Marco trims back center turn lane on North Collier

A compromise reached between merchants and Marco Island city officials this week will provide improved traffic access to businesses on North Collier Boulevard and also will preserve the attractive subtropical landscaping in redesigned medians.

A divided Marco Island City Council bowed this week to business owners’ wishes to add a 625-foot center turn lane on North Collier between Saturn and Amazon courts.

The center turn lane would have removed a huge chunk of new landscaping planned for a redesigned median in that location. The center turn lane would allow motorists traveling in either direction to use the lane to make turns across either side of the four-lane road.

Business owners who keep offices, restaurants and other shops in several strip mall shopping centers on the east side of North Collier Boulevard complained that the median prevents motorists from easy access to their shops.

But nearby condominium residents and a few council members complained that taking out the lushly landscaped median and replacing it with 625 feet of pavement would defeat residents’ goals to preserve the island’s tropical ambience.

It also would create a more dangerous traffic situation there, the plan’s detractors said. However, the council voted 4-2 two weeks ago to go ahead with the revision.

Councilman Mike Minozzi, who initially voted in favor of the change, decided to ask the council to reconsider the issue. In the interim, Marco Island Public Works Director Rony Joel went back to the drawing board and came up with an alternative.

Business owners were presented the redesign prior to the council’s Monday night session and voiced their approval. The council then voted unanimously to approve the redesign.

“What was approved was, in fact, two medians between Saturn Court and Amazon Court,” Marco Island Senior Project Manager Tim Pinter said in an e-mail Thursday. “The first median is more than 200 feet in length, and a second median is more than 280 feet. The two-way center lane for left-hand turns is approximately 440 feet long and is positioned between the two medians.”

Council Chairwoman Terri DiSciullo, who opposed the original 625-foot center lane, accepted the revision because it returned the landscaping that she says keeps the island from becoming another Miami.

“I’m happy to see that this was worked out,” she said. “I’m a little disappointed that more could not have been worked out with interconnects (between strip mall parking lots). I realize (interconnects) reduce parking spaces.”

DiSciullo also said pedestrians need the protection of crosswalks in the redesigned area. Joel said his staff considered putting two crosswalks with signals in the area, and said that could be done for between $10,000 and $20,000.

City Manager Bill Moss opposed the crosswalks.

“Why would there be two crosswalks? What proof do we have that they’ll use them?” Moss argued. “If they use the crosswalk and it’s not safe and someone gets hurt, then the city is liable. People for many years now have been crossing there without crosswalks.”

Councilman Chuck Kiester blamed the poor traffic conditions for motorists and pedestrians on the terrible designs of the outdated strip shopping malls lining North Collier’s east side.

“This is an example of the worst kind of strip development that you can have,” Kiester said. “We’re trying to make the best of a bad situation. Mr. Moss makes a good point about liability.”

Ultimately the council decided not to include any crosswalks and also agreed with Moss to wait until the project is finished to study whether the speed limit should be decreased.

“I’m hoping the design will reduce traffic speed. You have to slow down to get into these turn lanes,” Moss said.

Joseph Oliverio, president of the Marco Island Restaurant Association, was pleased that the council decided to keep the turn lane.

“The new design is a wonderful solution,” he said. “We would have preferred this design over the (625 foot) first design if we had seen this first.”

City Planning Board member Everett Van Hoesen offered a mild chastisement to the proprietors who petitioned the city for the change after numerous public hearings in 2005 on the road project came and went with no protest from the business community.

“If the commercial interests are concerned, they should have come forward then to make their concerns known,” he said.