TO: Honorable Mayor & Members of the North Port Commission
FROM: Peter D. Lear, CPA, CGMA, City Manager
TITLE: Endorsement of Proposed Project Funding to The Sarasota-Manatee Metropolitan Planning Organization in a Prioritized Order
Recommended Action
Approve endorsement of Proposed Project Funding to the Sarasota-Manatee Metropolitan Planning Organization in a prioritized order.
Background Information
Sarasota County, Manatee County, and the cities therein, are asked each year to submit projects considered priorities to the Sarasota-Manatee Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO). Last year, the City Commission endorsed the following project fund applications, prioritized in the order they are listed:
* Price Boulevard Widening, Sumter Boulevard to North Port High School/Heron Creek Middle School
* Biscayne Drive Bicycle Lanes Extension, Glenallen Boulevard to Ponce de Leon Boulevard
* Ponce de Leon Boulevard Bicycle Lanes, Biscayne Drive to Tropicaire Boulevard
None of the above three projects were approved for funding last year. The 2018 list of projects includes these same three projects, prioritized in the same order as before, plus two additional projects of importance, in the following prioritized order:
* I-75 Interchange at Yorkshire Street - Federal funding, which is expected to become available, focuses on economic benefit. The City's Activity Center 6 is proposed for future industrial related development. The importance of this interchange to the City's future growth is emphasized, by this ranking from the City Commission, and improves the interchange's potential for federal funding.
* River Road Widening, US41 to I-75 - Sarasota County is negotiating the transfer of River Road to the Florida Department of Transportation. The segment of River Road from US41 to I-75 is heavily used by North Port residents commuting to work in areas north of the City. The City of North Port endorses the improvement to River Road.
* Price Boulevard Widenin...
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