BRADENTON — A Manatee County Commission land use meeting grew tense on Thursday as commissioners debated whether to proceed with the termination of a reimbursement agreement for the construction of an intersection roundabout at University Parkway at Legacy Boulevard and Deer Drive. After a lengthy debate, the item ended in a tie vote, and the controversial project remained unchanged.
Initially conceived by the county as intersection improvements with extended turn lanes and updated signalized lighting, the project’s scope was later revised when transportation staff and engineers concluded that a roundabout would be a safer and more cost-effective solution.
Manatee County Public Works officials made their pitch to Lakewood Ranch Corporate Park, a subsidiary of Schroeder-Manatee Ranch (SMR)—and the entity with which the county has entered into the reimbursement agreement—reportedly swaying SMR CEO Rex Jensen into agreeing that a roundabout was the better option…