'Trial' Downtown Trolley Run Is April 6

On Saturday, April 6, during the annual downtown De Soto Seafood Festival, a free trolley will be available from 11am to 7pm.  The trolley will run from the Seafood Festival to the Downtown Bradenton Farmers’ Market, which will be moved that day to the Village of the Arts, several blocks south of its usual location on Old Main Street.

The April 6 trolley “trial run” will connect the SeaFood Festival, the Village of the Arts, and the City parking garage. 

Future trolleys may connect all of Downtown Bradenton’s Cultural Venues; both with each other, and with some of the approximately 1200 parking spaces in the downtown area.

Two trolleys will each make a 30 minute circuit connecting the Seafood Festival, the Village of the Arts, and the city parking garage at 12^th St. West and 6^th Ave. West –just one block east of Bradenton’s new Downtown Transit Station.  With two trolleys running, the maximum wait-time for trolley-riders should be in the 10-15 minute range at each of four stops.

The Downtown Bradenton Farmers’ market, which takes over Old Main St. on most Saturdays, will move to 12^th St. West in the Village of the Arts on that day.  The open-air market will run from 11am to 6pm, with live music and approximately 50 vendors selling vegetables, plants, food, arts, and crafts.

The 4/6 trolley will coincide not only with the Seafood Festival, but with the Village of the Art’s monthly ArtWalk, its annual GardenWalk, and a Childrens-Book Author Showcase.  The GardenWalk and Author Showcase will run from 11am to 4pm, and the monthly ArtWalk will be extended to 11am to 6pm.  The authors’ event will include author readings and signings at multiple Village locations.

Dave Gustafson, Executive Director of the Bradenton Downtown Development Authority (DDA), explains that the April 6 trolley “…will be the first step in the creation of a long-term multi-modal transportation plan for downtown.” 

The DDA, City of Bradenton, and Realize Bradenton, in partnership with Manatee County Area Transit and the Tampa Bay Regional Transit Authority, are working together to make the trolley project a success. 

All participating organizations encourage the public to take advantage of the free trolley on Saturday, April 6.

More information on the De Soto Seafood Festival is available at http://www.desotohq.com/.  Information on the Village of the Arts and its events is available at http://www.villageofthearts.com/.  For more information on Downtown Bradenton attractions, events, and parking, go to  http://www.realizebradenton.com/.