Who: Anna Maria Island
What: Limited parking
Why: Not enough space to accommodate heavy traffic
Post Interviews
Who:
What I had originally said was my 'Who' was correct, but it wasn't all the way there. There was more than just AMI. In one interview a woman stated that traffic or parking could sometimes even get bad on Longboat Key, the island just south of AMI. Another interviewee said that once the parking is full and traffic backs up on to mainland that people here have to deal with AMI's problem as well. Traffic could be backed up as far as 15 blocks into mainland according to one interviewee. I was told by an interviewee that her friends on the island also hate the heavy traffic because ultimately people resort to parking in the Publix lot, taking up spots for actual customers.
What:
As a result from limited parking the traffic becomes insanely congested. This is what many of the interviewees stated was another issue. You're more likely to experience that bad traffic before you get to the island and realize the parking is too full. Some people also stated that with so much traffic and people it also takes away the 'charm' of the island. Anna Maria Island and the community prides itself with having the old Florida charm. They won't allow fast food chains on the island or any large businesses to operate there. Publix is the rare exception. The locals aren't huge fans of all the tourists that come by and leave the beaches dirty in addition to taking up all the parking and crowding the traffic. My view changed somewhat as people seemed to talk about how parking wasn't the sole root of the problem. It may be attributed to a huge influx of people.
Why:
The why and what are similar, but I'd like to reiterate a few key points that were mentioned in my interviews. Some people blamed the weather. Others the tourists. One interviewee stated that no matter what day or month it was, if it was beautiful day out everyone is going to the beach, so you had better get up and out there early. Others said the 'seasons' we have were the why factor. Because we are a winter destination for many people up north, you can expect more people to visit town from January to March. According to some interviewees, this is when the beach traffic and parking can become crowded.
Summary:
Overall the experience of talking to people about AMI and its parking/traffic problems was enlightening. I learned about what other factors played into the opportunity at hand. Maybe even more amusing was the fact that it's not only AMI. I'm now understanding that beach traffic and parking is probably an issue all over Florida. It's just magnified on AMI because it is so small and it's not difficult to have traffic back up far into mainland because the city of Bradenton is also small, thus making the problem appear even larger.
Interview Links
1. http://tapeacall.com/nbw8ahg8ty
2. http://tapeacall.com/9aa6rxwuez
3. http://tapeacall.com/ftht9tpxhc
4. http://tapeacall.com/tqt7e8822c
5. https://soundcloud.com/user-297113972/interview-one
Scott,
ReplyDeleteI thought it was interesting that the people you interviewed kept using the terms "In season or out of season". Great job on your interviews, there was a couple minutes of silence after some of the interviews. In the future, I suggest having the recording end when the interview ends. I felt like everyone has practically the same answers, so obviously something needs to be done about the traffic. I am interested in seeing what solution you will come up with for this problem. My hometown is a beach town in Florida, and I know how awful the beach parking can get.
Hi Robert,
ReplyDeleteI can definitely see parking and traffic build up being a problem on AMI, especially over the weekend for Memorial Day. I was up north at Lake Michigan over the weekend and beach parking was a problem even up there. The parking lot was at maximum capacity and people were getting turned away, having to find a different parking space. I believe the problem is even worse at FL beaches. 15 blocks, wow! Like you said, there are so many tourists here as well as snow birds. It does get very congested and I also believe this is a problem. Great point.
Angie
Hey Robert,
ReplyDeleteI think that the fact that AMI is such a small quaint place is in itself an attraction to tourists. People like to visit small charming places like that, I know I do. I completely understand how this can be very frustrating to people who are residents or locals of that area. It clearly causing a ripple effect of problems. I'm interested to find out what you have in mind for solutions to this problem.
Robert,
ReplyDeleteI'm also from a small beach town and parking is a nightmare. All of the touristy stores and beaches are all next to each other, making finding a spot nearly impossible at times. During the peak season (snowbirds), not only is there more traffic but much worse driving as well.
I've never heard of traffic being backed up into another county, so the opportunity for new parking in AMI seems completely necessary. Good idea!
Hello Robert!
ReplyDeleteI don't know much about Anna Maria Island. But I live in a city that has a beach too, and I can completely relate to the parking problem on the beach. It might even hurt the tourism industry because people might not want to go just because of parking. Do you have any ideas on how to solve this parking problem?
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