” she said.
Chappie said he would relay those concerns to county staff. The plans previously presented to the county commission include a tram path that extends to the Coquina North boat ramp parking lot and a proposed employee parking lot near the Manatee County Beach Patrol station. That parking lot would be reserved for those who work in and around the Bridge Street/downtown Bradenton Beach business district.
“Commissioner Van Ostenbridge is really enthusiastic about the whole project,” Chappie said.
