Reminder: SEERD hosting a meeting with our Bee Ridge Neighbors, Monday, November 24th, 6-7:30 pm at the Fruitville Branch Library, 100 Apex Road, Sarasota.

Bee Ridge Neighbors, we plan to meet on Monday evening at the Fruitville Branch Library Meeting Room to discuss recent developments in and around the Bee Ridge Neighborhood. We will take stock of the impacts we have experienced and consider how best to work with the various stakeholders in order to mitigate the traffic, noise and visual disruptions and protect our properties and lifestyles. We would like to hear from as many of you as possible in person.

For those unable to join us at the library, consider using your phones or computers to call in via the Google Meet link below:

meet.google.com/grf-qnda-dpu

In the meantime, please see the Letter to the Editor published in the

Sarasota Herald Tribune on November 20, 2025. We wanted to remind the county that the problems we are experiencing in our neighborhood and elsewhere across Sarasota are their responsibility. We look forward in the new year to working together with them on effective solutions. Kicking these threats to our communities and the damage being done to our quality of lives further down the road is not an option.

Bee Ridge traffic is a nightmare. Sarasota County doesn't care. | Letters

Story by Sarasota Herald-Tribune

County ignores Bee Ridge traffic issues

In 2023, hundreds of residents of the Bee Ridge neighborhood urged Sarasota County to evaluate the traffic, noise and environmental impacts of Special Exception 1874 for The Classical Academy on Bee Ridge Road.

Our objections were dismissed; we were described as old people in the way of progress.

Now, weekday mornings and afternoons, Bee Ridge and Lorraine roads are gridlocked in all directions.

Eastbound traffic on Bee Ridge Rd. backs up between Bent Tree Blvd. and Lorriane Rd. Tuesday afternoon, Apr. 1, 2025. © Mike Lang / Sarasota Herald-Tribune

Impatient drivers make illegal U-turns instead of traveling to the nearest traffic circles.

Short commutes have turned into long, tedious journeys.

What will happen when widening begins on Bee Ridge Road to accommodate 3000 of the 13,000 new homes planned in Hi Hat Ranch?

Sarasota County signals it will allow Hi Hat developer to build road through public land

The county has quietly moved Special Exception 1874 to the “recently closed” section, saying the stipulations/conditions approved in the special exception no longer apply because of new state statutes preempting local control.

This will double traffic times and endanger public safety.

The major east-west arteries east of Interstate 75 are expanding to four lanes; meanwhile, Lorraine Road – which links them – remains only two poorly maintained lanes.

The county commissioners admit that no plans or funding exist to widen Lorraine. They are responsible for this situation.

We demand immediate answers, transparency and accountability.

Miles F Toder, Sarasota

Toder is the board president for Sarasota East Enders for Responsible Development (SEERD.org).

Herald-Tribune: How to send a letter to the editor

This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Bee Ridge traffic is a nightmare. Sarasota County doesn't care. | Letters