10th Street and Blvd of the Arts Complete Streets

The City of Sarasota intends to construct a “complete street” on 10^th Street from US 41 to Orange Avenue, and Boulevard of the Arts (BoTA) from Sarasota Bay to Orange Avenue. A complete street is an Age-Friendly design that promotes safe travel to and from your destination, whether you are walking, biking, riding transit, or driving your vehicle.

A complete street is also accessible to every person who utilizes it and provides a sense of place for the community. Each complete street is unique to the community and can include different features like enhanced sidewalks, street lighting, benches, street trees and landscaping, public art, and more.

Currently, the City completed 60% design and received $12,000,000 in federal funding for construction. The City is working with US DOT on an agreement to take this project to design-build.

Previously, the City hosted two open-house public meetings to unveil the draft concepts for the 10^th Street and BoTA Complete Street Projects. Over 85 citizens attended and were able to provide comments on both concepts. May 2024, the city hosted a public meeting where over 100 people attended to review the design and provide comments.

The 10^th Street section focused on safe, multi-modal transportation potentially transforming the corridor from a 4-lane into a 2-lane, divided facility with 8-ft sidewalks, landscaping, stormwater treatments, and protected bicycle lanes. Additionally, there is consideration of a potential roundabout at the intersection of Orange Ave and 10^th Street.

The BoTA section reflected an enhanced pedestrian experience along the corridor that is broken down into three separate segments with differing treatments:

• West of US-41 (Bayfront to US-41): 2-lane divided street, 11-ft travel lanes with sharrows, 10-ft landscaped median, 10-ft sidewalks separated by a 9-ft landscaped border, and curbside management zones. There were also call-outs for art opportunities in medians and intersection treatments.
  • The Hyatt Redevelopment project integrated the complete street design into their site plan covering a large portion of this segment. Taking this into consideration, and budget constraints, the remainder of the west end of BoTA will be removed from the federally funded project. The other portions of the west end will be considered in the future.
• US-41 Intersection: a raised intersection with 4 high-emphasis crosswalks. The raised intersection functions as an enlarged speed table ultimately reducing vehicular speeds along US-41 creating a safer environment for vehicular traffic, pedestrians, and bicyclists.
  • The US-41 intersection is owned and maintained by the Florida Department of Transportation. Taking this into consideration, and budget constraints, the intersection will be removed from the federally funded project. The City continues to share this intersection priority with the Department for their consideration.
• East of US-41 (U.S. 41 to Orange Ave): undergrounding powerlines, 2-lane divided street, 11-ft travel lanes with sharrows, 10-ft flex/sidewalks separated by an 8-ft landscaped border and on-street parking, where feasible. There were also call-outs at intersections for art opportunities, as well as callouts for street furniture, like benches or unique seating.
  • The City is currently working with Florida Power and Lights (FPL) on undergrounding overhead powerlines on Boulevard of the Arts from Florida Avenue to Orange Avenue.