Lido Beach's New Dunes Now Choose Your Path to the Water. The Pool Is Waiting on the Ballot.

On the southern stretch of Lido Beach, the walk from the parking lot to the water now has a rope on each side. The City of Sarasota's dune project has laid a 1.2-mile ridge of planted sand from the Lido Beach Pavilion south toward the residential end of the key. Post-and-cable lines guide foot traffic through set crossings, and signs mark each one. The Coalition of City Neighborhood Associations reported that by October 14 the sand was in place, the crossings and signs were installed, and crews were planting.

So the sand is done. The beach was widened by a $12 million renourishment finished in May, and the dune now sits on top of it. Two things on Lido remain open this winter. The historic pool beside the Pavilion is waiting on a statewide property-tax vote, and the water off the key's south tip is waiting on a state wildlife agency in Tallahassee.

Rope, Sand, and Thirty-Some Ways Onto the Beach

The new dune is low but wide. The neighborhood coalition's summary describes a 2.5-foot dune built on top of the existing 4-foot beach berm, bringing the crest to +6.6 feet NAVD88. WWSB reported the whole feature at about 30 feet wide. That width changes how you get to the water. A gentle mound is easy to step over without thinking. Thirty feet of planted sand with rope along its edges is not.

The design drawings on the City's Engage Sarasota project page set the rules for crossing:

• Foot traffic is limited to the beach access locations marked on the drawings, so the plants can take hold.
• Any existing access point not on the drawings gets closed with beach-compatible sand and dune plants.
• The plans set a minimum 10-foot crest and 3-to-1 side slopes.
• The sand came from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' New Pass maintenance dredge, the same source used for the spring renourishment.

Your Observer reported in April that the plan keeps more than 30 beach access locations open during and after construction, each lined with post-and-rope barriers. That's plenty of ways onto the beach, but each one is fixed. If you've always walked a footpath between two condo buildings, check whether it's still on the map. If it isn't, it's being filled with sand and planted.

The same Observer report described plans to remove and replace three walkovers: one at the Pavilion, one at the north end of the Pavilion parking lot, and one at North Lido's curve where John Ringling Boulevard meets Benjamin Franklin Drive. Crossings were to stay open while that work moved along. Those three are the busiest entry points on the key, so they're worth a look on your next visit.

WWSB listed the planting plan as dune sunflower and railroad vine, with sea oats in some areas. Sea oats already have state protection. Florida Statute 161.242 makes it unlawful to cut, harvest, remove or eradicate sea oats or sea grapes from public land, or from private land without the owner's consent.

The finish date depends on which City page you read. The September 8 announcement gave the project an expected 60 days. The Engage project page lists completion as early 2027. Plantings take time to fill in either way, so plan on the rope lines staying up through the winter season.

The Pool Has a Price Tag and No Date

Walk past the Pavilion and the Lido Beach Pool is still closed. The City's page lists it as closed until further notice for essential repairs and maintenance, with no projected reopening date. The City told the Sarasota News Leader the pool closed on June 8.

A City project briefing last updated July 10, 2026 calls the 25-meter lap pool at 400 Ben Franklin Drive the last remaining part of the historic Lido Beach Casino, which opened in 1940. It lists the repairs needed to reopen it:

The same briefing sets that total against the pool's yearly numbers. It costs about $148,000 a year to run, brings in about $11,900 in revenue, and sells about 4,760 passes a year. Before the closure it was open Thursday through Sunday, 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., at $4 for adults and $2 for youth and seniors. So admissions cover about 8 cents of every operating dollar, before any repair spending. All quotes are in hand. Once funding is confirmed, the City estimates five to six more months of repair work.

What's holding up the money is the November 3 ballot. The Sarasota News Leader reported that City Manager Karie Friling told a resident by email that "any future decisions regarding next steps and/or improvements to the [Lido] pool are on hold until after the November referendum results." She was referring to Amendment 3, the property-tax measure on that ballot. Per the same report, City staff estimated that if it passes, the City would lose $3.2 million in revenue in fiscal year 2028 and another $2.3 million in fiscal year 2029. A July budget presentation put property taxes at about 52% of the City's General Fund for fiscal 2027. That is the budget question waiting behind a $429,000 repair list. It also means the pool's next step won't come until after November 3, whatever the result.

The rest of the Pavilion is open. The City's Lido Beach Pool and Pavilion page names Lido Island Grill, run by Chef Laszlo and his family, as the concession. It's open roughly 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily, depending on beach traffic. For lap swimmers, the City's briefing points to Arlington Recreation Center at 2650 Waldemere Street. It has a 50-meter lap pool, a 25-yard instructional pool, swim lessons and water aerobics.

Big Pass Asked Twice and Is Asking Again

The south tip of the key has its own decision on hold, and it sits even further away. Sarasota County has spent much of 2026 trying to slow boats and personal watercraft in Big Pass, just off Ted Sperling Park. Your Observer laid out the sequence in late September:

1. December 2025: the County adopts an idle-speed/no-wake ordinance for the water next to South Lido Beach.
2. April 9, 2026: County staff send the ordinance to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission for review.
3. May 20: FWC replies that the conditions cited do not justify the zone.
4. June 3: after staff send video of personal watercraft activity, FWC denies the request a second time.
5. September 22: the County Commission authorizes staff to ask instead for a slow-speed/minimum-wake zone, shown on the County's map as a 300-foot boater safety zone.

Parks, Recreation and Natural Resources Director Shawn Yeager told commissioners the original ordinance is "not enforceable" without FWC approval, and the same is true of the new request. Per the Observer, Lido Key residents and other park users had complained to both the City and County commissions for more than a year. Commissioner Tom Knight backed the idea but worried that "minimum wake" is subjective enough to make enforcement open to challenge. Commissioner Mark Smith, whose district includes Ted Sperling Park and Lido Key, told the Observer:

"If there's a chance we can at least get a slower speed there, that would be of help to the area."

The park itself is unchanged. Sarasota County lists Ted Sperling Park as open 6 a.m. to 10 p.m., with beach access, fishing, picnic areas, a playground, restrooms and a trail. The rules for the water beside it will stay as they are until a state agency agrees to change them.

The Dates That Decide Lido's Winter

On the new sand, the season is already booked. Sarasota County's events and activities guide lists these dates at Lido Beach. The decisions above are listed alongside them:

The volleyball tournament and the solstice morning will be among the first big gatherings on the dune-lined beach, with everyone coming through the marked crossings. For how the sand got here and what else changed on the Circle this year, see our summer field guide to St. Armands and the St. Armands and Lido neighborhood page.

This post is general information about the state statute and the ballot measure mentioned above, not legal, tax or financial advice. Please check how either one applies to you with the right professional.

If you want to talk through what the new dune means for your favorite beach path, or how Lido's winter is shaping up after November 3, Anthony LaPorta is glad to share what he's seeing around the Pavilion and the south end of the key. Let's Connect.