BRADENTON BEACH – The Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) recently installed dozens of signs along various sections of Gulf Drive that say, “No parking on right of way.”
Approximately 55 signs are located along Gulf Drive South near Coquina Beach and the Coquina boat ramps.
In groups of two or three, more signs are located along Gulf Drive North at 11th Street North, along the 1900 block of Gulf Drive North by the La Costa condominiums, between 22nd Street North and 23rd Street North near Katie Pierola Park and between 25th Street South and 26th Street South.
Police Chief John Cosby told The Sun that he requested the new signs from FDOT last year and they were installed last week.
When contacted by The Sun, FDOT Operations Center Engineer Trisha Hartzell said, “The District Traffic Operations office initiated this action to prohibit vehicles parking on Florida Department of Transportation right of way along State Road 789/Gulf Drive South at the request of the city of Bradenton Beach.”
In the past, temporary barricades with “no parking” signs affixed to them were placed along the Gulf Drive South right of way near Coquina Beach to help prevent people from parking in the state-owned rights of way where parking is prohibited.
When contacted Monday, Cosby said those temporary signs were previously removed at the request of the city’s Scenic WAVES Committee due to concerns about sign pollution along a scenic highway. The Scenic WAVES Committee also serves as the city’s scenic highway board.
According to FDOT’s www.FloridaScenicHighways.com website, the entire 3-mile stretch of Gulf Drive/SR 789 in Bradenton Beach is a state-designated scenic highway.
Leaders in the adjacent city of Holmes Beach, meanwhile, have ordered the removal of several no parking signs from its streets, citing sign pollution as the reason.
Cosby said it’s the state that prohibits parking along the Gulf Drive rights of way and that longstanding parking prohibition has not changed.
“To have proper enforcement, the signs have to be there. It’s hard to enforce the law if you don’t have the proper signs telling people they can’t park there. We need them year-around,” Cosby said.
When asked about the signs being placed along a scenic highway, Cosby said, “There’s already speed limit signs, crosswalk signs, directional signs and other signs along the scenic highway and this is in the areas where we have to have enforcement.”
