January 16, 2022  —

The final roadblock to construction of the Promenade, is installing a traffic signal between US 41 and the south Siesta Key bridge at Stickney Point Road and Avenue B and C.  SKA member, James Wallace, petitioned the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) to stop the installation of this traffic signal.  However, FDOT denied him a hearing on this issue.

His recent press release states ” Dr. James P. Wallace III (“Dr. Wallace”) has filed an appeal of FDOT’s decision to deny him a hearing regarding the FDOT permit for a new Signalized Traffic Intersection on Stickney Point Road between the South drawbridge to Siesta Key and US 41 Intersection.

FDOT acknowledged the severe preexisting traffic safety and operational problems associated with this roadway and the US 41 Intersection; problems that, in FDOT’s own words, required “that access types, safety concerns, and operational limitations of this intersection should be given special consideration”.

However, FDOT later totally ignored these facts, and instead issued the permit and denied Dr. Wallace a formal administrative hearing to challenge the permit.

The permit approved the creation of this new signalized intersection at Ave. B&C on grounds that “being stuck in traffic” is insufficient to establish legal standing. However, the allegations of Dr. Wallace’s petition establish that his interests encompass far more than just “being stuck in traffic.”

This case raises an important issue as to whether, under the Florida Administrative Procedures Act (“APA”), the uniquely situated residents of Florida’s offshore barrier islands who depend almost exclusively upon a single roadway for access to and from their homes and the mainland in order to conduct their daily lives and receive emergency medical services, do in fact have legal standing.”

Read the full press release, including how to help to fund the litigation.

Observer, Jan. 7, 2022, Blake Fussell:  After incorporation bill fails, Siesta Key speaks up through lawsuits