FORT MYERS, Fla. — Lee County officials are studying plans for a new shared-use path that would connect Fort Myers and North Fort Myers, providing safer options for pedestrians and cyclists crossing the Caloosahatchee River.
The proposed urban trail would utilize the new eight-foot-wide sidewalk on the Caloosahatchee Bridge and connect to existing trail networks in the region.
Watch Fort Myers Community Correspondent Miyoshi Price explain the plan:
"I think it'd be better for the people in general and for the public and traffic as well," said Willie Childs, who plans to use the existing sidewalk regularly.
Childs, who recently moved to Fort Myers, says he appreciates having access to safe pathways for his running routine.
"I run half marathons and marathons back before I came here, so I'm just trying to get back in the groove," Childs said.
The Lee County Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) is exploring options to construct a new shared-use path that will provide a safer design for electric bikes and scooters while accommodating pedestrians on the same pathway.
The idea shown on the Lee County MPO site says, to the northwest, the trail would connect with the SUN Trail network along Littleton Road, which eventually becomes Kismet Parkway in Cape Coral.
On the southeast side, it would link to the John Yarbrough Linear Park Trail, which is currently being extended to Hanson Street.
Ron Gogoi, Transportation Planning Administrator for the Lee County MPO, noted that people were using the bridge even before proper pedestrian infrastructure was in place.
"Even before the sidewalk was built, people were already using the bridge, but they were doing that at a risk to their lives, because you didn't have any pedestrian pathway or anything like that," Gogoi said.
Camera from the bridge showed significant usage during the first week of June, with 209 users on weekdays and 294 on Saturdays, including both cyclists and pedestrians.
"We had some actually good, very good numbers," Gogoi said.
County officials are seeking public input through a survey to understand community needs regarding the existing sidewalk from North Fort Myers to downtown Fort Myers.
"Any kind of input that we get to these crucial questions on the survey is very important for us, for the future planning and design for safe [pathways]," Gogoi said.
Once completed, this new trail would officially become part of the Florida Department of Transportation's SUN Trail network.
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