Commission approves MPO priority list and asks mayor to press for Fruitville and two US‑41 roundabouts

The Sarasota City Commission on Jan. 6 unanimously approved the city's 2025 Sarasota‑Manatee Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) transportation project priorities list and voted that the mayor send a letter urging the MPO and Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) to prioritize improvements to Fruitville Road and the planned roundabouts at Myrtle Avenue and Martin Luther King Jr. Way.

City transportation staff framed the vote as part of the annual process required by the MPO to list projects eligible for state and federal funding. "Today, we are going to talk about the Sarasota Manatee MPO, City of Sarasota's 2025 transportation project priority list," said Albie Marie Corales, chief transportation planner, at the start of the presentation.

Corinne Arriaga, senior transportation planner, summarized the packet of requests that staff submitted to the MPO. The submittal includes projects currently in the FDOT work program as well as safety, transportation alternatives (sidewalks and bike facilities), multimodal emphasis corridor projects (including US‑41 and Fruitville Road), resiliency projects and technology/TSMO (transportation systems management and operations) investments. Staff also added a new Safe Routes to School grant application for Booker High School to the list and noted the Ed Smith Stadium complete‑streets study is ongoing and remains a priority.

Downtown Condo Association president David Lowe urged the city to press on Fruitville Road, calling the corridor "a gateway to our city" and an economic driver. "Fruitville'...it scored 10.94. It was the 2nd highest scoring on the document," Lowe said during public comment, arguing that recent development and the completion of nearby roundabouts make Fruitville a timely priority.

Commissioners discussed next steps for moving specific projects forward. Staff advised that roundabout projects at Myrtle and MLK have design funding but that right‑of‑way acquisition remains unfunded and that FDOT has proposed larger roundabout footprints that could increase acquisition needs. Commissioners asked Mayor Alpert (recorded in the meeting as Mayor Alpert) and the commission's MPO representatives to raise the projects directly at MPO meetings and with the FDOT district secretary.

Two motions followed. First, the commission unanimously approved the full MPO priority list as presented. Second, the commission unanimously approved a mayoral letter asking the MPO and FDOT to emphasize the MLK/Myrtle roundabout project on US‑41 north of 14th Street and Fruitville Road improvements; the motion directed the mayor to sign and transmit the letter ahead of MPO schedule deadlines.

Why it matters: the MPO priority list is the primary mechanism for jurisdictions to seek state and federal funding for multimodal, safety and resiliency projects. Commissioners emphasized Fruitville's role for evacuation, multimodal connectivity and economic vitality and said they wanted the city's MPO representatives to press FDOT on scope and right‑of‑way so that roundabouts remain achievable rather than deferred indefinitely.

What comes next: staff will transmit the approved priority list to the MPO by the February deadline and will coordinate a mayoral letter as directed. The commission asked staff and the mayor to raise the Fruitville and US‑41 roundabout items at the next MPO board meeting.