CAPE CORAL, Fla. — Parents are calling for immediate action at what they call a dangerous intersection outside Mariner High School in Cape Coral after witnessing multiple near-misses between students and vehicles.
Fox 4's Bella Line shows us near misses at the Chiquita Boulevard and Tropicana Parkway intersection:
"Every day you go to school, you risk getting hit by a car," said Nikole Baldanza, whose son attends Mariner High School.
Baldanza said she witnesses near-misses at the intersection often.
"That could be my son, that could be anybody's child trying to cross the street, and someone's in a rush. And you know, lives are a little bit more important," Baldanza said.
Another mother, who asked not to be identified, described watching her son nearly get struck while using the crosswalk early one morning.
"As my son was crossing the crosswalk, and as he was getting closer to the car, the car started turning to make their U turn, and I was really in fear that at that moment, I was about to watch my son get hit by a car," the mother said.
The City of Cape Coral said design plans for installing a stoplight at the intersection will begin in 2026. In the meantime, the city said high-visibility restriping of the crosswalks is planned to take place in the coming months.
"Putting a stoplight here would alleviate some of the frustration and fear and anxiety that parents have every day when they're dropping their kids off," one mother said.
However, Baldanza believes the proposed solutions don't go far enough and wants a crossing guard stationed at the intersection.
"I just don't think that's going to help, because people run lights all the time," Baldanza said.
Cape Coral Police said they have a company that assesses intersections to determine when a crossing guard is needed. However, it's not clear if they will ask for an assessment.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
