IMMOKALEE, Fla. — Bernardo Barnhart gets emotional when he walks down Carson Road in Immokalee. He remembers growing up here more than 20 years ago.
"There was no sidewalks. There was nothing here. We'd walk on the side of the road," Barnhart said.
In some parts of Immokalee, walking to school can be dangerous, because there are no sidewalks. But now Barnhart is watching crews build new concrete sidewalks around Eden Park Elementary School.
Click here to see Immokalee Community Correspondent Victoria Quevedo speak with Barnhart about the sidewalks:
"It's wonderful, exciting. It's very exciting to see the investment being put into Immokalee," Barnhart said.
Barnhart said the sidewalks will make the area safer for children.
"A lot better for the kids to be able to walk and not worry about getting hit by a car," Barnhart said.
In this community, most families don't have cars, so they depend on walking.
"Here in Immokalee, the majority of the people do walk. They walk here because they don't have transportation," Barnhart said.
Barnhart said parents with multiple children struggle to keep them safe on busy streets.
"Now having a sidewalk, you can tell them, hey, we're going to go down this sidewalk. We're going to get from point A to point B, and it becomes a lot safer community," Barnhart said.
The construction started this spring and is set to finish in 2026. For Barnhart, the project represents hope after decades of waiting.
"When I walk down here and I see this, it just brings a tear to my eye, because I'm the one that, 20 plus years ago, I was walking down these streets and there was no sidewalk," Barnhart said.
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