After the completion of two visioning sessions regarding the future of St. Armands Circle, city of Sarasota staff will continue to execute the wishlist generated, with the promise of continuing coordination with stakeholders.
The second and final visioning session was held April 13, with facilitator David Brain leading the audience through the results garnered from the first meeting, which generated some 61 ideas of what St. Armands should be.
Like the first session, Monday’s workshop was held at Mote Marine Laboratory and Aquarium on City Island, but the format was decidedly different. Rather than arranging attendees at 20 round work tables, at which they conceived more than 61 suggestions for improvements to St. Armands and its recurring traffic and flooding issues, retail tenant mix and the condition of commercial buildings and public realm amenities, chairs were arranged in rows for a presentation of results of the first session and to discuss projects already underway to address some concerns.
Chiefly among them is traffic, which comprised 27.86% of the table responses’ lists of three issues, followed by concerns about redevelopment of the commercial district at 24.59% with flooding at the Circle’s boutique character at 18.03% each. Public realm — conditions of sidewalks, landscaping, etc., completed the list at 11.47%…