Contact Information

If you have any questions about the effort that are not answered by this blog, please call Kate at 941-365-8751 or email her at kirwin (at) scopexcel (dot) org.

Welcome!

We're glad you found your way to the SEA Transportation and Redevelopment Action Committee webpage and blog!

Please use the menu on the right to learn more about our project and its goals. Feel free to leave comments on any of the posts - we would love to hear from you. This website is a work in progress, so if you have any questions or concerns, let us know.

Thanks,
TRAC

About Transit Oriented Design

When the committee first came together, we spent a lot of time researching transit oriented design before we settled on undertaking a case study. The below are some transit oriented design principles:

• Provide a convenient mix of uses with compact building design
• Design small-scale for a pedestrian-friendly aesthetic
• Preserve and create open/public spaces
• Incorporate a variety of transportation options
• Connect to transport hubs
• Retrofit existing spaces
• Include community collaboration in design
• Ensure open, fair and predictable development decisions

We also looked at the benefits of transit oriented design - after all, why propose it if it did not positively affect communities? Some of the benefits are below:

• Reduces traffic
• Leads to reduced transportation costs in terms of time and money
• Reduces CO2 emissions and our dependence on imported oil
• Increases sense of community
• Reduces childhood obesity, hypertension and heart attacks
• Increases accessibility of amenities for young and elderly, reduces isolation of elderly

TRAC Mission

The citizen-led Transportation and Redevelopment Action Committee (TRAC) has been working to start a community conversation on transit oriented development and smart growth through a case study of the Bee Ridge Road corridor. TRAC finished this study in April 2009. You can read our final report here.

The goal of the Bee Ridge Case Study was to inspire stakeholders in the Bee Ridge Corridor and beyond to envision a Bee Ridge Road that would better serve the adjoining neighborhoods and the whole community—both as a transportation corridor and as a place where people might live, work, shop and play. This community input helped to create a “roadmap” for elected officials, the business community and citizens to move Bee Ridge into the future.

Now, TRAC has moved into our second phase - connecting our supporters to transportation related news, articles and events that happen in Sarasota County. To that end, we publish a biweekly e-newsletter. If you would like to recieve that newsletter in your inbox, please email Kate at kirwin (at) scopexcel (dot) org.

Transit Oriented Design - Pictures & Visuals

Here is a map of the Bee Ridge Road corridor with places of interest shown:

Below are a series of visuals showing the possibilities for transit oriented design in different settings.

A series showing redesign of a shopping mall:

A series showing the redevelopment of a street:

Why now? Why Bee Ridge?

We are at a unique and important moment with regard to transit in Sarasota County for a variety of reasons:

• 2008 Urban Service Boundary voter referendum will lead to a focus on redevelopment and infill.
• The current downturn notwithstanding, fuel prices are increasing, leading to a decreased focus on driving and an increased focus on creating more transportation options (walking, bicycling, public transit).
• The real estate downturn allows us to “breathe” and the opportunity to create a future that we can build by design, not default.
• Regional and local government transportation initiatives have recently grown legs. This includes Tampa Bay Area Regional Transit Authority’s $2 million funding and the SCAT’s Bus Rapid Transit application to the Federal Transit Authority.

Bee Ridge Road is a natural case study for transit oriented development because it:

• Is solely under local control, falling under the jurisdictions of Sarasota County and the City of Sarasota.
• Has a significant number of large lots. Larger lots are easier to redevelop for transit use, as there are more options.
• Has been identified by TBARTA as a significant east/west corridor in Sarasota County.

While the focus of this particular case study is Bee Ridge Road, the process is meant to be applicable to any area of Sarasota County.

The Committee

The SEA Transportation and Redevelopment Action Committee was formed after the Summit for Environmental Action (SEA), held in February 2008. At SEA, community members voted on actions we could take locally to improve our environment. One of those actions was encapsulated in a slogan - “Great Transit Connecting Great Communities.”

More than a year later, that slogan has become a robust community initiative. Committee members come from a range of backgrounds and have met twice a month since April 2008. The committee has been working to be transparent and inclusive and has welcomed partnerships along the way. Recently, TRAC has been enhanced by a New College of Florida sociology class. The class is working on the project as a way to learn more about transit in our community