Sarasota Herald-Tribune (Florida)
Copyright 2006 Sarasota Herald-Tribune Co.
County lines are intended to simplify matters for government agencies and the people they serve. But one particular boundary separating Sarasota and Manatee counties has become a source of unnecessary — and potentially dangerous — confusion in recent years.
The line runs along University Parkway, a busy corridor stretching from U.S. 41 near the Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport, eastward to Interstate 75 and beyond.
For most drivers on the road, the invisible county line doesn’t mean much. But for emergency crews responding to accidents there, the line means a great deal.
As The Herald-Tribune’s Cory Schouten reported recently, it’s not uncommon for emergency services workers from both counties to respond to an accident scene on University. Once there, they figure out which side of the line the cars are on and which county crew should take charge.
Having too many rescue workers at the scene is certainly preferable to having none. But the duplication of services can be costly and could divert resources from other places where they’re needed.
To their credit, officials in Manatee and Sarasota have worked out an agreement to divide the service territory. Sarasota will handle accidents on University west of Tuttle Avenue, and Manatee will take care of the area on Tuttle and eastward.
It’s a simple solution — and probably one that could have been reached before now. But it’s encouraging to see the two counties cooperating on growth-related problems like these. Divvying up services on University certainly won’t be the last challenge they’ll face in the years ahead.