$20M plan in the works to improve safety along U.S. 41

MANATEE COUNTY, Fla. — A busy stretch of U.S. 41 has a well-documented history of pedestrian-involved crashes. The Sarasota Manatee Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) is looking to change that.

The organization states that in Manatee and Sarasota counties, 35 percent of serious injuries involve people who are walking or biking in the region.

Many Bay area residents know U.S. 41 as a busy road.

But for Danny Williams, walking along this road and seeing the high-speed traffic is a reminder of how precious life is.

“My adult son… he’s been hit in a hit-and-run. It destroyed his bike on one road up here that didn’t have a sidewalk on the north side. And he got hit right at this intersection we’re coming up to,” he said as he walked Spectrum News to the location.

Fortunately, he survived. But the near-tragedy is one of the reasons Williams advocates for pedestrian safety with the Sarasota Mobility Alliance. He’s even made lifestyle changes, like limiting driving and instead using public transit.

“Reducing deaths and serious injuries is the main goal of all of it. If cars move slower, they will kill fewer people — and people will still get there in about the same amount of time anyway,” he explained.

A pedestrian safety project is set to begin in 2027, which Williams says is a step in the right direction.

The $20 million project will focus on U.S. 41 between Bay Drive and Cortez Road — and has been in the works for a decade.

“This is one of our projects that we really want to focus on over the next several years — the funding of sidewalks and lighting improvements along U.S. 41. It’s a consistent corridor on our high-injury network, which means there is a disproportionate amount of fatalities and serious injuries along this corridor,” he said.

MPO Deputy Director Ryan Brown says at least a dozen people every year are injured or killed along that stretch of U.S. 41, and hopes this project will reduce that number.

“We certainly want to address gaps within the sidewalks and improve lighting conditions,” he explained.

In the most recent year, MPO says there were 19 total bike or pedestrian crashes, and two of them were fatal.

“We’ve tried to design and include elements in these improvements that will reduce conflict points, reduce speed and truthfully address this growing concern. We’re seeing more people die on our roadways.”

Businesses along U.S. 41 have witnessed the crashes as well.

Amanda Mote, a server at S.O.B. Burgers, says her restaurant lost a regular customer, and a friend.

“I’ve worked here since 2015 — so 10 years. And it’s just a crazy road. So many accidents… people getting hit. And then there was one accident involving a motorcycle. Unfortunately, a friend of ours — and he passed away,” she said.

For now, advocates like Williams will continue pushing for change to make this road and others safer.

While the U.S. 41 Bay Drive to Cortez project begins in 2027, MPO estimates the entire project will be complete in 2029.