For many months, we have heard worries aired about people trying to traverse Turtle Beach Road when visitors have parked on everything except a tiny strip of the pavement. The Siesta Key Association has agreed to press Sarasota County officials on the matter, and we would like to add to that pressure.
The issue arose again at the SKA’s Jan. 7 regular meeting. Blind Pass Road resident Jim Graves told the board, "If you live [in one of the condos at Turtle Beach], you might as well count yourself out if you have a medical problem."
The SKA members then recounted an incident last year when a vehicle trying to maneuver down Turtle Beach Road between other vehicles and boat trailers jammed along both sides of the road damaged some of them by literally squeezing through.
If a car couldn’t get by easily, people said at the time, a rescue squad or fire truck would be completely incapable of doing so.
SKA President Lourdes Ramirez noted that county fire officials had visited the site and found no problem – but that visit reportedly was on a day when very few visitors were at the beach
Although residents and the SKA have pleaded in the past for "No Parking" signs, SKA board member Deet Jonker said that erecting them probably would not resolve the issue. We agree that if someone is desperate enough to park in the restricted area instead of forgoing the trip to the beach or walking a greater distance from another spot, the likelihood is pretty high that that person is willing to risk a ticket and subsequent fine.
Jonker went so far as to suggest that the county hire a tow truck operator to stand by on busy days, ready to snatch out any vehicle found parked in the areas where signs forbid their presence. However, we cannot believe the Sarasota County Commission would be willing to pay for such a measure or that the average tow-truck operator would want to keep a truck nearby for hours with no guarantee of a "reward" in terms of someone having to pay to get a vehicle out of impoundment.
We also don’t believe Sheriff Tom Knight has the manpower to keep a deputy stationed there for hours on end to warn anyone pulling into a "No Parking" zone.
Perhaps one solution along with signage would be planting types of vegetation beside the road that wouldn’t hinder an emergency vehicle’s passage but which would make driving difficult with the average car or truck – a clearer sign that parking was not allowed.
Any reasonable attempt to remedy the situation is better than ignoring it while hoping a whole condo complex doesn’t burn to the ground as firefighters struggle to push vehicles out of the way so their trucks can get to the scene.