Pedestrian Matters
Pedestrian traffic is the lifeblood of successful cities, since people walking to shops, theaters, parks, drugstores and more create an exciting scene that attracts even more people and more commerce. But pedestrians face some challenges in downtown Sarasota, from the summer heat to our average age, which is older than in most cities. The Assignment Downtown Council of The Greater Sarasota Chamber of Commerce, which focuses on bringing business and activity downtown, recently decided to find out just where people are walking in downtown Sarasota. Committee member Roger Barry, a professor emeritus in urban planning at the University of Cincinnati and a downtown resident, did the research using a variety of sources. It turns out that downtown Sarasota* has plenty of pedestrians and destinations (41 destinations with 7 million visits annually), but those destinations are spread apart in four distinct districts. That leads to the next question: How do we encourage people to walk when the activity centers aren’t clustered together? Send your ideas to Biz(941) editor Susan Burns at [email protected].
Top 10 Places People visit
| Bayfront Park/Bayfront Businesses | 800,000 |
| Whole Foods | 750,000 |
| Selby Library | 744,000 |
| Publix | 700,000 |
| Hollywood 20 | 600,000 |
| SCAT Transfer Station | 500,000 |
| Ringling Bridge | 400,000 |
| Walgreens | 252,000 |
| Hyatt Regency | 178,000 |
| Ritz-Carlton, Sarasota | 165,000 |
District 1
Downtown Sarasota
| Live Entertainment | |
| Sarasota Opera House | 100,000 |
| Golden Apple Dinner Theatre | 50,000 |
| Florida Studio Theatre | 140,000 |
| Churches | |
| First Methodist | 63,800 |
| Church of the Redeemer | 62,900 |
| First Baptist | 50,000 |
| St. Martha's | 132,000 |
| National Retail | |
| Whole Foods | 750,000 |
| Brooks Brothers | N/A |
| Sur La Table | N/A |
| Public Services | |
| Selby Library | 744,000 |
| Sarasota City Hall | 29,900 |
| Federal Building | 2,600 |
| Post Office | 98,700 |
| SCAT Transfer Station | 500,000 |
| Events | |
| Downtown Crafts Shows | 12,500 |
| Saturday Farmers Market | 156,000 |
| Special Events | 216,000 |
| Movies | |
| Burns Court Cinema | 106,300 |
| Subtotal Annual Visits | 3,215,000 |
District 2
Bayfront/Island Park
| Bayfronot Park and bayfront business complex | 800,000 |
| Ringling Bridge/MURT | 400,000 |
| Selby Gardens | 127,000 |
| Ritz-Carlton, Sarasota | 165,000 |
| Subtotal annual visits | 1,492,000 |
District 3
Cultural District
| Live Entertainment | |
| Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall | 101,000 |
| Municipal Auditorium | 75,000 |
| Holley Hall, Sarasota | 28,000 |
| Players Theatre | 65,000 |
| Sarasota Visitors Center | 75,000 |
| West Coast Black Theatre | 9,400 |
| G.WIZ | |
| Hotels | |
| Hyatt | 178,000 |
| Hotel Indigo | 40,000 |
| National Retail | |
| Publix | 700,000 |
| Subtotal annual visits | 1,341,400 |
District 4
Uptown
| National Retail | |
| Walgreens | 252,000 |
| Churches | |
| First Presbyterian | 68,000 |
| Public Services | |
| Payne Park Skate Park | 14,500 |
| Payne Auditorium | 30,000 |
| Tax Collector's Office | 122,300 |
| Property Appraiser's Office | 7,400 |
| Supervisor of Elections | 6,000 |
| Board of County Commissioners | 2,500 |
| Movies | |
| Regal Cinemas, Hollywood 20 | 600,000 |
| Other | |
| YMCA | 18,200 |
| Subtotal annual visits | 1,120,900 |
TOTAL ANNUAL DOWNTOWN VISITS: 7,169,400
*Downtown for the purposes of this survey is identical to the boundaries of the Community Redevelopment Area.