Arlington Park Neighborhood Action Strategy - City of Sarasota

SUMMARY OF NAS FORUMSDuring the NAS forums, stakeholders discussed numerous issues affecting theArlington Park neighborhood and also identified strengths, weaknesses, threats, andopportunities for the area. Highlights from these forums, along with some commonthemes from the Satisfaction Survey responses, and certain recommended actions arelisted below.Crime and SafetyStatistically, Arlington Park is a relatively safe neighborhood. However, neighborscontinue to worry about the threat of crime. Based on Satisfaction Survey results(surveys were sent to all parcels with a postage-paid return envelope, results listed inAppendix A), 58% of respondents are satisfied with the police presence in the area. Inboth the surveys and the forums, residents mentioned a wide variety of criminalincidents, including vandalism, graffiti, home and auto burglaries, noise caused by carstereos and fireworks, and vagrancy and drug use in Arlington Park. (The park andrecreation property known as “Arlington Park” will be referred to as “Park” to avoidconfusion with the overall neighborhood name). More often than telling personalstories of specific crimes, residents often spoke in terms of threatening places andcharacters. Threatening groups of people cited were teens (with nothing to do),vagrants, short-term renters, and transients along US 41. Places of concernmentioned by residents include the Park and racquetball court, the Cabana Inn and US41 in general, and the Hillview Apartments. These locations and people make someresidents feel apprehensive.Recommendations raised by citizens to address concerns include performing a CrimePrevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) survey of the Park to examine thepotential for additional lighting and increased maintenance of vegetation in order toreduce unsafe areas. Monitoring the racquetball court and possibly securing it duringnight time hours was also suggested. The continuous promotion and participation ofthe Police Department’s Citizen Volunteer Program as well as enforcement of noiseviolations were strongly advocated by the stakeholders to effect criminal incidents.Traffic Circulation and SafetyConsidered the most urgent issue by Arlington Park residents, traffic noise andspeeding was discussed in great detail during the NAS forums. Increasingly, residentscomplain about people from outside the neighborhood using Arlington Park streets tobypass major roads. Residents allege that these outsiders are responsible forspeeding in this residential neighborhood, exploiting the long, straight streets in theresidential grid to avoid congestion at major intersections. Parents and studentstraveling to and from schools, such as Sarasota High School, generate some of thesetrips. Arlington Park streets are also purportedly used by Sarasota Memorial HospitalArlington Park Neighborhood Action Strategy 13