The good looks, success, and popular acceptance of the Five Points Roundabout set the stage for more modern roundabouts in downtown Sarasota. “We have experience in creating a plan for continuing construction while maintaining daily operations downtown as much as possible, making the businesses and the city happy.” “There are obstacles in building roundabouts in downtown Sarasota, one being the project must remain open for pedestrian access,” said Jason Swift, owner and project manager at Jon F. The firm had already constructed four complete streets projects in downtown Sarasota which involved fixing utilities below ground and improving pedestrian facilities above ground.
Swift Construction company constructed the Five Points Roundabout in 2010 for $1,006,017. The Five Points Roundabout bookends one end of the downtown Sarasota Main Street shopping and dining district. Downtown economic vitality begins with a pleasant street environment friendly to pedestrians who like to walk, shop, and hang out there daytime and night, making downtown living attractive and prosperous for restaurants. Instead, it has become a people-centric public space where sidewalk diners meet at lunch to talk business and in the evenings chat with friends over dinner and wine-both activities unthinkable in such close proximity to the prior signalized intersection. The roundabout transformed the signalized stop, wait, and go traffic movement into the smooth, silent traffic flow characteristic of modern roundabouts-so much so that the intersection is no longer dominated by motorized traffic. This lushly landscaped modern roundabout replaced a poorly performing 5-legged intersection traditionally controlled by traffic signals.
The Five Points Roundabout was Sarasota’s first downtown roundabout. We wanted to get people comfortable with the concept of driving roundabouts before we constructed the multi-lane roundabouts, so we started with single lane roundabouts." We wanted to make intersections safer and more walkable. In addition, the city had plans for single-lane and multi-lane roundabouts. As part of the city’s goal to make downtown more walkable, this was an intersection that needed improvements. I think we’re kind of proud of the fact Sarasota is an art-focused community and the roundabouts are an expression of that.” Five Points Roundabout-Main Street & Pineapple AvenueĬity Engineer Alex Davis Shaw said that back when it was a conventional signalized intersection, “The Five Points intersection was confusing to cars and pedestrians alike. “The roundabouts help supply that and appear to be extremely successful. “We’re interested in the safety of walkability and connectivity to Sarasota Bay,” Downtown Sarasota Condo Association Transportation Committee Chair and Urban Planning Professor Emeritus at the University of Cincinnati Roger Barry said. Today, their vision is coming to fruition. Thanks to visionaries, the City’s Public Art Collection now includes downtown modern roundabouts graced with artworks.Įarly on, then Sarasota City Engineer Dennis Daughters, then City Traffic Manager Sam Freija, and current City Engineer Alex Davis Shaw envisioned a downtown made more pedestrian friendly-and even more beautiful-with a collection of modern roundabouts. The city’s vibrant arts scene includes the Ringling College of Art and Design, the famous Ringling Museum, an opera house, a ballet company, and the Sarasota Art Museum. By: Ken Sides, P.E., PTOE Sarasota, Florida is a city that has long proudly supported the arts.
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