Venice holds community workshop after council pauses proposed Bayshore Drive sidewalk

Acting City Engineer John Kramer said the City of Venice is gathering input after the City Council directed staff to pause a planned sidewalk and study alternatives for the Bayshore Drive–Laguna Drive corridor between Tarpon Street and Bayshore Circle.

The meeting on the city’s Bayshore-Laguna safety alternative study drew residents from both sides of the street and a range of suggestions, including building a sidewalk on the east side, adding paved shoulders, installing speed humps or electronic speed displays, or creating a boulevard-style center walkway. Jeff Rakos, design engineer with DMK Associates, took notes for a follow-up engineering analysis and a resident survey that the city said it expects to distribute this fall.

The discussion matters because Bayshore and Laguna are heavily traveled pedestrian routes to the beach and jetties, residents said, and the roadway has little pedestrian infrastructure. Kramer said the council had originally directed staff to initiate a capital improvement project to construct a sidewalk on one side of Bayshore Drive, but that direction was paused to allow workshops and a broader study of options.

Residents who spoke described a narrow, roughly 20-foot two-lane roadway with obstructions and a mix of vehicles, bicycles and pedestrians. Several speakers said stop signs installed in prior years have helped but that speeding remains common. Sam Humphries, who described himself as a frequent pedestrian on the street, said, "the best solution for pedestrians is the sidewalk." Other residents urged less-invasive, lower-cost pilot measures such as speed humps or radar speed displays to test whether traffic calming reduces safety risks before permanent construction.

Multiple speakers urged placing any sidewalk on the east side of Bayshore Drive, which some said has more contiguous frontage and fewer small front yards; others on the west side said they opposed construction in their front yards because of property impacts and potential drainage and insurance consequences. Linda McCollum, describing herself as a longtime resident and licensed realtor, said residents on the west side oppose sidewalks and expressed concern that sidewalks could raise insurance costs and affect property character.

Several alternatives were discussed aloud: a boulevard-style pedestrian walkway down the center of the roadway with traffic lanes on both sides; widening the roadway by roughly 3 feet on each side and adding paved shoulders; adding bicycle routes on alternate nearby streets (for example, Barcelona); and incremental traffic-calming measures like additional stop signs, speed humps, and electronic speed displays. Kevin McKiernan summarized a low-cost approach: "Digital display signs, speed humps," and other incremental steps, and suggested testing them before committing to sidewalk construction.

City staff said DMK will prepare a summary report, the city will distribute a resident survey (open online and mailed to affected residents), and a second workshop will present survey results and engineer analysis. Kramer clarified the city has not chosen any solution and that the study will cover the full length of Bayshore and Laguna under consideration.

Police department analysis was referenced by staff as having identified safety concerns on the roadway, and Assistant City Manager James Clinch said the city intends to balance safety improvements with protecting neighborhood character. Clinch added that the council asked staff to slow the process to ensure thorough analysis and durable decisions. Kramer and staff said comments will be accepted by email at BayshoreCorridor@dmkassoc.com for a limited period and that the survey and next workshop are expected in the fall.

The meeting produced no formal vote or binding decision; staff said the next steps are engineering analysis, a resident survey, and a follow-up public workshop to inform any recommendation to council.