Hundreds of stop signs in Sarasota County have a new accessory.
Little yellow collars wrapped around the posts convey a big message. They identify evacuation zones A or B, the neighborhoods most vulnerable to storm surge even in more mild tropical weather.
"I just noticed them," said Mary Demert as she pulled up to a marked sign on Siesta Key.
Demert admitted she had no idea what the collars were all about.
While she lives close to Sarasota Bay, she has never had to leave her home during a storm.
"I think it all depends upon the severity of the storm that's coming," Demert said.
But not all stop signs in the county's highest risk areas have the collars.
In fact, a big chunk of them don't.
"There's probably a couple of hundred stop signs in the unincorporated county area that have the collars," said Ed McCrane, the county's emergency operations chief.
There are no marked signs in any city limits, like Sarasota or Venice.
McCrane hopes each city agrees to cover the costs and collar their signs.
He said the collars force folks to stop and take notice in a way other methods fail.
"Not everybody has a computer, not everybody knows how to use a computer," McCrane said. "We have the hurricane guides, but the maps are rather small."
And the timing is key.
The state has started rolling out new evacuation zones for each county. The results from a high-tech land surveying system most likely mean more homes are in critical zones, which will lead to more yellow collars.
Mary Demert thought her home was in Zone B, but admitted she wasn't sure. "And I'm going to go home and see if they're on my stop sign in my neighborhood."
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